Ostensibly, the movie is the true story of 1940s middleweight champion Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro), whose inner demons fuel professional success but destroy him outside the ring.
Robert De Niro Gains 60 Pounds For Some Scenes
This is the film for which production stopped while Robert De Niro famously gained 60 pounds to play the older Jake La Motta after his fight days were over.
It opens with the bloated, aging ex-fighter rehearsing a puerile nightclub "act" which represents his second career. But Scorsese quickly flashes back to young, buff La Motta at a 1941 fight in Cleveland to begin the bulk of the narrative, told in sequence from that point onward.
Jake's loutish ways are quickly revealed in a yelling, telling scene with his first wife, Irma. When an unseen neighbor yells from a nearby apartment, "You're an animal," La Motta is instantly defined.
Joe Pesci Co-Stars as La Motta's Loyal Brother
In that same scene, La Motta turns his scattershot rage at his brother Joey (Joe Pesci), who's also his manager. He goads Joey into hitting him in the face, repeatedly and pointlessly, which Jake presumably thinks will prove his own toughness.
We've only scratched the surface of Jake's increasingly unstable personality. As the story unfolds, his irrational jealousy and accusations of infidelity and disloyalty beg the essential chicken-or-egg question: Did Jake become a violent nut job as the result of fighting? Or was he a violent nut job who chose to vent in the ring?
Or does it really matter?
The irony is that Jake's mental deterioration is directly responsible for his ring supremacy. The madness fuels both his success and sense of invincibility, even as it slowly destroys him and drives away everyone around him.
Biblical Issues Abound in Raging Bull
The film is also a biblical essay on brotherly relations. The ultra-loyal Joey is Jake's self-appointed keeper, to the point of absurdity. Scorsese (and screenwriters Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin) are questioning the wisdom of absolute loyalty, regardless of family ties.
(To his credit, Joey finally abandons Jake, which sets up one of the movie's great set pieces, as the aging, repentent Jake spots his long-estranged brother on the street one night and follows him, begging to be forgiven.)
Similarly, Scorsese probes Jake's tumultuous relationship with his second wife, Vickie.
Cathy Moriarty Makes Movie Debut as Vickie La Motta
We meet the erotic Vickie (Cathy Moriarty, in a startling film debut) at 15, holding court poolside in the neighborhood. Jake's early tenderness toward her soon gives way to his predictably escalating tirades. But to Vickie's credit, she is up to the challenge posed by the champ.
Jake's downhill spiral ends in a cell at the Dade County Stockade, as the sobbing has-been blindly bashes the cinder block walls, bloodying his head, hands and, figuratively, his heart.
De Niro rightfully won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance. The film's other Academy Award went to editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Editor Thelma Schoonmaker Makes Fight Scenes Shine
Her work on the fight scenes is remarkable. They are alternately balletic and raw, with frequent slo-mo moments aided by Chapman's eye and the brilliant score by Mascagni.
Overall, Raging Bull received eight Oscar nominations, including best picture, director Scorsese, cinematographer Chapman, supporting actor Pesci, supporting actress Moriarty and best sound.
Jake's redemption comes indirectly in the final scene, although Scorsese's biblical quote at picture's end, meant to put the redemption in cinematic bold face, has been criticized for its obviousness.
What can't be questioned is the film's heart, which De Niro wears on Jake's sleeve throughout this magnificent film.
Robert De Niro Gains 60 Pounds For Some Scenes
This is the film for which production stopped while Robert De Niro famously gained 60 pounds to play the older Jake La Motta after his fight days were over.
It opens with the bloated, aging ex-fighter rehearsing a puerile nightclub "act" which represents his second career. But Scorsese quickly flashes back to young, buff La Motta at a 1941 fight in Cleveland to begin the bulk of the narrative, told in sequence from that point onward.
Jake's loutish ways are quickly revealed in a yelling, telling scene with his first wife, Irma. When an unseen neighbor yells from a nearby apartment, "You're an animal," La Motta is instantly defined.
Joe Pesci Co-Stars as La Motta's Loyal Brother
In that same scene, La Motta turns his scattershot rage at his brother Joey (Joe Pesci), who's also his manager. He goads Joey into hitting him in the face, repeatedly and pointlessly, which Jake presumably thinks will prove his own toughness.
We've only scratched the surface of Jake's increasingly unstable personality. As the story unfolds, his irrational jealousy and accusations of infidelity and disloyalty beg the essential chicken-or-egg question: Did Jake become a violent nut job as the result of fighting? Or was he a violent nut job who chose to vent in the ring?
Or does it really matter?
The irony is that Jake's mental deterioration is directly responsible for his ring supremacy. The madness fuels both his success and sense of invincibility, even as it slowly destroys him and drives away everyone around him.
Biblical Issues Abound in Raging Bull
The film is also a biblical essay on brotherly relations. The ultra-loyal Joey is Jake's self-appointed keeper, to the point of absurdity. Scorsese (and screenwriters Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin) are questioning the wisdom of absolute loyalty, regardless of family ties.
(To his credit, Joey finally abandons Jake, which sets up one of the movie's great set pieces, as the aging, repentent Jake spots his long-estranged brother on the street one night and follows him, begging to be forgiven.)
Similarly, Scorsese probes Jake's tumultuous relationship with his second wife, Vickie.
Cathy Moriarty Makes Movie Debut as Vickie La Motta
We meet the erotic Vickie (Cathy Moriarty, in a startling film debut) at 15, holding court poolside in the neighborhood. Jake's early tenderness toward her soon gives way to his predictably escalating tirades. But to Vickie's credit, she is up to the challenge posed by the champ.
Jake's downhill spiral ends in a cell at the Dade County Stockade, as the sobbing has-been blindly bashes the cinder block walls, bloodying his head, hands and, figuratively, his heart.
De Niro rightfully won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance. The film's other Academy Award went to editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Editor Thelma Schoonmaker Makes Fight Scenes Shine
Her work on the fight scenes is remarkable. They are alternately balletic and raw, with frequent slo-mo moments aided by Chapman's eye and the brilliant score by Mascagni.
Overall, Raging Bull received eight Oscar nominations, including best picture, director Scorsese, cinematographer Chapman, supporting actor Pesci, supporting actress Moriarty and best sound.
Jake's redemption comes indirectly in the final scene, although Scorsese's biblical quote at picture's end, meant to put the redemption in cinematic bold face, has been criticized for its obviousness.
What can't be questioned is the film's heart, which De Niro wears on Jake's sleeve throughout this magnificent film.
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