Raging Bull (1980)
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, (more)
- Director(s):
- Martin Scorsese
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Category:
- Drama
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Martin Scorsese's brutal character study incisively portrays the true rise and fall and redemption of middleweight boxer Jake La Motta, a violent man in and out of the ring who thrives on his ability (and desire) to take a beating. Opening with the spectacle of the over-the-hill La Motta (Robert De Niro) practicing his 1960s night-club act, the film flashes back to 1940s New York, when Jake's career is on the rise. Despite pressure from the local mobsters, Jake trusts his brother Joey (Joe Pesci) to help him make it to a title bout against Sugar Ray Robinson the honest way; the Mob, however, will not cave in. Jake gets the title bout, and blonde teenage second wife Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), but success does nothing to exorcise his demons, even as he channels his rage into boxing. Alienating Vickie and Joey, and disastrously gaining weight, Jake has destroyed his personal and professional lives by the 1950s. After he hits bottom, however, Jake emerges with a gleam of self-awareness, as he sits rehearsing Marlon Brando's On the Waterfront speech in his dressing room mirror: "I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody." Working with a script adapted by Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader from La Motta's memoirs, Scorsese and De Niro sought to make an uncompromising portrait of an unlikable man and his ruthless profession. Eschewing uplifting Rocky-like boxing movie conventions, their Jake is relentlessly cruel and self-destructive; the only peace he can make is with himself. Michael Chapman's stark black-and-white photography creates a documentary/tabloid realism; the production famously shut down so that De Niro could gain 50-plus pounds. Raging Bull opened in late 1980 to raves for its artistry and revulsion for its protagonist; despite eight Oscar nominations, it underperformed at the box office, as audiences increasingly turned away from "difficult" films in the late '70s and early '80s. The Academy concurred, passing over Scorsese's work for Best Director and Picture in favor of Robert Redford and Ordinary People, although De Niro won a much-deserved Oscar, as did the film's editor, Thelma Schoonmaker. Oscar or no Oscar, Raging Bull has often been cited as the best American film of the 1980s. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 129 mins
Complete Cast:
- Robert De Niro - Jake LaMotta
- Joe Pesci - Joey LaMotta
- Nicholas Colasanto - Tommy Como
- Frank Adonis - Patsy
- Frank Topham - Toppy/Handler
- Kevin Mahon - Tony Janiro
- Louis Raftis - Marcel Cerdan
- Allan Malamud - Reporter at Jake's House
- John Turturro - Man at Table
- Shay Duffin - Ring Announcer (Janiro Fight)
- Jack Lotz - Referee (Fox Fight)
- Daniel P. Conte - Detroit Promoter
- Vic Magnotta - Fighting Soldier
- Geraldine Smith - Janet
- Bill Mazer - Reporter
- Ted Husing - Himself (TV Announcer 3rd Robinson Fight)
- Mary Albee - Underage I.D. Girl
- Don Dunphy - Himself/Radio Announcer (Dauthuille Fight)
- Jimmy Lennon, Sr. - Ring Announcer (2nd Robinson Fight/Dauthuille Fight)
- Mardik Martin - Copa Waiter
- Coley Wallace - Joe Louis
- Kenny Davis - Referee (1st Robinson Fight)
- Bob Aaron - Prison Guard #1
- Bernie Allen - Comedian
- Peter Savage - Jackie Curtie
- Richard McMurray - J.R.
- Wally K. Berns - Arresting Deputy #2
- Cathy Moriarty - Vickie LaMotta
- Frank Vincent - Salvy
- Theresa Saldana - Lenore
- Mario Gallo - Mario
- Johnny Barnes - Sugar Ray Robinson
- Ed Gregory - Billy Fox
- Johnny Turner - Laurent Dauthuille
- Bill Hanrahan - Eddie Eagan
- Peter Petrella - Johnny
- Kevin Breslin - Heckler
- Peter Fain - Dauthuille Corner Man
- Charles Scorsese - Charlie - Man with Como
- Marty Denkin - Referee (Janiro Fight)
- Lou Tiano - Ricky
- Lori Anne Flax - Irma
- Michael Badalucco - Soda Fountain Clerk
- Martin Scorsese - Barbizon Stagehand
- Joseph Bono - Guido
- Candy Moore - Linda
- Count Billy Varga - Ring Announcer (3rd Robinson Fight)
- Noah Young - Musician #3
- Paul Forrest - Monsignor
- Robert Uricola - Man outside Cab
- James V. Christy - Dr. Pinto
- Harvey Parry - Referee (3rd Robinson Fight)
- John Arceri - Maitre d'
- Director(s):
- Martin Scorsese
- Writer(s):
- Mardik Martin, Paul Schrader, Martin Scorsese
- Producer(s):
- Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Profanity, Not For Children, Graphic Violence)
- Categories:
- Drama
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
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- 1998 - Raging Bull - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies
- 1981 - Raging Bull - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Most Promising Newcomer
- 1980 - Raging Bull - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
- 1989 - Raging Bull - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
- 1980 - Raging Bull - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Picture
- 1980 - Raging Bull - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Actor
- 1980 - Raging Bull - National Board of Review - Best Supporting Actor
- 1980 - Raging Bull - National Board of Review - Best Actor
- 1980 - Raging Bull - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Supporting Actor
- 1980 - Raging Bull - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor
