Raging Bull
2.5/4
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto
Rated R (probably for Graphic Brutal Violence, Strong Language and Sexuality)
At the end of the film when Jake La Motta is in jail and pounding the cement walls with his bare fists, he breaks down, sobbing, "I'm not an animal." Funny. That's the exact word I'd use to describe him. A vicious, almost rabid animal. When the real La Motta watched this film, he asked the real Vicky La Motta, "Was I really like that?" Her reply: "You were worse."
That alone should tell you a lot of what you need to know about the man.
"Raging Bull" is less about narrative and more a kaleidoscope of intimate moments that paint a complete picture of the infamous boxer Jake La Motta (De Niro). Done right, this can work, but it isn't. Which is surprising considering that it was directed by Martin Scorcese. Too much of the background happens off screen. Not enough is explained. The secondary characters are unidentified. Honestly, it feels a lot like a film by a wannabe auteur who seeks to make "art" by giving us the minutiae and leaving the audience to intuit the most important scenes. A film should not require a huge amount of background knowledge going in. Particularly if it isn't about a subject that virtually everyone in the audience will know.
That doesn't mean that it's a total loss. It isn't. The movie may not have "worked," but it contains strong performances. The three principal actors, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty, are in top form. Joe Pesci is in fine form who understands his brother's impulses but cannot shield anyone (including himself) from them. He's the brains of the two of them, but that doesn't help much. Cathy Moriarty makes a sparkling debut as the feisty beauty that Jake falls for until his paranoia takes over. Both earned well-deserved Oscar nominations, although neither won.
Then there's Robert DeNiro, the film's undisputed star. DeNiro is very good here, although he's been better elsewhere ("Heat" and "Taxi Driver" come to mind). Jake is physically strong, but mentally and emotionally he is weak. He can beat an enemy into submission, but he is not bright at all and is so tortured by his insecurities that he can't trust women who love him. After he wins the girl, he eventually becomes convinced that they are unfaithful. Then the violence starts. While not exceptionally graphic (at least compared to the boxing scenes), they are savage enough to bring to mind the spousal abuse scenes in the searing "Once Were Warriors." DeNiro throws himself into the role, doing a thousand rounds with the real Jake and entered into three real boxing matches. He won two, and Jake thought he could have been a real pro boxer and would have been happy to manage and coach him. DeNiro even gained a then-record 60 pounds for the scenes detailing the pathetic post-boxing career of La Motta (it was subsequently broken by Vincent D'Onofrio who gained 70 pounds for "Full Metal Jacket"). Ironically, that's part of the problem. Although it is DeNiro, it looks like bad make up to the point where it's distracting.
The film is gorgeous to look at. Filmed in picturesque black and white (primarily to differentiate is from the equally overrated "Rocky"), it captures the setting perfectly and also adds to a documentary-like quality that both helps and hurts the film. One might be given the impression that such a decision would limit the impact of the violence. Actually, it enhances it. This is a brutal and gruesome motion picture. The violence is intimate and relentless. Bodies are pummeled, faces are smashed, and blood sprays left and right (at one point, the judges get showered in it). When Jake's opponents are done, they seem to be on the verge of death. Calling this movie a "boxing movie" is a misrepresentation, although the production team did extensive filming to get them exactly right.
I love Martin Scorcese. His films are always worth watching even when they are near misses. He's too talented a filmmaker to make a bad one, but he can make one that feels incomplete. The film feels emotionally barren; all the life and passion that one expects from Scorcese are missing, perhaps intentionally so. This is not a pleasant film to watch. But what's more disappointing is how I never felt like I got to know the characters. Roger Ebert once said, "When a movie character is really working, we become that character." That didn't happen to me when I was watching "Raging Bull."
Still, no one will ever get me to say that "Raging Bull" is a "bad" movie in any sense of the word. Disappointing, yes. But not bad. If nothing else, it revamped Martin Scorcese's career. In 1978, the filmmaker was at a personal low due to a near overdose on cocaine. Robert DeNiro, who had read the book upon which the film is based during filming of "The Godfather: Part II," told him that he had to clean himself up and make the movie. Scorcese initially refused, as he didn't like sports movies, but he did and he eventually became one of America's premiere filmmakers. Many, including Scorcese himself, claim that what DeNiro did saved his life. So that's a plus. I'm just disappointed that the movie didn't work out better.
