Classic Flicks: Raging Bull scores Scorsese a timeless knockout

By Joseph Allencherril     1/17/12 6:00pm

It has taken so long for me to write a review on Martin Scorsese because I assumed the whole world knew and loved his films and the thickly bespectacled, furry-browed, Italian New Yorker didn't need any more attention. However, the other day, I made a reference to Raging Bull in conversation. "Raging what?" my fellow conversant asked. I then realized there is a problem with the state of Scorsese awareness.

Raging Bull is not the most well-known film in Scorsese's oeuvre, but it's certainly one of the most emotionally true. Raging Bull has been declared the greatest film of the 1980s by several film critic polls, which is pretty impressive considering Scorsese greatly doubted whether his film would ever see the inviting darkness of a cinema hall.

Adapted from American middleweight champion boxer Jake LaMotta's memoir Raging Bull: My Story, Scorsese's Raging Bull portrays LaMotta's development inside and outside of the ring, from his defeat of the great Sugar Ray Robinson to his marriage to Vickie (Cathy Moriarty, 1320), a juvenile. LaMotta is a man filled with paralyzing rage, which ultimately destroys his personal life. His violent temper  in the ring, however, catapults him  to title-winning fame, not to mention gives him necessary purgatorial cleansing.

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The astute viewer will note that Paul Schrader's screenplay never lingers on boxing strategies, unlike the myriad other films of the genre. What is most significant in Raging Bull is not necessarily what is physically happening within the ring, but what is happening inside LaMotta's mind.

Aspiring actors and actresses take note: Raging Bull showcases some of the best acting ever imprinted on celluloid. Robert De Niro is at his best, practicing the method acting he knows so well. If for nothing else, Raging Bull is worth watching to witness a pudgy De Niro. He actually spent months eating at fine French restaurants to gain the weight he needed to portray the retired and overweight LaMotta. Now that's dedication.

Not surprisingly, De Niro took home the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Joe Pesci scored an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role as LaMotta's brother Joey. It's a good thing De Niro spotted Pesci in a B movie before the Raging Bull auditions because Pesci was just about to give up his acting career.

Nonetheless, this is not just some art-house remake of Rocky with De Niro substituting for Sylvester Stallone. Raging Bull concerns itself with the examination of LaMotta's inner psyche. The fight scenes make Rocky look tame, and many scenes were shot inside the ring itself, an unusual practice for the boxing film genre.

Thankfully for Scorsesephiles, the director has not yet retired from his beloved art. In fact, Scorsese recently released the 3-D animated film Hugo at a time when the directors of his generation seem to look to their childhood for inspiration (case in point: Stephen Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin). Over the years, Scorsese has worked on documentaries in addition to other notable and famous films including Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), After Hours (1985), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Bringing out the Dead (1999), Gangs of New York (2002) and The Departed (2006). Happy watching.

Joseph Allencherril is a Will Rice College junior. Classic Flicks is a column reexamining and rediscovering the best that cinema has to offer.

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