No 24- Raging Bull

Billy's review
Rating: 6.9

I have to admit, Raging Bull never really clicked with me first time round. The ring-side scenes are on par with Rocky and much of the story seemed to skip past without context. But, on second viewing, there’s definitely more depth to this Scorsese classic than I initially thought.

Of course, there’s one huge hook to this rags to riches to rags again tale of boxer Jake La Motta – it actually happened. And Robert Di Niro perfectly encapsulates both La Motta’s snraling drive towards the middleweight title and the self-pitying paranoia that confounds his ultimate demise.

Story-wise, it progresses along at breakneck speed, which helps build momentum but sometimes loses important detail, like the irreparable breakdown between La Motta and his brother, wonderfully played by the always exquisite Joe Pesci.

The film’s monochrome aesthetic certainly accentuates La Motta’s drink-affected road to ruin and there’s a wealth of strong performances to help ease you through a dark, nervy hour and a half of beautifully shot cinematography. Yet, much like the bullying, wife-beating deadbeat that La Motta eventually becomes, Raging Bull is difficult to love.


Su's Review
Rating: 3.2

Taxi Driver was a movie staple of my youth and has always had a firm place on my top 20 movies. A combination of Scorsese and DeNiro is naturally symbiotic and though I had never seen Raging Bull I knew I would like it based on their prior work. I was dead wrong.

I hated Raging Bull. Truly hated it. I didn't find Jake La Motta to be either an intriguing character or one that comes to be redeeming in the last act. DeNiro's La Motta was a flat interpretation of a control freak with low self-esteem. The scenes with La Motta and Vicky were cringe-worthy as the latter allowed herself to be steered by the sleazeball around the apartment ending in the bedroom. It was perverted, isn't she 15 after all?

The only part of the movie that was bearable was Joe Pesci's performance. Yes, my cousin Vinny really held it together.

The sound fading in and out felt like a amateur's attempt at adding depth to the movie by directing the watcher's attention to what the director deems important. This was the most disappointing aspect as I though Scorsese was better than that.

I was actually angry when this movie ended at how bad it was. I ended up painting my nails and knitting throughout it. Boo.