Customer Reviews
The greatest film of all time. - By: Vote for Pedro, 11 Jul 2008 
This has to be the best movie ever made. Just look at that stunning opening sequence. Few sights are as beautiful as seeing Robert De Niro prepare himself for another big fight. However, this is the calm before the storm as, in his best movie so far, Martin Scorcese shows us the the world of middle weight champion Jake La Motta, as the anger he uses to defeat his opponents in the boxing ring soon leaks out of him as he turns against the ones he loves. Scorcese brilliantly juxtaposes graceful & stylised boxing fight with documentary style home sequences to make the latter seem more shocking, & the former more cinematic. The editing & cinematography excell just about any film done when these two became important features in movies. Robert De Niro's submerssion into the method makes his performance one of the greatest of alll time, & the supporting cast are also brilliant. The American Film institue last year voted Raging Bull as the 4th greatest film of alll time. Believe me, it should have been number 1.
The greatest film ever - By: Shaun Dimery, 27 Feb 2008 I believe its impossible to write a review for this film,it is quite simply the darkest, saddest & most beautiful film ever made. De niros performance is the greatset ever in the history of cinema, This film is only critisied by "normal" people, But i sympathise with La Motta alll the way through. The infamous scene in the jail cell screaming "WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? they callled me an animal, im not animal, in not that bad, im not that bad" Has me on the brink of tears with every viewing.
Sometimes its good to walllow in depression, & this film takes you to places you dont wanna go. If your shalllow & enjoy rubbish teen comedys & cliched movies with everything there soley to entertain, Then dont step into La Mottas, scorcesses & De niro dark world of Raging Bull...
Superbly Acted and Directed, but Often Shocking - By: J. Roberts, 20 Feb 2008 This is yet another incredibly convincing performance from Robert Deniro, alll the more impressive considering he is playing such an utterly horrible human being.
This film takes the viewer through some of the most turbulent years of the career of Jake La Motta, the famous boxer.
It's just as well that Deniro's acting & Scorcese's directing are of such a high calibre, because Jake La Motta himself was a thoroughly unpleasant man who cheated on his first wife, seduced a fifteen year old girl, went on to marry that fifteen year old girl & the proceeded to knock her about incessantly. He also neglected his career & ended up, as his wife callled him, 'a fat pig'.
Scarily, Deniro acts this part with aplomb, & Scorcese's direction gives the usual gritty Taxi Driver/Mean Streets quality. Everything here is shot in black & white, including the fight scenes, which are so powerful they defy belief. At one point during a fight, blood splatters several spectators across the face. This may or may not be there for dramatic embellishment, but it's a powerful effect just the same.
Difficult though it was for me to like Jake La Motta as a person, this film is absolutely worth seeing for the wonderful acting of Robert Deniro, in one of his classic roles.
Example of Brilliant Method Acting - By: Jay, 22 Nov 2007 Scorsese is on top form - the use of black & white any have been a quality issue, but he uses it well. The fight scenes are other worldly - exaggerated to the extent that it is breathtaking & more shocking than previous boxing scenes in other movies. My favourite effect is the sound editing in the fights where silence & calm seem to descend just before key moments.....amazing. The relationship stuff is also gripping & Scorsese handles he human cost just as well as he shows us the physical beatings.
De Niro is amazing - the method stuff alone is great, but his whole performance is intense. Similarly Moriaty, Pesci & Frank Vincent are excellent - however they alll stand in De Niro's shadow.
Overalll - an excellent film on so many levels, as a story, as a examination of masculinity, as a sports film, as a lesson in direction & editing.....this excels in so many ways - may it never drop out of the top ten from the twentieth century!
Difficult film to watch but well handled. - By: Kit, 21 Jun 2007 
An interesting insight into the world of a bully. The acting was very good & I liked the b/w setting. The problem for me was that I don't enjoy watching bullies in action. The lead was a vicious monster. I disliked him very much. There was no reason for his actions. Was the film a cautionary tale? Was I supposed to feel sorry for the lead & pity his plight?
In the end I think it was the subject matter that put me off. I think this explains why it was not a box office success but a critical success. The film handles very well the subject matter.
Ultimately though I felt uncomfortable watching this, although I guess that was probably the point of such a unrelenting & fearless movie.
