Although he could fight, he'd much rather recite... that's entertainment

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2006)

Don't be misled into thinking that Raging Bull is simply a film about boxing, à-la Rocky. It does indeed focus on the life of a boxer, but there is so much more to it then that. Rather than simply being a sports story of redemption, or something of the like, Raging Bull is one of the most startling and powerful portraits of stunted machismo ever captured on film. De Niro, following up on other such personas of tough guy losers, gives arguably his strongest performance here as Jake La Motta, who slowly but surely tore down everything he had managed to accumulate around him, including a marriage, relationships with all those close to him, and his hard won boxing career. De Niro is clearly the center of attention here, and he lives up to his reputation with wonderful flair, his performance is one of the most deserving of his Oscar in history.
But don't go thinking this is a one man show, although De Niro's electrifying performance is easily the highlight of the movie, once again, there's so much more to it then that. For one thing, the technical genius of director Martin Scorsese, whose bold decision to shoot the film in black and white paid off immensely, giving the film a stark, bold look, almost like an old photograph, lost in the depths of time. It's really a shame more movies aren't shot in black and white these days, in today's colour saturated world, the occasional flash devoid of colour can come as quite the relief.
The legendary fight scenes are also incredible, with Scorsese determined to get his cameras directly in the middle of the action, instead of simply watching from a distance. We as an audience genuinely seem to feel every bone jarring punch, which really helps us sympathize with La Motta, rather than creating an antagonist out of the character. In fact, one of the most praiseworthy aspects of the film is Scorsese's ability to maintain a completely balanced view of the character, never taking sides to present him as a hero or a villain - a flawed lead in all cases. Even at times of spousal abuse and such, when we are genuinely meant to hate the character, we still realize exactly what in La Motta's troubled psyche is making him do such a thing, and still, somehow manage to empathize with the character.
Although the film really does belong to De Niro, he is ably supported by numerous similarly phenomenal supporting performances. Joe Pesci gives a terrific performance as La Motta's brother who also falls prey to Jake's increasing paranoia and aggression. The scene between Jake and Joey with Jake continually challenging his brother to hit him as hard as he can is one of the most powerful in the movie. Cathy Moriarty is also memorable as La Motta's 15 year old trophy girlfriend, who, even though at one point being the one person he could trust, also finds herself pushed away by the boxer's growing distrust of everyone. These two fantastic performances provide excellent backup for the incredible De Niro.
All in all, it seems fair to say Raging Bull is one of the most powerful and well made films in film history - with Martin Scorsese establishing himself as a master director, and Robert De Niro giving an astonishingly affecting performance, perhaps the strongest of his career, driving the stunted machismo mood of the film home. Definitely worth seeing, if you have yet to do so!
-10/10