Raging Bull
Photo: Courtesy of United ArtistsRaging Bull
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Review

Raging Bull

5 out of 5 stars
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Time Out says

‘You was my brudda. You shoulda looked out for me a little bit… I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum…’ When the washed-up Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro) quotes ‘On The Waterfront’ to himself, it tells us as much about his self-pity as the actual parallels with Brando’s Terry Malloy. Not just a contender but a champ, La Motta’s fall stemmed not from outside pressures but inner weaknesses, stunningly realised in De Niro’s colossal performance; both he and Scorsese have arguably never been better. Following from 1941 to 1964 the explosively jealous and narcissistic middle-weight, his brother-manager Joey – Joe Pesci, great in his breakthrough role, first of the badabing pairings with De Niro that would define his career – and Jake’s tenderised wife Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), ‘Raging Bull’ is a masterclass in pain inflicted on oneself and one’s loved ones, as well as one’s opponents. The use of pop and opera and the black-and-white photography (by Michael Chapman) are exemplary, the actual boxing a compulsive dance of death.

Release Details

  • Rated:18
  • Release date:Friday 17 August 2007
  • Duration:129 mins

Cast and crew

  • Director:Martin Scorsese
  • Screenwriter:Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin
  • Cast:
    • Robert De Niro
    • Nicholas Colasanto
    • Cathy Moriarty
    • Joe Pesci
    • Mario Gallo
    • Frank Vincent
    • Theresa Saldana
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