Raging Bull

Theatrical Release Date: 2013 04 24 (USA - Rerelease) / 1980 12 19 (USA)

UPC: 027616604095

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, Not For Children, Profanity]

Summary: 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, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Most Promising Newcomer – British Academy of Film and Television Arts U.S. National Film Registry – Library of Congress 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Picture – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actor – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Supporting Actress – null New Star of the Year - Female – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Screenplay – null Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actor – National Board of Review Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – National Board of Review Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actor – National Board of Review Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association New Star of the Year - Female – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Editing – British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Features: Making-of documentary (including interviews with editor Thelma Schoonmaker and Jake La Motta)
Jake La Motta feature (in which he tells jokes to the camera)
Three collectors' postcards
Eight-page booklet featuring trivia, production notes, and a revealing look at the making of the film
Original theatrical trailer

Raging Bull

Format: DVD

Release Date: 02/06/2001

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen, 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DDS Dolby Digital Surround, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 129 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Chapter List
1. Main Title [2:39]
2. New York City, 1964 [1:12]
3. Jake La Motta vs. Jimmy Reeves [3:37]
4. The Bronx, New York City, 1941 [7:15]
5. At the Gym; About Vickie [:04]
6. At the Summer Dance; Meeting Vickie [2:10]
7. La Motta vs. Sugar Ray Robinson - Detroit, 1943 [9:39]
8. "Give the Boo-Boo a Kiss." [4:28]
9. La Motta vs. Robinson - Detroit, 1943 [1:55]
10. La Motta vs....; Home Movies [4:44]
11. Pelham Parkway, New York, 1947 [3:12]
12. La Motta vs. Janiro [2:34]
13. Joey Takes Vickie Home [6:41]
14. Debonair Social Club [6:27]
15. "I Wanna Catch Her Once, Just Once." [2:02]
16. La Motta vs. Fox [3:52]
17. Detroit, 1949; Wife Beating [:04]
18. La Motta vs. Marcel Cerdon - Detroit, 1949 [3:25]
19. Pelham Parkway, New York, 1950 [2:47]
20. La Motta vs. Dauthuile - Detroit, 1950 [4:19]
21. La Motta vs. Sugar Ray [4:47]
22. "You Never Got Me Down, Ray!" [3:43]
23. Miami 1956; Jake Retires [7:55]
24. Vickie Leaves Jake [3:51]
25. Hammering the Championship Belt [3:13]
26. Dade Country Stockade, Florida, 1957 [3:17]
27. New York City, 1958 [1:09]
28. Jake and Joey Reconcile [1:54]
29. "I Coulda Been a Contender." [5:50]
30. John IX; End Credits [1:12]
0. Chapter List
1. Main Title [2:40]
2. New York City, 1964 [1:12]
3. Jake La Motta vs. Jimmy Reeves [3:37]
4. The Bronx, New York City, 1941 [7:20]
5. At the Gym; About Vickie [2:09]
6. At the Summer Dance; Meeting Vickie [12:21]
7. La Motta vs. Sugar Ray Robinson - Detroit, 1943 [1:46]
8. "Give the Boo-Boo a Kiss." [1:55]
9. La Motta vs. Robinson - Detroit, 1943 [4:44]
10. La Motta vs....; Home Movies [3:12]
11. Pelham Parkway, New York, 1947 [2:34]
12. La Motta vs. Janiro [6:41]
13. Joey Takes Vickie Home [6:27]
14. Debonair Social Club [2:02]
15. "I Wanna Catch Her Once, Just Once." [3:57]
16. La Motta vs. Fox [3:25]
17. Detroit, 1949; Wife Beating [2:47]
18. La Motta vs. Marcel Cerdon - Detroit, 1949 [4:19]
19. Pelham Parkway, New York, 1950 [4:47]
20. La Motta vs. Dauthuile - Detroit, 1950 [3:43]
21. La Motta vs. Sugar Ray [10:09]
22. "You Never Got Me Down, Ray!" [1:37]
23. Miami 1956; Jake Retires [3:13]
24. Vickie Leaves Jake [3:16]
25. Hammering the Championship Belt [1:09]
26. Dade Country Stockade, Florida, 1957 [1:54]
27. New York City, 1958 [5:49]
28. Jake and Joey Reconcile [1:13]
29. "I Coulda Been a Contender." [3:26]
30. John IX; End Credits [3:08]

