Raging Bull
Cast
Robert De Niro .... Jake La Motta
Cathy Moriarty .... Vickie La Motta
Joe Pesci .... Joey La Motta
Frank Vincent .... Salvy
Nicholas Colasanto .... Tommy Como
Directed by
Martin Scorsese
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
7/10. Is there anything worse than the overrated classic? I think not, and
one movie that falls into that category is Raging Bull. Almost
universally praised by both audiences and critics alike, it's one of
those true "classics". But is it really? To me, it's just
another "good movie": one that if it were released today, I wouldn't
feel as bad giving it this review that's lower than most others.
Alas, I'll get tons of backlash for this review.
Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro, in a weight-gaining role only
outshadowed by Vincent D'Onofrio in Full Metal Jacket) is a boxer at
the top of his game. He's the middleweight world champion, he
recently got married to a beautiful woman (Cathy Moriarty). However,
he's not very stable emotionally, and throughout the course of his
life, starts to break down. Joe Pesci pops in and out randomly as
Jake's manager/brother Joey. But in this movie, he's not funny like a
clown.
I found Raging Bull to be a very interesting movie. It's a biopic
about someone I hadn't even heard of before I heard of this movie. It
successfully shows the whole life of someone, not just portions of
it, like others do. It gets down deep into the characters, especially
Jake, and shows what affects each of the three main characters and
why they do what they do. Most movies could learn from this one.
However, I didn't really "feel" anything while watching it. Jake was
an interesting chracter, but I didn't feel along with him. When
various events occured, I wasn't affected in the way I should have
been. I think Martin Scorsese really made a superficial film here. He
makes an impressive film to look at, especially in the black and
white, and the acting of everyone is great, but underneath the
surface, there's nothing really there. But I hope I haven't dissuaded
you from seeing Raging Bull. It is a very good movie, and one that
you can't go through life without seeing.
Rated R for violence and language.
Running time: 129 minutes
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