Mesmerizing film

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 1999)

Great direction by the best director alive. Outstanding black and white cinematography, acting,and editing. The best boxing scenes ever filmed. I love the way Scorsese emphasizes that violence and sex are equivalent for Jake. Scorsese shows this in the scene where Jake pours ice water on penis to suppress sex drive just before a fight. After the fight, Scorsese shows a prolonged closeup of Jake's fist in a bucket of ice water. Therefore equating Jakes fist and his penis. Scorsese also cuts from scenes of Jake and his wife (usually romantic in nature) to scenes of him boxing,continually emphasizing that sex and violence are equivalent forms of release to Jake. A cinematic masterpiece.