Raging Bull

I don't think Raging Bull is a movie I would typically watch. The only reason I think I picked this movie out was for two reasons. My friend recommended it, and it was a Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese film.

Raging Bull is the biopic film about middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta. I don't know who Jake LaMotta is and frankly I don't think I'll really remember Jake LaMotta after I'm done watching this movie.

I've never really been much of a huge fan of boxing movies. It's not that I don't like them I just don't really go out of my way to find them.

So Raging Bull follows the story of Jake LaMotta, a middleweight boxer who is really good. He's great at just taking a beating but at the same time he can come back and just beat the living shit out of people. The movie starts in 1941 and LaMotta is working towards becoming middleweight champion. In his boxing career he's always worried about meeting the appropriate weight.

In his personal life, he's married but starts fancying a 15 year old girl named Vickie Thailer and is just enamored by her. So they begin a relationship that ends up with them getting married. The rest of the movie really is focused on his relationship with his wife.

Frankly, Jake is a bastard. He beats his wife, he's an asshole to his brother (played by Joe Pesci), he has some serious anger issues, he's just an overall asshole.

Since this is a biographical movie, there really isn't an overall plot except for the life of this character. And in that regard, Robert De Niro brings a really solid performance. He's very good at playing a rage filled Italian American who's just a bastard.

Not only does he give a really great performance but the physical performance he gives is really spectacular. The makeup and stuff De Niro puts on his face are really well done. I've done a couple movies that had actors in prosthetics or heavy makeup and I haven't really been a fan of it. However, this one was done really well. Its kind of reminiscent of the makeup and prosthetics used in Citizen Kane. In fact, a lot of this movie reminded me of Citizen Kane as far as style.

The entire movie is in black and white. I'm not quite sure what the choice for that was but it was a good one and really made the movie stand out. The interesting thing is this movie came out after the first Rocky movie and I wouldn't be surprised if people thought this was a Rocky movie.

IT IS NOT!

While this movie may not be my favorite movie of all time, I recognize the merit in it and why its a good movie.

So to confuse this with a Rocky movie is a sad mistake.

But while I recognize its a well made movie, I will say, its not really my cup of tea. Like I said before, La Motta is an asshole. He's not really a character you want to get behind and (spoilers) when his wife leaves him you just say, its about time!

And while I know that a lot of times with good movies, there are going to be characters that are not going to be likable. Many times that is what makes them a great characters even if its one we don't like. So overall, he's a good character, just not a very likable one.

So overall, Raging Bull is a really well made movie. A great starring character and a great style aging back to a classic era of Citizen Kane. If you like boxing movies you'll like it. If you like dramas, you may like it, you may not.

I'll leave you with this. I can't really find anything funny so here's Robert De Niro winning an Oscar for his role as Jake LaMotta