Raging Bull: A Mistakenly Flopped Masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (12 October 2014)

"Go get 'em, champ." Jake LaMotta tells himself right before the credits role of the 1980 box office flop Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring his life long friends and award winning actors Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. Despite it's shameful box office performance, (making only $23 million with a budget of $18 million), the movie is considered a classic and one of the best films of it's time. It was nominated for eight Oscars: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Robert De Niro), Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty), Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Cinematography, and Best Sound. It only won two of the eight Oscars (Best Actor in a Leading Role: Robert De Niro, and Best Film Editing). Many question why it did so bad at the Box Office despite it's great reviews and ratings, one of which landing it at #112 of IMDb's Top 250 movies of all time. Perhaps it lacked the "feel good, underdog victory" aspect related to Rocky (1976), or it could be that many movie-goers go to see films to escape from the harsh realities of life rather than be confronted with them. However, the use of black and white and lighting proves the film as one the of the best of it's time. De Niro's intense performance of a conflicted up and coming boxer dealing with not only the stresses of being an athlete but with his ongoing (and abusive) feuds with his wife (Cathy Moriarty) and manager/brother (Joe Pesci) prove he was unmatched at the time, deserving his Oscar. Despite the brutal, violent, and ultimately depressing themes of the film, the second collaboration of Scorsese and De Niro proves through it's acting, directing, and cinematography that it deserved to have done much better at the box office.