Boxing Biography

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2004)

"Raging Bull" is a dark, and disturbing close up study of middle-weight boxer Jake "The Bull" LaMotta.
First up, do not try to make any comparisons with "Rocky". The films, while from a similar era, are far too different to compare. Whereas "Rocky" is, ultimately, a feel-good flick, "Raging Bull" is a biography full of violence and self-destruction.
Two things in particular that make this film stand out are firstly the fight scenes themselves. The close-up camera angles, combined with the incredible use of sound editing really enables the audience to "feel" every single punch as LaMotta gives himself over to a pummelling.
Secondly, this may well be Robert DeNiro's finest hour. DeNiro is so personal in his style and so exact in his representation of real-life, that you sometimes feel almost embarrassed to be watching him, during some of the more disturbing scenes (those that take place outside of the ring).

"Raging Bull" is a phenom, and alongside "Taxi Driver", "GoodFellas", "Casino" and "Gangs Of New York", undoubtedly one of Scorsese's finest works.