Raging Bull
All you want to know about Raging Bull
Raging Bull is a 1980 biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese, adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from the memoir Raging Bull: My Story. It stars Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta, a temperamental and paranoid but tenacious boxer who alienates himself from his friends and family. Also featured in the film are Joe Pesci as Joey, La Motta's brother and manager, and Cathy Moriarty as his abused wife. The film features supporting roles from Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana, and Frank Vincent, who has starred in many films directed by Martin Scorsese. After receiving mixed initial reviews, it went on to garner a high critical reputation and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made, along with the pair's other famed collaboration from that era, Taxi Driver (1976). It is one of three films that has been named to the National Film Registry in its first year of eligibility.
Contents |
Plot
Beginning in 1964 where an older and fatter Jake LaMotta (Robert DeNiro) practice his stand-up comic routine before, we are transported back in time to his boxing career in 1941 against his opponent, Jimmy Reeves in the infamous Cleveland bout. Losing the fight by a fixed result causes a fight to break out at the end of the match. [1] His brother Joey (Joe Pesci) is not only a sparring partner to him but also responsible for organizing his fights. A potential shot for the title is being seen as goal for Joey when in a discussion with one of his mob connections - Salvy Batts (Frank Vincent) on the way to his brother's house. When they are finally settled in the house, Jake admits that he doesn't have much faith in his own abilities.[1] Accompanied by his brother to the local open-air swimming pool, sees a restless Jake spot a 15-year-old girl known as Vikki at the edge of the pool (Cathy Moriarty). Although he has to be reminded by his brother he is already married, the opportunity to invite her out for the day becomes a possibility thanks to his brother.[1]
Two fights with Sugar Ray Robinson, set two years apart, see Jake lose the second when the judges rule in favour when he was leaving the sport temporarily for army conscription.[1] This does not deter Jake from winning six victories but as his fears grow about his wife, Vickie having feelings for other men particularly Janeiro, the opponent for his forthcoming fight, he is keen enough to show off his sexual jealously when he beats him in front of the local Mob boss, Tommy Como (Nicholas Colosanto) and Vikki. [1] The recent triumph over Janeiro is being touted as a major boost for the belt as Joey discusses this to journalists. Although, briefly disrupted seeing Vickie approach a table with Salvy and his crew. The finger of blame is entirely on Salvy as he is beaten up outside the club by Joey after having a word with Vickie that she is giving up on his brother.[2] When Tommy Como hears that the two of them rose fists in a public place he orders them to apologize and tells Joey concerning Jake's chances that he means business. Arriving at the swimming pool, Jake is told that if he really wants a shot, a dive will have to be taken first.[2] The fight against Fox is a shambles and leaves Jake suspended from the board - even though he realises his error of his judgment in the arms of his trainer when it is too late. [2] This does little to harm his career, when he finally wins the title against Marcel Cerdan at the open-air Biggs stadium.
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Three years have passed, when we see Jake fixing his television. He asks his brother if he fought with Salvy at the Copca because of Vikki. Jake then asks if Joey had an affair with his wife. Joey takes offense, and doesn't answer him. Then Joey storms out. While interrogating his wife about the affair she sarcastically states that she had sex with the entire neighborhood (including his brother, Salvy and Tommy Como). Jake takes this seriously and runs to his brother's house where he starts to fight Joey.[2] Defending his championship belt against Dautbuille, he makes a call to his brother after the fight, but when Joey assumes Salvy is on the other end, Jake says nothing. This drags Jake down to when he eventually loses to Sugar Ray Robinson on their final encounter. [2]
A couple of years later, in the middle of a phot shoot, Jake LaMotta surrounded by his wife and children, tells the journalists he is offically retired and that he has bought a new property. After staying all night at his new night club, Vickie tells him she wants a divorce (which has been planned since his retirement) Arresting for introducing under-age girls (as 21-year-olds) to men, he serves a jail sentence after failing to raise the bail money. [2] Returning to New York, he meets up with his estranged brother in a car park where they give a nervous hug.