Mark Deming

In Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro explore the soul of a profoundly violent man and search for the human core buried deep inside him. In many ways, De Niro's performance as Jake does make him seem more like an animal than a human being; he's ruled by a volatile mixture of arrogance, paranoia, sexual confusion, and fear, and he can deal with his emotions only through violence. The physical brutality that makes Jake a champion in the boxing ring cripples his relationships with his wives, his business associates, and his brother. But even though La Motta is in many ways controlled by the worst parts of his nature, he's also aware of it on some primal level. When he commands his brother to hit him as hard as he can, it's almost as if he wants someone to knock the fight out of him (while believing, arrogantly but accurately, that it can't be done), and as Jake literally beats his head against a wall in a Florida jail cell, shouting "Why? Why? Why?" it sounds as if he's begging for an explanation of his entire life. In nearly any other film, a performance as strong and intricately detailed as De Niro's would control the entire show, but here Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty both offer superb, career-making support, while Scorsese's peerless visual sense makes this more than just another star vehicle. The boxing sequences are shot, choreographed, and edited with such audacious power and impact that it's hard to believe that they occupy only ten minutes of screen time; the beautifully designed tracking shots, the use of slow motion, and Michael Chapman's excellent black-and-white photography lend the film a stylized edge while sharpening its visceral emotional impact. With screenwriters Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin, Scorsese tells the story not of a boxer or a bad man, but of a lost soul struggling for a way out of the emotional damnation of his own brutal nature; and he tells it with such unblinking horror and understated compassion that Raging Bull has been widely acknowledged as one of the most powerful films of its era. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast and Crew: John Arceri  Actor 
Jack Lotz  Actor 
Cis Corman  Actor 
Kenny Davis  Actor 
Count Billy Varga  Actor 
Bill Hanrahan  Actor 
Coley Wallace  Actor 
Jimmy Lennon, Sr.  Actor 
Noah Young  Actor 
Don Dunphy  Actor 
Mardik Martin  Actor 
Charles Scorsese  Actor 
Vic Magnotta  Actor 
Peter Petrella  Actor 
Joseph Bono  Actor 
Lori Anne Flax  Actor 
Richard McMurray  Actor 
John Turturro  Actor 
Bob Aaron  Actor 
James V. Christy  Actor 
Paul Forrest  Actor 
Candy Moore  Actor 
Robert Uricola  Actor 
Peter Savage  Actor 
Wally K. Berns  Actor 
Peter Fain  Actor 
Bill Mazer  Actor 
Geraldine Smith  Actor 
Martin Scorsese  Actor 
Lou Tiano  Actor 
Bernie Allen  Actor 
Daniel P. Conte  Actor 
Ted Husing  Actor 
Harvey Parry  Actor 
Kevin Breslin  Actor 
Mary Albee  Actor 
Michael Badalucco  Actor 
Shay Duffin  Actor 
Allan Malamud  Actor 
Marty Denkin  Actor 
Mardik Martin  Screenwriter 
Robert Chartoff  Producer 
Robbie Robertson  Composer (Music Score) 
Paul Schrader  Screenwriter 
Martin Scorsese  Director 
Martin Scorsese  Screenwriter 
Irwin Winkler  Producer 
Robert De Niro  Actor 
Cathy Moriarty  Actor 
Joe Pesci  Actor 
Frank Vincent  Actor 
Nicholas Colasanto  Actor 
Theresa Saldana  Actor 
Frank Adonis  Actor 
Mario Gallo  Actor 
Frank Topham  Actor 
Johnny Barnes  Actor 
Kevin Mahon  Actor 
Ed Gregory  Actor 
Louis Raftis  Actor 
Johnny Turner  Actor 

Country: USA