Raging Bull Reviews

Nice to revisit. The force is not on the ring, bur outside, in the realtionship, luminous and ludicrous, with Kathy. The selfpunishment of throwing ice on his parts to avoid sex with her, is as elocuent as boxing against the wall.

This film blew me away with its interesting supporting cast. I started to care very much about the characters, because they were flawed.

Well-done in every respect, "Raging Bull" nevertheless made me feel somewhat ambivalent about its content. As a depiction of real life boxer Jake Le Motta (amazingly portrayed by Robert De Niro)'s degeneration from a rage-filled fighter to a fat, unkempt slob of a man, the movie can be forgiven for not giving us a warm and fuzzy reiteration of the events.

However, the characters the film portrays are so hard to care about, that it's hard not to look at it with a mix of disbelief and stoicism. That said, "Raging Bull" as a piece of cinematic history is magnificent. The black-and-white photography, which might peeve some, is a fascinating stylistic approach.

Jake La Motta, not a very nice man, is the kind of sleazy charmer that you've warned your daughters about. After getting together with nubile 15-year-old Vickie (Cathy Morierty, who doesn't look a day younger than twenty-five,) La Motta introduced her some good old-fashioned brutality, smothering her with jealousy while eventually neglecting her needs in the bedroom.

Fighting can be a means to make money, or it can be a way of life. I'm afraid the latter is true for De Niro's Jake, who finds comfort in beating the tar out of his opponents, and sometimes Vickie and his brother Joey (Joe Pesci.)

Jake Le Motta is a hateable character, but eventually you don't feel hate for him as much as pity, as he shambles his way into middle age (De Niro transforms himself into older La Motta, gaining 70 pounds on an eating binge.)

"Raging Bull" is a great movie, yes, but not a favorite of mine, as the darkness in the character's hearts and lives can grow a little tedious, with no one to root for. It's more a character study than sports movie, and one doesn't need to be a boxing fan to get something out of it (heck, even director Martin Scorsese initially turned down the project, not being a fan of the sport.)

Ultimately, La Motta's is so much about his fights inside the ring as his explosive rage out of it. As it is, it is an important piece of history and an impressive film. But damn it, I like "Taxi Driver" better. Sorry, "Bull" enthusiasts.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. When I was younger, 'Goodfellas' was definitely my favorite Scorsese feature but, nowadays, it is a toss up between this flick and 'Taxi Driver' and it is easily one of the best movies produced by De Niro and Scorsese. Basically, it is a really spellbinding story and easily the best movie dealing with an athlete. I mean, even though 'Ordinary People' was a very good flick, this masterpiece was just from another level and should have won the best picture academy award back in those days. In my opinion, if there is a time when Scoresese should have won the big prize, it was at that moment and not with 'The Departed' which was the only way the Academy could possibly apologize to this great master. Anyway, this movie is the stuff of legends. Indeed, In 1978, when Martin Scorsese was at an all-time low resulting from an addiction to cocaine, Robert De Niro visited him and told him that he had to clean himself up and make this movie. Thanks to De Niro, Scorsese was back in the game and directed one of the best movies ever made and continued to make incredible movies for the next 3 decades. Of course, we shouldn't forget De Niro who gave one of the best performances which has been a reference for many actors afterwards. Basically, it is a great movie and it is a must see for any decent movie lover.

Raging Bull is definitely one of the most serious, aggressive and violent films of all time. The title says it all. It is a real life story about a famous boxer and his downfall. Raging Bull is a sport film that I personally think is a perfect sport film because Raging Bull is a story full of ups and downs. Raging Bull shows the very aggressive side because of the way Jake LaMotta really was when he was a boxer. This film is just legendary as far as I am concerned. This film was very emotional with betrayal, utter rage and even quite psychological.


Robert De Niro's performance as Jake LaMotta is definitely one of De Niro's most famous performances of all time. I was really fascinated by Robert De Niro being trained by the real Jake LaMotta to prepare for the boxing scenes of the film. Jake LaMotta is a professional boxer who meets a young 15-year-old girl called Vickie at a local swimming pool. They both form a relationship and end up getting married together but something happens which breaks Jake's heart which you will have to see for yourself. Robert De Niro's performance was absolutely outstanding with such powerful, motivating, moving and very intriguing regarding the boxing. His personal life becomes the most effective part of his life which affects his career as a boxer. I loved Joe Pesci's performance as Joey LaMotta who is the brother of Jake LaMotta. Joe's performance was very slimy and very encouraging and helpful because he was a one-time manager of Jake in his boxing fights. Joey LaMotta was also a boxer but for a short time and wasn't as well known as Jake. His record was 32 wins (22 KOs), 5 losses, and 2 draws. Cathy Moriarty's performance as Vickie reminds me a lot of Sue Lyon's performance in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita because she is a blonde haired young girl who is just irresistible to adults. Cathy was 9 years younger than her husband Jake even though I think she looked a lot younger than he was.


Martin Scorsese's directing in Raging Bull is absolutely awesome. I read that Scorsese was unsure about making a boxing film because Scorsese isn't really into sports but it was Robert De Niro who persuaded him to make it and it was a damn good choice that he did make it because it turned out to be the greatest sport film of all time. This is obviously a sport film but Scorsese makes it have that aggressive gangster/criminal taste within it partly because of Jake's aggressive personality and very short temper. The way this film is written is absolutely typical from Scorsese and is very rare from a sport film.


Raging Bull is without a doubt the greatest sports film of all time. It is my favourite Scorsese film. It is one of Robert De Niro's best performances. I do love his performances in Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, The Godfather: Part II and The Deer Hunter as well. Raging Bull is one of my favourite films of the 1980s. It is also one of my favourite bio-pic films too. Raging Bull is a sports masterpiece that I would watch quite regularly without getting bored of it.