Going back to the beginning sequence, Jake refers to the "I shouda have been a contender" scene from On The Waterfront complaining that his brother should have been there for him but is also keen enough to give himself some slack. Darting across the room at the information of the crowded auditorium by the stage hand, the camera remains pivoted on the mirror. The film ends on an ambigious note with a biblical quote and a dedication to the director's film mentor at New York University, Haig P. Moonigan at the bottom who died of a heart attack before the film was released. [2][3][4]
Cast
| Actor | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Robert De Niro | Jake LaMotta [5] | |
| Cathy Moriarty | Vikki Thailer LaMotta [5] | |
| Joe Pesci | Joey LaMotta [5] | |
| Frank Vincent | Salvy "Batts" [5] | |
| Nicholas Colasanto | Tommy Como [5] | |
| Theresa Saldana | Lenora LaMotta (Joey's wife) [5] | |
| Mario Gallo | Mario [5] |
Production
Raging Bull came about when De Niro read the autobiography the book upon which the film is based on the set of 1900. Although, disappointed by the poorly written style, he became fascinated by the character of Jake LaMotta when he showed the book to Martin Scorsese on the set of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore as a means to hopefully consider the project. [6] Scorsese repeatably turned down his offers by resisting the director's chair claiming he had no idea what Raging Bull was about, even though he did read some chapters of the text. [7] The book was then passed onto Mardick Martin, the film's eventual co-screenwriter who said "the trouble is the damn thing has been done a hundred times before- a fighter who has trouble with his brother and his wife and the mob is after him". The book was even shown to producer, Irwin Winkler by De Niro who was all too happy to do this only if Scorsese agreed. [8] A close death from a drug overdose saw the director agree to make the film for the sake of his star, Robert De Niro to not only save his life but also his career. Scorsese knew that he could relate to the story of Jake LaMotta as a way to redeem himself when he saw the role being protrayed as an everyman that "...the ring becomes an allegory of life" making the project a very personal one to him. [9][10][11][12]
Scorsese decided to film Raging Bull in black and white as a result of the problem of fading color film stock at the time so this way he could give the picture a tabloid look. [13][14] Robert DeNiro met both the real Jake LaMotta and his ex-wife, Vicki on seperate occassions as preparation for the role. Meeting Vickie at her home in Florida gained an insight to her life with her former husband and a chance to see old home movies (which would be used as a template that would later surface in the film). [14][15] Jake LaMotta would serve as his trainer accompanied by Al Silvani as coach at the Gramercy club in New York getting him into shape. The actor found boxing come so natural that he entered as a middleweight boxer winning two of his three fights in a Brooklyn ring dubbed "young LaMotta" by the commentator. According to Jake LaMotta, he felt that DeNiro was one of his top 20 best middleweight boxers of all time.[16][14]
Screenplay
Under the guidance of Winkler, Martin Mardick was asked to start writing the screenplay. [17] According to Robert DeNiro, under no circumstances would United Artists accept Martin Mardick's script.[18] The story which was based around the vision of journalist, Peter Hamill of a 1930s and 1940s style where boxing was known as "the great dark prince of sports" and boxers were "gladiators" pleased Scorsese but DeNiro who took control with the direction of the project complained to Martin that "this was not what we agreed on" when he finished reading the first draft. [19] The screenwriter of Taxi Driver, Paul Shrader was swiftly brought in to re-write the script around August 1978. [20] Some of the changes that Schrader made included alternating the scene with the uncooked "steak" to have his wife, Irma being pushed into the bedroom; having DeNiro urinate in a Florida cell and introducing the character of Jake's brother, Jake which was absent from Martin's script. [21][22] The film company, United Artists saw a massive improvement on the quality of the script. However, the chief executives of United Artists, Steve Bach and David Field met up with Scorsese, DeNiro and producer, Irwin Winkler in November 1979 to say they were worried that the content would be X-rated material and have no chance of finding an audience. [13] The script was left in the hands of Scorsese and DeNiro as Schrader had done as much as he could but he still contacted them to give suggestions towards how Jake would behave. Some aspects such as the character of Jake's father and the organized mob (reduced to two people-Salvy Batts and Tommy Como) would be removed. The scene where Jake is fixing his television was devised through personal experience of both men and they also did a major re-write of Jake's fight with Tony Janiero. [23][24] According to Steve Bach, the finished script was submitted in April 1979 with only the first two screen writers receiving credit being Mardick Martin and Paul Schrader but since there was no payment to the writers guild on the script, Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese's work would remain uncredited.[24]
