RAGING BULL (1980) - ♦♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Martin Scorsese

Written by - Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin (based on a book by Jake LaMotta, Joseph Carter and Peter Savage)

Starring - Robert De Niro

"Raging Bull established once and for all that the director actor team of Scorsese and De Niro was a winning combination. De Niro had been pleading his friend and colleague Marty to make this film, and when Marty finally gave in he unleashed some of the most impressive filmmaking techniques that had been seen up to that point. They certainly brought the harrowing portrayal of a down and out boxer Jake LaMotta built for greatness but destined to failure in the most vivid of ways to the screen. Making use of some glorious black and white photography with a cinematography by Michael Chapman and meticulous stylisation which nevertheless never gets in the way of the intensity of the drama that always hints at an imminent danger. This intensity is certainly aided not only by a praiseworthy performance by De Niro, one of the most celebrated in his whole venerable career and certainly one that seems to best represent the self-inflicting pain antics he made use of in portraying a character – almost as if wanting to earn the rights to perform the given character – but also due to his fiery interactions with an equally impressive Joe Pesci cast in the role of Jake LaMotta’s brother. To many, Raging Bull represented an unachievable height in filmmaking at the time, and its groundbreaking influence is still felt to this day. It certainly figures among the best works of Martin Scorsese."

Biopic, USA