Raging Bull Review

        It’s no debate that whenever a boxing movie comes out, its comparison to Rocky is inevitable. How could a movie top a quintessential story about an underdog going through the limit of what’s unimaginable for him. During the 70s it really resonated with audiences and ultimately won Best Picture. In the early 80s, a sequel was already out but it wasn’t quite as good as the original. And you have the obligatory copy cat movies that tried to imitate Rocky but lacked the nuance. To me, I feel that Raging Bull is the antithesis of Rocky. Specifically, both films are equal in how they show the athlete and the pains of being a boxer. 

1. Jake LaMotta 

        This film is by no means an underdog story. Behind the scenes of the film is warranted with the context. From what I gathered, Robert De Niro had read about the boxer and had wanted Martin Scorsese to do an adaptation. At the time, Scorsese had directed his first flop, and was developing a drug habit when his movie was panned severely. Having nothing to lose and deciding to direct one last time in the States, he ultimately granted De Niro’s wishes and made the film. 

        With that, we follow the boxer who’s making a name for himself in his weight class. He’s a very ferocious fighter who hits and swings with intensity. Despite the first fight that we see, he loses. His brother Joey helps Jake be his manager and schedules fights. Jake aspires to be in the Heavyweight since he’s mostly good at the division he’s in. 

        As I said before, this isn’t an underdog story or an inspiring story. We get to see the personal side of the boxer that is the opposite of Rocky Balboa. Nothing is held back at the level of abuse and personal problems that have plagued Jake. I think it’s intentional since it subverts what the audience thinks about boxing films. One would think that we would see a humble guy box for a reason, you know, to prove doubters wrong. 

        Robert De Niro absolutely nails the performance down. With the movies I’ve seen so far with him, I think this comes close to my personal favorite. Just the way he acts when he’s with his brother and with his wife is interesting. Well, interesting in a way where we see a man who’s already accomplished slowly losing it. To me, it’s a radical approach to have a main character be like this, especially in a sports film. 

        I’ll elaborate more on his character in the next tab, but I want to say that he can sell being easily short-fused. The moments when he starts to be paranoid and to abuse his brother is something that is unsettling. It’s the psyche that is at play since he doesn’t trust his wife and assumes that she’s cheating on him. Just seeing Jake slap his brother and even confront him later in his own house is played so straight where you believe the actual boxer was like that. 

        I might as well talk about the boxing scenes, which in total last a good 10 minutes. Aside from that, this is one of the first instances where the fight is shot inside the ring, while others are shot in a vantage point. Sort of mirroring a pay per view broadcast. This is probably the most violent that I’ve seen a boxing movie so far. One tidbit that I like in a stylistic manner is that the matches that we see, the boxing ring seems bigger than what we would expect. Especially in the penultimate fight between LaMotta and Sugar Ray Robinson. 

2. Sports Tragedy

        I think this is one of those rare moments in any sports movie to ever have the main subject slowly fall from grace. As far as I know, sports films tend to be formulaic with how it goes plot wise. Not as a detriment but have that element where the audience roots for the character or see a team reach the top and either win or lose. I think winning isn’t so much the main idea, but to gain the validation of making it to the championship where it seemed impossible. 

        With this movie, it’s something to behold since we have a movie that doesn’t follow none of that whatsoever. I think with him wanting to be a heavyweight was the main framing idea, but it immediately gets switched when we see the insecurity plague LaMotta as he turns on the only support that he has. To me its like watching a person self-destruct and you wish that he would inevitably turn around. 

        I think the ending is such a sad way to see the boxer at his lowest point. I don’t want to give too much away, but when he tries to pawn the jewelry from his title belt, is just frustrating and sad to what he has become. I think Scorsese had the right idea to show that the athlete wasn’t the typical humble guy or a nobody. We see a man who’s own brute force couldn’t help but destroy his own life. 

3. Overall

        Raging Bull is at the top of Martin Scorsese’s best film. It’s tough to rank them since he has an illustrious career, but I think this is my second favorite.