But that's just my opinion.
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto
Rated R (probably for Graphic Brutal Violence, Strong Language and Sexuality)
At the end of the film when Jake La Motta is in jail and pounding the cement walls with his bare fists, he breaks down, sobbing, "I'm not an animal." Funny. That's the exact word I'd use to describe him. A vicious, almost rabid animal. When the real La Motta watched this film, he asked the real Vicky La Motta, "Was I really like that?" Her reply: "You were worse."
That alone should tell you a lot of what you need to know about the man.
"Raging Bull" is less about narrative and more a kaleidoscope of intimate moments that paint a complete picture of the infamous boxer Jake La Motta (De Niro). Done right, this can work, but it isn't. Which is surprising considering that it was directed by Martin Scorcese. Too much of the background happens off screen. Not enough is explained. The secondary characters are unidentified. Honestly, it feels a lot like a film by a wannabe auteur who seeks to make "art" by giving us the minutiae and leaving the audience to intuit the most important scenes. A film should not require a huge amount of background knowledge going in. Particularly if it isn't about a subject that virtually everyone in the audience will know.
That doesn't mean that it's a total loss. It isn't. The movie may not have "worked," but it contains strong performances. The three principal actors, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty, are in top form. Joe Pesci is in fine form who understands his brother's impulses but cannot shield anyone (including himself) from them. He's the brains of the two of them, but that doesn't help much. Cathy Moriarty makes a sparkling debut as the feisty beauty that Jake falls for until his paranoia takes over. Both earned well-deserved Oscar nominations, although neither won.
Then there's Robert DeNiro, the film's undisputed star. DeNiro is very good here, although he's been better elsewhere ("Heat" and "Taxi Driver" come to mind). Jake is physically strong, but mentally and emotionally he is weak. He can beat an enemy into submission, but he is not bright at all and is so tortured by his insecurities that he can't trust women who love him. After he wins the girl, he eventually becomes convinced that they are unfaithful. Then the violence starts. While not exceptionally graphic (at least compared to the boxing scenes), they are savage enough to bring to mind the spousal abuse scenes in the searing "Once Were Warriors." DeNiro throws himself into the role, doing a thousand rounds with the real Jake and entered into three real boxing matches. He won two, and Jake thought he could have been a real pro boxer and would have been happy to manage and coach him. DeNiro even gained a then-record 60 pounds for the scenes detailing the pathetic post-boxing career of La Motta (it was subsequently broken by Vincent D'Onofrio who gained 70 pounds for "Full Metal Jacket"). Ironically, that's part of the problem. Although it is DeNiro, it looks like bad make up to the point where it's distracting.
The film is gorgeous to look at. Filmed in picturesque black and white (primarily to differentiate is from the equally overrated "Rocky"), it captures the setting perfectly and also adds to a documentary-like quality that both helps and hurts the film. One might be given the impression that such a decision would limit the impact of the violence. Actually, it enhances it. This is a brutal and gruesome motion picture. The violence is intimate and relentless. Bodies are pummeled, faces are smashed, and blood sprays left and right (at one point, the judges get showered in it). When Jake's opponents are done, they seem to be on the verge of death. Calling this movie a "boxing movie" is a misrepresentation, although the production team did extensive filming to get them exactly right.
I love Martin Scorcese. His films are always worth watching even when they are near misses. He's too talented a filmmaker to make a bad one, but he can make one that feels incomplete. The film feels emotionally barren; all the life and passion that one expects from Scorcese are missing, perhaps intentionally so. This is not a pleasant film to watch. But what's more disappointing is how I never felt like I got to know the characters. Roger Ebert once said, "When a movie character is really working, we become that character." That didn't happen to me when I was watching "Raging Bull."
Still, no one will ever get me to say that "Raging Bull" is a "bad" movie in any sense of the word. Disappointing, yes. But not bad. If nothing else, it revamped Martin Scorcese's career. In 1978, the filmmaker was at a personal low due to a near overdose on cocaine. Robert DeNiro, who had read the book upon which the film is based during filming of "The Godfather: Part II," told him that he had to clean himself up and make the movie. Scorcese initially refused, as he didn't like sports movies, but he did and he eventually became one of America's premiere filmmakers. Many, including Scorcese himself, claim that what DeNiro did saved his life. So that's a plus. I'm just disappointed that the movie didn't work out better.
But that's just my opinion.
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