Raging Bull (1980)
Starring
Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci
Director
Martin Scorsese
Awards
Academy Awards
Best Actor- Robert De Niro
Best Editing - Thelma Schoonmaker
Academy Award Nominations
Best Director - Martin Scorsese
Best Picture
Plot Synopsis
Raging Bull is one of the most unforgiving and
unforgettable character studies ever filmed. The hero, Jake La Motta, is an
Italian-American, Bronx-born boxer plagued by the demons of his Catholic upbringing and by
his insane machismo. Mentally and emotionally limited to the extreme, La Motta's only mode
of expression is violence, both in the ring and out. Raging Bull chronicles the
downward spiral of La Motta's life, as his inability to control his brutal rage destroys
his marriage, his relationship with his brother and, eventually, his career. Widely hailed
as the best film of the 1980s, Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull is an expressionistic
tour-de-force.
Film Notes
"Martin Scorsese's 1980 Raging Bull has been
identified in recent years as one of America's greatest films, and understandably so.
Robert De Niro won a richly deserved Academy Award for portraying fighter Jake La Motta,
an extremely difficult New York boxer who has to contend with his own temper and jealousy,
as well as the Mob and the boxing establishment. Joe Pesci is very good as La Motta's
long-suffering brother, and Cathy Moriarty made a strong screen debut as the brawler's
glamorous wife. The highly contrasted black-and- white film has a richness, texture, and
even sensuality about it that, together with Scorsese's amazing editing (with his
Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker) and De Niro's focused, tragic performance, is
unforgettable." (Tom Keogh, Amazon.com)
Robert De Niro gained 50 pounds and spent hours learning how to
box in order to play Jake La Motta. It was the beginning of a trend among American actors
of excessive preparation for film roles. Additional cast members: Frank Topham (Toppy);
Johnny Barnes (Sugar Ray Robinson); Floyd Anderson (Fighter); Kevin Mahon (Fighter); Ed
Gregory (Fighter); Louis Raftis (Fighter); Johnny Turner (Fighter). Additional technical
credits: Al Silvani, boxing technical advisor; Frank Topham, technical advisor. Music from
prerecorded classical and pop sources. Color by Technicolor.
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