A frightening tale about a man's disintegration into violence.

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2015)

What else can be said about Raging Bull? The story about a boxer who's successful inside the ring but tears his personal life apart outside of it due to his jealousy, rage and paranoia had been transferred from Jake LaMotta's transparently honest biography about his triumphs and pitfalls over the decades into one of cinema's most beautiful creations in past 100 years. Agree or disagree, I consider this to be Scorsese's best movie by a long shot.
Based on the book of the same name, Raging Bull's main star is (unsurprisingly) Jake LaMotta; an up and coming young middleweight boxer who despite taking a few initial setbacks from his rivals like 'Sugar' Ray Robinson he gradually overcomes them through the passage of time and eventually clutches the revered Champion belt in 1949. But throughout this passage of time we see LaMotta fallout with his first wife(?) over a petty piece of steak resulting in her implied exile and then begins an intimate relationship with a blonde teenage girl named Vicki who, despite Jake's younger brother having doubts over the feasibility of it, becomes head over heels to Jake's boisterous attitude and masculinity, the cracks are now showing...
Again like my Scarface review earlier I'm not going to reveal anymore crucial plot elements in case I unnecessarily spoil the film for others but like any other Scorsese product it's impeccably acted by Robert De Niro who perfectly embodies the persona a man brimming with aggressiveness and a horrible knack for fits of jealous rage, Joe Pesci is castes as the equally hot-tempered but well-intentioned Joey LaMotta and Cathy Moriarty plays the vulnerable Vicki LaMotta; husband to a shell of a man she once knew and loved.
Martin Scorsese has never made a better work of art than this, a relatable cautionary tale about what hostile emotions can lead to and its consequences on others is one that everybody should watch and take head especially before the next time somebody contemplates using their wife or any other relative as a punching bag for their irrational feelings.