Like a train wreck you just can't stop watching...

Rating: 9/10 (7 March 2010)

Wow. This is an incredibly unpleasant film about a particularly unpleasant man. However, as the main character (boxer Jake LaMotta) is SO unpleasant and awful, the film is hard to stop watching--like some sort of train wreck that lasts 129 minutes! Now I am NOT saying the film isn't well made--it's very well crafted and there a lot of things to admire about it....but the characters (particularly Jake) are so awful that you just marvel at them.
The film is the life story of Jake LaMotta and it covers from his early days as a professional boxer in 1941 through his early post-boxing years. However, there are many things that make it quite different from films like "Somebody Up There Likes Me" and "Rocky"--and not just the bubbling hostility of Jake outside the ring. In addition, those around him are incredibly harsh and unpleasant. It's funny, but the mobsters around him are NICER than the LaMottas (Jake and his almost as vicious brother, Joey) and you see them as the gentlemen in the film! Also, unlike these other boxer films, this one shows the brutality in the ring to a degree only approximated in one other film--Kirk Douglas' "Champion"--though "Raging Bull" manages to go a few steps further in the brutality department. A few of the boxing scenes, in particular, are amazingly graphic--with broken noses and squirting blood galore. Now I know I might sound crazy saying this, but this Martin Scorsese film is probably one of the best indictments AGAINST boxing because it IS so bloody and brutal. I'd place it among films like "Requium For a Heavyweight" and "The Harder They Fall" as the best in anti-boxing films! So let's talk about the technical aspects of the film. When it comes to the boxing sequences, this is an amazing film. As I said above, the brutality of the scenes is stomach-turning. And, instead of quickly filming the matches, the director chose to choreograph them so maximize the emotional impact--with loud thuds, great lighting and amazing effects to simulate the gallons of blood spilled in the fights. My only complaint about the fights is that the boxers simply threw too many punches. No boxing match (even the lightweight ones) has THAT much punching in rapid succession. If they did, they'd never go more than three rounds, as the fighters would collapse from exhaustion! But, this exaggeration did make the scenes more intense, so I saw it as a case of artistic license. As for making the film in black & white, I think this also worked well.
The acting was pretty amazing. A lot has been said about Robert DiNero's commitment to the role--and how he deliberately ballooned up 60 pounds to play the retired LaMotta. In addition, the intense physical training he underwent to become the character was amazing. You have to admire his willingness to give his all for the part! When I looked for pictures of Jake, Joey and Mrs. LaMotta, I was also amazed that the actors (DiNero, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty) really did look a lot like the actual people they portrayed--a nice touch. Overall, an exceptional film in most every way, though it's NOT a film for everyone. The unpleasantness of the film make it something that many simply don't want to endure--and I can certainly understand this--it is bloody and vicious throughout.