His Jake La Motta is a near-perfect portrait of self-destruction, violent implosions manifesting themselves in brutal explosions of rage, all coddled in a shroud of fatal delusion that ostracises him from everyone who is initially close to him. But there is definitely something more about Raging Bull. So, is this really De Niro's acting high-point? I'm not yet sure- I am completely mesmorised by a number of his more animalistic roles- particularly in Taxi Driver and Cape Fear, and yet some of his more gentle performances (The King of Comedy, Mad-Dog and Glory) are equally as fondly remembered. Which makes it some kind of mega-beast of awesomeness. If the hyperbole-friendly brigade were to be believed, this film is the greatest performance by the Greatest Actor in the World Ever directed by the greatest director. Scorsese's stark black and white palette adds an extra level of depth, especially in the scenes in which De Niro implodes, and the film is so utterly involving that it is almost impossible to look away. Scorsese's fourth mega-hit team-up with Robert De Niro (anyone who talks down the delightful New York New York is plainly wrong) is a jarring experience- the director seeks to mimic the emotional turmoil that his main character goes through for the audience, and the decision to film in black and white perfectly compliments that creative direction. And Raging Bull is the rise and fall story. While they purport to be about complex humanist stories of redemption, they simply cannot contend in terms of emotional intrigue with a good old fashioned rise and fall story.
Bad decision.įor anyone who doesn't know the story, Raging Bull is effectively the filmic counter-point to films like The Wrestler and The Fighter. But blu-ray boxes don't lie (pffft!), and this week's 30th Anniversary Special Edition Blu-Ray is pretty firm evidence.īut, can we start with the cover? The film features some of the most iconic images in cinematic history- one of which the Special Edition DVD cover took advantage of to such success- and yet this celebratory edition features a bloated close-up image that looks more like a bad wax-work of Sylvester Stallone. Hard to believe that it has been 30 years since Robert De Niro pulled the original Christian Bale method-acting-insanity trick and hung the health consequences to balloon in weight for the role of Jake 'The Bronx Bull' La Motta.
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