Casting
Robert DeNiro who was already committed to play Jake LaMotta began to get unfamiliar names to play his on-screen brother, Joey and wife, Vikki. [25][26] The role of Joey LaMotta was the first to be cast. Robert DeNiro was watching a low budget tv film called The Death Collector when he saw the part of a young career criminal played by Joe Pesci (then an unknown and struggling actor) as an ideal candidate. When Pesci received the call from Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese for the proposal to star in the film, he had not worked in eight years (now running an Italian restaurant in New Jersey), claiming that it must be a good role to justify the means. Pesci accepted the role with little fuss. The role of Vickie LaMotta, Jake's wife would have much interest across the board but it was Pesci who suggested the actress, Cathy Moriaty from a picture he once saw at a New Jersey disco. [26] Both DeNiro and Scorsese from meeting her on several occassions that her husky voice and maturity would be perfect. Nevertheless, Cis Corman had to do the hard work to prove to the executive of the screen actors guild that she had a resemblance to the real-life Vickie LaMotta from 15 comparing photographs. [26]
Principal Photography
The film began shooting at a Los Angeles warehouse in April 1979. [27][28] The warehouse was to replicate the Madison Square Garden venue in New York in the first of many boxing scenes to be completed first. [28] Wanting to get as close to the action, one camera operated by the director of photography, Michael Chapman would be placed inside the ring as he would play the role of an opponent keeping out of the way of other fighters as their emotions would be filmed. [29] The precise moves of the boxers would be done as dance routines from the information of a book about dance instructors in the mode of Arthur Murray. A punching bag was also used by DeNiro between takes. [29] The initial five week schedule for the shooting of the boxing scenes took longer than expected, putting the still weak Scorsese under pressure. [29] According to Martin Scorsese, production of the film was then closed down for around four months with the entire crew being paid in the mean time, so DeNiro could go on a binge eating trip around Northern Italy. [30][31] When he did come back to the United States, his weight blew up from 145 up to 215 pounds. [30] The scenes with the fatter Jake LaMotta were done immediately so not to cause too many healthy concerns which were already affecting DeNiro's posture, breathing and talking. [30]
Post-Production
The editing of Raging Bull was done during most of 1980. A sound mix arranged by Frank Warner took six months to perfect. [32] A test screening in front of a small audience including the chief executives, Steve Bach and Arthur Alberk was show at the MGM screening room in New York around July 1980. Alberk praised Scorsese by calling him a "true artist". [32] According to the producer, Irwin Winkler, though matters were made worse when United Artists didn't even want to distribute the film and they were keen to pass the rights to another company but nobody was interested. [32] Scorsese made no secret that Raging Bull would be his Hollywood swan song taking unusual care during post-production. [9] This caused some friction with the producer, Irwin Winkler whom he accused Scorsese of doing the editing process "inch by inch". Scorsese threatened to remove his credit from the film, if he was not allowed to sort a reel which obscured the name of a whisky brand featured in a scene. The work was only completed four days shy of the premiere. [33]
Reception
Distribution
Raging Bull first premiered at the Sutton Theatre in New York on 14 November 1980. [32] The film premiered in the UK on 19 February 1981 admist some controversy over the violence. [34]
Raging Bull was initially given a mixed reception. Reviewer, Jack Kroll of Newsweek called Raging Bull, "the best movie of the year". [32] Many critics however were repelled by the film's violence and its unsympathetic central character. For example, Kathleen Carroll from the New York Times criticised the character of Jake LaMotta as "one of the most repugnant characters in the history of the movies" who also criticised Scorsese because the movie "totally ignores [LaMotta's] reform school background, offering no explanation to his anti-social behavior". [32] Although its cinematography and editing were universally praised, some saw the film as an empty exercise in style. Produced on a budget of $18 million, the film grossed $23 million.[35]
Awards
The production company, United Artists, could not promote the film for awards due to the trouble caused over Heaven's Gate.[32] Despite this, Raging Bull was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture (for Chartoff and Winkler); Best Director (Scorsese); Best Actor (DeNiro); Best Supporting Actor (Pesci); Best Actress (Moriarty); Best Cinematography (Michael Chapman), Best Sound (Donald O. Mitchell, Bill Nicholson, David J. Kimball, Les Lazarowitz) and finally Best Film Editing (Schoonmaker).[36] The only winners were for Best Actor (DeNiro) and Best Film Editing (Schoonmaker) which the former thanked Jake La Motta "even though he is suing us."
