Raging Bull

What? The best boxing film and there's about ten minutes of boxing? But it’s brilliant. I like Rocky, I like Paul Newman in Somebody Up There Likes Me, but of all these battered men, Jake La Motta is my favorite, and I don’t know why. (19/09/2007)

Come to think of it, Raging Bull was the first Martin Scorsese movie that I ever saw. The sight at a person, who destroys his own life right in front of you is unbelievably crushing. Nevertheless the character of Jake LaMotta, in a perfect delivery by Robert De Niro, deserves admiration because, just like most good boxers, he never gave up. (25/10/2006)

Scorsese is a director who is two classes better than Avildsen, and the same can be said about Robert De Niro compared to Sylvester Stallone. However, I won't give more than 3 stars even in this case because boxing is as likable to me as encountering an agitated swarm of wasps, and testosterone-filled Jake LaMotta is not the kind of guy I would want to share a double house with. As a study of masculinity and uncontrollable jealousy, it is quite decent, but the film didn't captivate me in any way. Overall impression: 55%. (19/11/2010)

This is a film of undeniable quality with a story that literally radiates a specific and unmistakable atmosphere, where you strongly sympathize with the main character throughout his tortuous life journey. But success goes hand in hand not so much with the direction as with the excellent performances by De Niro, Pesci and Moriarty. They are the ones who are constantly at the centre of the action, they are the ones who transmit all the emotions, they are the ones whose characters you will find both sympathetic and repulsive throughout the film. Similarly, the script is brilliantly and cleverly constructed, as if it was tailored exactly to the body of the main characters. And yet, I must give it only 4*. I'm sure you know that feeling when after finishing a film that was smart, well acted and well shot, you still can't shake the sensation that it wasn't quite right, that it lacked something. Raging Bull is exactly one of those cases for me. (13/01/2012)

The fact that it is apparent in some scenes that it is just acting (especially in the fights outside the ring), is redeemed by the strong story of a man who is difficult to like. It's as if he willingly tries to live alone, to not have anyone who cares about him. The personal destruction of a man who was a great boxer but also hit rock bottom. Martin Scorsese shows how strong his passion for film and directing is. The black and white execution is brilliant, as well as the musical accompaniment and individual shots in the ring. The spraying sweat and blood are very intense. (28/10/2013)