A Classic Film by even today's standards!

Rating: 10/10 (16 February 2006)

Martin Scorsese, Joe Pesci, and Robert DeNiro: When these guys get together, you know something big is going to happen and this film is a perfect example of great quality. Raging Bull is Jake LaMotta's rise and fall as an athlete to a nightclub performer. I think this is the film that Joe Pesci shows that even little guys can cause the most harm. When DeNiro and Pesci play the La Motta brothers, you believe it because they have such great chemistry with each other. I don't think Pesci was ever intimidated by Scorsese or DeNiro. This film earned DeNiro his second Academy Award and you can see why. Not only is the transformation, physical but emotional and psychological as well. These characters are flawed, human, and believable with great cast of actors. Don't forget Cathy Moriarty who was discovered to play Jake's young second wife. Even at 18, she can play younger and older and believable. His second wife can be beautiful and smart but trapped in a fractured marriage. She deserved her Academy Award Nomination for Best SUpporting Actress because she can handle herself against DeNiro and we see how he fell in love with her. Don't forget Pesci's wife is played Theresa Saldana who does hold her own. This film shows that black and white can still be beautiful film work. Nicholas Colasanto from Cheers is also in the film as well in a small role. Scorsese's best films are with DeNiro and Pesci at least in my opinion. At the end of the film, I wanted to know more about these characters.