Raging Bull is a cinematic masterpiece which pulls no punches. Based on a true story, Robert De Niro stars as Jake La Motta, a middle-weight boxer from the late-1940s and early-1950s, who basically destroys himself and those around him because of an uncontrollable temper and poor decision-making. Instead of going down as one of the greatest boxers of all time, La Motta ruined his career because he was unable to see the bigger picture. He threw bouts, he got involved with low-life underworld crime figures, he beat his wife , he abused all those closest to him, and he had relationships with young girls who were still considered minors. Even his strongest tie, his younger brother, gets cut during the course of his untimely self-destruction.
The film is shot brilliantly, what Scorsese disliked about the previous boxing films he had seen was the way the fights were shown from ringside, adopting a spectator's view, which protected the audience from the brutality inside the ring. For Raging Bull, Scorsese was determined to get as close as possible to the raw violence of the fights. He filmed inside the ring and make the audience feel every punch. His plan was to shoot the fight scenes as if the viewers were the fighter, and their impressions were the fighter's, and never to insulate the audience from the violence in the ring. The viewers would think, feel, see and hear everything the boxers would.
I keep mentioning in all Martin Scorsese movie reviews that he was again and again robbed of the Oscar awards for eg. for Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and later for Aviator, Gangs of New York. This film was also criminally robbed of 1980's Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards, by "Ordinary People", another one of those dysfunctional family drama's.
For all those who have not seen, see it. The legendary Mohammed Ali may be boxing's biggest name, but his recent biopic, 'Ali,' falls way short of the high standards set by Raging Bull.
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