Raging bull is one of those films that gets mind boggling praise. Afi's #4 film of all time, Entertainments Weekly's #5, Premieres 5th greatest performance of all time(for Bobby D). Its about as good as films get.Raging bull tells the story of New York boxer Jake La Motta. Jake prides himself on his ability to take vicious beatings in the ring and keep standing. Its a biopic of a violent muddled man played to near perfection
From its opening shot you know what you are getting into. De Niro boxes the air in slow motion while a sad bit of music plays. Its a brilliant shot that at first makes us see La Motta's ability as a boxer, but after a while it causes a sad and almost defeated feeling. The film is powerfully violent. Its not like Rocky, boxing isn't fun in this film, its ugly. But the real credit to the film is that some how, some way this brute of a man is sympathetic. Across the board the performances are amazing, they feel spur of the moment, so painfully genuine from Pesci and De Niro's brotherly talks to Cathy Moriarty's tortured wife the film hits hard.
Raging Bull never glorifies in anyway the life of Jake La Motta or of boxing in general, its dead serious and its honest in a way rarely seen.
5/5 "A Classic"
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