Raging Snooze

Raging Bull  (1980)

Adam’s rating: ★★1/2  (out of 5)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Rated: R. 129 min.

No. 24 on AFI 100

No. 4 on AFI 100 reissue

No. 75 on IMDB Top 250

Starring: Robert DeNiro,
Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent

"Raging Bull": No. 24 on AFI 100;
No. 4 on AFI 100 (2008); No. 75 on IMDB 250

I generally like Martin Scorsese’s films, even when everyone else doesn’t. Among family members, I’m one of the few that like “Casino,” I really liked “Goodfellas,” and I love everything he’s done in the last decade. And I’m a big fan of “Taxi Driver,” even if it is a bit over-rated.

But I strongly dislike “Raging Bull.”

I think the best word to summarize how I feel is “over-rated.”

For a long time before I had first seen the film, all I heard was people saying, “Have you seen ‘Raging Bull? Have you seen it?’ And it’s possible that the hype from friends raised my expectations a bit. It’s also possible that had I seen the film when I really started to get into movies as a young adult, I might actually think differently of it.

I was completely underwhelmed. And I hate the story.

I realize that it’s a biography and there is not much you can change. But the story of Jake LaMotta, while unique to him and for the time period it is set in, is nothing all that new. For what it’s worth, it’s my impression that with the exception of Muhammad Ali and a select number of other fighters, that all boxers rise to the top of their game at some point and when they’ve reached that pinnacle and finally are no longer the champ, something spirals out of control.

It comes as no surprise that a boxer is violent by nature and that the violence might possibly lead to estrangement from one’s wife, children and other family members. Add drugs and alcohol to the mix as they might turn to these substances to curb the depression of being knocked so far down from their pedestal and you have a recipe for disaster.

Excuse me, but this story is one of no shit, Sherlock.

But don’t take away from Scorsese, DeNiro and Pesci. The acting is superb; it’s believable and the techniques and some of the elements of the film are tremendous. The choice to shoot this in black and white was a fine one and the results are perfect. This film is filled with rich blacks and shadows throughout and it accentuates the overall feel to the film and is worth watching for this fact alone.