Very well made by very overrated

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2007)

8 out of 10 may seem high since I just called this movie overrated but the performances and the superb direction by Martin Scorsese help raise this score up a point or maybe two.
Raging Bull is often named the BP of the 1980s by many critics but I never understood how it could be that highly praised. In fact it might just be as overrated as The Shawshank Redemption.
Robert DeNiro is a tour-de-force in this film and he more than deserved his Oscar. Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty (whatever happened to her??) deserved their nominations and Nicholas Collasanto was good as well. I think that Martin Scorsese should have won Best Director for this by a hair over Robert Redford and David Lynch.
The film was so highly hyped (much like Shawshank) that it made me disappointed on the first viewing and while I think it is a masterpiece in terms of its great acting, directing, cinematography, and editing....the screenplay and pacing are what bring the movie down.