Raging Bull

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story of humanity - not boxing
Review: Raging Bull is one of the best films of all time not because of its boxing scenes but because of the humanity that is presented. It shows a man, confused by sexuality and city life, hanging on by his teeth, who finds refuge in boxing. Sexuality is a key note of this movie because at all times, it is Jake's driving force in life. He wants the girl, the satisfaction of having "conquered" her, and a radiant aspect for his depressing life. He boxes not only as a release, but to keep food on the table. He's a combination of Stanley Kowalski (A Streetcar Named Desire) and Rocky. Sexuality is his language, and he must box to survive. These themes clash occasionally although he tries his best to separate them, and that creates the side of DeNiro's character we relate to. He is a mean, crude, nasty guy on the outside and in, but we see his struggle and love soaking up his mental anguish. Perhaps we have gone through similar situations. Or maybe we want desparately to see somebody with real problems to make ours look petty. I prefer to believe the latter. An outstanding movie from a gifted director. Scorsese continues to amaze me.

Rating:
Summary: The #1 over-rated movie of all time
Review: Boring...pretentious...navel-gazing

Just a few ways to describe this incredibly over-hyped movie. I sat down with some friends expecting to see a good film, hoping I'd get the Scorcese who directed Goodfellas and not the Scorcese who directed The Colour of Money. Well after sitting through hours of this sleep-inducing cypher of a film, I realised I had got something much worse. I still don't understand what all the fuss is about. The plot is pretty simple - supposedly about a great but flawed boxer, it's really about a selfish bum who cheats on his wife, knocks his girlfriend around, beats up his brother, then fades from whatever "glory" he once had into a life of pot-bellied obscurity. Whopee, just what the world needs - another film about a selfish, greedy, stupid *loser*.

Why do I hate this film so much? I hate the characters, none of whom have any redeeming features whatsoever. I hate the artificial and pretentious black & white. I hate the ludicrous boxing scenes. I hate the moronic and self-indulgent religious imagery. So Scorcese is a devout catholic? Well the Pope is too but does that make this a good film? I think not.

I really can't believe everyone has given this film 5 stars. Looks like another case of "oh, all the critics like it, so it must be a great movie". "I coulda been a contender," laments the lead character at the end of the film. Sure buddy, and Porky Pig coulda learned to fly. Exploiting this line from a *genuine* classic is just the last straw.

The final verdict? Watching this film the cinematic equivalent of wading through a cesspit. That said, if you're suffering from insomnia, I think I might just have found a cure...

Rating:
Summary: I said bring it over here, it's like a piece of charcoal...
Review: Psychotic, wife beating, overeating, paranoid freak...but damn he can box! Robert De Niro gives a career defining performance as the legendary Jake LaMotta. He plays LaMotta to pure perfection as a violent lout who belongs in a cage, not in a ring. Scorsece directing Raging Bull is a lot like Jordan and the NBA championship, they just fit. Black and white photography, as well as the engaging score add to the lore of this film. This was, is, and always will be the BEST boxing movie of all time.

Rating:
Summary: BOXING AND SCORSESE!
Review: The great thing about this is,it combines two things I love:BOXING and MOVIES! But of course we all know that there is more to Scorsese's picture than just BOXING! It's the story of a boxing legend's(Jake La Motta)championship fight with the WORLD. We go through his up's and down's. Feeling not only his pain,but his happiness as well. This is something ONLY a film maker of the salience like Martin Scorsese could do. This film is just about flawless. There's ONLY ONE things that bothers me. And maybe it has or will bother those's who watch it. Does anyone else think it was a bit long? But don't let that stop you from seeing this film. Great acting(esp. De Niro)top notch directing,and great camera work. If you like this film another one that came to mind when watching this is "The Hurricane". DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS ONE!

Rating:
Summary: dramatic and moving
Review: What Bobbie de Niro offers in this movie is something more than simple acting. I read somewhere that Scorsese wasn't so enthusiastic at the idea of making this movie ( maybe bacause at the time he was going through one of the harshest moments of his life ) and one of the reasons that this movie saw daylight was probably because de Niro wanted to make it at all costs - and when you watch him playing La Motta you can understand why! Very probably the man knew that this would prove to be one of the best movies of the last twenty years and undoubtfully one of de Niro's strongest performances : nothing short of Brando's one in " In the Waterfront ". To see how powerfull and merciless was La Motta in the ring and how pathetic he was outside - I found it really touching! This was a man who had to fight against himself more than against his opponents, a restless heart, a macho, prisoner of his catholic upbringing and his bad temper, but deep down inside a very good hearted man..."which friends, I don't have any friends..." The black and white, the links between slow moving scenes and the normal fight ones, the creation of the atmosphere of the fourties and the fifties - everything is quite perfect in this masterpiece! I really like Robert Redford's directing in "Ordinary people", but quite frankly the Academy Award should have gone to Scorsese that year. And it would have been well deserved!

Rating:
Summary: this movie affected me
Review: i just watched this movie and let me tell you, it is a genuine masterpiece. in 100 yrs., people will look at our greatest forms of entertainment, and this will be recognized. it will truly make you feel more like a human. truly a work of greatness. the only downside,... well, i thought i had 7 good favorite movies figured out, and this one comes along and beats out most of them.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best and most powerful films of all time.
Review: For me, Raging Bull has to be the best movie of the past three decades. The performances are brilliant, the camera-work is magnificent and the script is amazing. I think it is inconceivable that Martin Scorsese did not earn a Best Director award for this film. I think it's a shame that this country's greatest living director has been passed over time and again for his work. (He also deserved Oscars for Taxi Driver and Goodfellas). What makes this movie great is the way that it portrays Lamotta. He is a sinner, but yet he still has goodness in his heart. I think one of the most moving scenes in any film is the one in which De Niro bangs his fists on the jail cell wall and screams out, "I am not an animal!" This film is truly a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Movie, One Of The Best I Have Seen
Review: "Raging Bull" is an amazing movie, it is one of the best movies I have seen. This is one film that should have won numerous Oscars but it only one 2, one for editing, the other to Robert DeNiro. The performance Robert DeNiro gives in this film is also one of the best I have seen.

Rating:
Summary: "I COUL'VE BEEN A CONTENDER"
Review: I FIRST SAW THIS MOVIE AS A TEENAGER N IT LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION ON ME: FOR STARTERS IT INTRODUCED ME TO GREAT FILMAKING; IT ALSO SET TH STANDARD AS TO HOW I PERCIEVE MOVIES(DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?) ..I DO REMEMBER NOT LIKING TH END OR THINKING IT WAS TOO LONG. SO, I SAW IT AGAIN YEARS LATER N WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED(BOTH WITH TH END ING N MYSELF) ..TH SARDONIC UNDERTONE: "I COUL'VE BEEN A CONTENDER" TH IMPLICATIONS ARE HILARIOUS!

Rating:
Summary: De Niro - sensational
Review: Most probably De Niro's crowning moment as an actor - an unbelieveable performance many would consider one of the all time greatest roles.

The harshness and often brutal life of middle weight champion is brought to chilling life by De Niro - it is even somewhat disturbing to see De Niro having gained 50 pounds to play the eventual bum that La Motta becomes...but it all goes towards an outstanding performance and a well deserved Oscar.

Again, Scorcese's direction is inch-perfect. The B&W photography further emphasises that stark harshness and hardship of La Motta's life and the people around him. The fight scenes are extrodinary, only made so much more painful and realistic through the superb editing and slow motion.

The supporting cast is only top-notch, Joe Pesci standing out in particular. No disputes what-so-ever that this is the best film of the 1980's...