Back on the Big Screen... Raging Bull

Martin Scorsese's blistering boxing drama returns to cinema screens in a new 4K Restoration

Words: Alex Barrett

Based on the real-life (mis)adventures of world middleweight champion Jake LaMotta, Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull presents a devastating portrait of a ferociously fragile masculinity. As LaMotta, a hard-headed man torn apart by aggression and jealousy, Robert De Niro gives a powerhouse performance that earned him an Oscar – famously, his dedication to the role involved gaining over 60 pounds during production so that he could realistically portray LaMotta during his gone-to-seed later years. The film also launched the careers of Joe Pesci, in the role of LaMotta’s motor-mouthed brother, and Cathy Moriarty, as LaMotta’s second wife – both of whom more than hold their own during the film’s rapid-fire verbal sparring.

In telling the story of LaMotta’s tumultuous life, Scorsese and De Niro (who also did an uncredited rewrite on the script) focus as much on his personal failings as his professional achievements. In doing so, they imbue him with a religious intensity, and his downfall quickly takes on the dimension of a spiritual punishment. This sense is bolstered by the film’s expressionistic approach to the fight scenes, which place the viewer right inside the ring. There, we get up close and personal not only with the violent batterings, but also with their emotional underpinnings. The fact that Scorsese’s film wrings such pathos from a man who behaves so monstrously throughout is a testament to the superb craftsmanship underlining Raging Bull at every level.

Incredibly, the film received a lukewarm reception upon its initial release in 1980, with its outlandish violence proving too much for some. But, as ever with Scorsese, the violence never strays beyond servicing the story, and the film has rightly come to be recognised as an all-time masterpiece of American cinema.