American Film Institute recognition
- 1998 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies #24
- 2001 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills #51
- 2008 AFI's 10 Top 10 #1 Sports film
Legacy
By the end of the 1980s, Raging Bull had cemented its reputation as a modern classic. It was voted the best film of the 1980s in numerous critics' polls and is regularly pointed to as both Scorsese's best film and one of the finest American movies ever made. [37] Several prominent critics, among them Roger Ebert, declared the film to be an instant classic and the consummation of Scorsese's earlier promise. Ebert proclaimed it the best film of the 1980s, and the fourth greatest film of all time.[38]
The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Originally, the American Film Institute ranked Raging Bull 24th of the greatest American movies of all time. However, when the list was updated 10 years later, Raging Bull rose twenty places on the list, reaching #4. and fifth on the Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. The 2002 Sight and Sound Poll found listed tied for 6th with The Bicycle Thief[39]. The movie poster was painted by Kunio Hagio.[40] In 2002, Channel 4 held a poll of the 100 Greatest Movies,on which Raging Bull was voted in at number 20. Halliwell Film Guide, a highly respected British film guide, had a poll naming their Top 1000 movies. Raging Bull was placed #7.
In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Raging Bull was acknowledged as the best film in the sports genre.[41][42]
Home video release history
- 1991 (laserdisc)
- 1993 (laserdisc)
Soundtrack
A two-CD soundtrack was released in 2005, long after the movie was released, because of earlier difficulties receiving permissions for many of the songs, which Scorsese selected from his childhood memories growing up in New York.
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Evans, Mike The Making of Raging Bull 2006 p.93-97, 98-103, 105.
- ^ a b c d e f g Evans, Mike The Making of Raging Bull 2006, p.106-107, 109-110, 112, 114, 116-121.
- ^ Friedman Lawrence S. Cinema of Martin Scorsese 1997, p.114.
- ^ Baxter, John DeNiro A Biography, p.184.
- ^ a b c d e f g Evans, Mike The Making of Raging Bull 2006 p.177.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1999, p.254.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1998, p.378.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1998, p.315.
- ^ a b Friedman Lawrence S. The Cinema of Martin Scorsese 1997, p.115.
- ^ Phil Villarreal. "Scorsese's 'Raging Bull' is still a knockout," The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ), February 11, 2005, page E1.
- ^ Kelly Jane Torrance. "Martin Scorsese: Telling stories through film," The Washington Times (Washington, DC), November 30, 2007, page E1.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1998, p.386/7.
- ^ a b Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1998, p.389.
- ^ a b c The 100 greatest films of all time 2005, p.181.
- ^ Baxter, John DeNiro A biography p.192.
- ^ Baxter, John DeNiro A biography, p.198.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1998, p.379.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1998, p.384.
- ^ Baxter John DeNiro A Biography,p.186.
- ^ Baxter John DeNiro A Biography,p.187.
- ^ Baxter John DeNiro A Biography,pp.188/9.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1998, p.385.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls , p.390.
- ^ a b Baxter, John DeNiro A Biography, p.193.
- ^ Evans, John The Making of Raging Bull, p.61.
- ^ a b c Baxter, John DeNiro A Biography, pp.196/7.
- ^ Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls 1998, p.391/2.
- ^ a b Baxter, John DeNiro A Biography, p.199.
- ^ a b c Baxter, John DeNiro A Biography, p.200.
- ^ a b c Baxter, John DeNiro A Biography , p.201.
- ^ The 100 greatest films of all time, Total Film p.180.
- ^ a b c d e f g Biskind, Peter Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, p.399.
- ^ Baxter, John DeNiro A biography, p.204.
- ^ Eyles, Allen Odeon Cinemas Volume 2: From J. Arthur Rank to the Multiplex 2005, p.146.
- ^ imdb.com
- ^ "Raging Bull - Academy Awards Database". AMPAS. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Walker, John Halliwell's Top 1000, The Ultimate Movie Countdown 2005, p.561.
- ^ Top Ten Lists of Roger Ebert
- ^ BFI | Sight & Sound | Top Ten Poll 2002 - Directors' Poll
- ^ http://www.west.net/~janus/kunio/ Kunio Hagio
- ^ American Film Institute (2008-06-17). "AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres", ComingSoon.net. Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
- ^ "Top 10 Sports". American Film Institute. Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
Bibliography
- Evans, Mike (2006). The Making of Raging Bull. London: Unanimous Ltd. ISBN 1903318831.
- Biskind, Peter (1998). Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. Bloomsbury.
- Baxter, John (2006). DeNiro A Biography.
External links
- Raging Bull at the Internet Movie Database
- Raging Bull at the TCM Movie Database
- Raging Bull at Allmovie
- Fresh Air interview with Thelma Schoonmaker
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