100 All-Time Films (To see the entire list, click here)
Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980)
The masterpiece from arguably cinema’s greatest director. Scorsese’s American biographic sports drama on the life of boxer Jake LaMotta, Raging Bull, is a perfectly composed film in every way. From the acting to the cinematography to the story to the sound mixing, it is fantastic all-around.
In my opinion, Robert DeNiro’s portrayal of the infamous boxer ranks up there as one of the top three performances of all time. He weighed 145 lbs as the muscular boxer and gained 70 lbs to play the older LaMotta. DeNiro took his acting to a place we never saw before (and still haven’t seen again) and made himself a really detestable character but one that is sympathetic. With outstanding side roles for Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty, they help LaMotta become a fully-flushed character.
The black and white cinematography is unbelievable with the film’s highlights coming from inside the ring. The fight scenes were composed beautifully by adjusting frame rates and along with the sound mixing of various wild animals it just made this a visual and audio treat. Longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker does her best work here editing a tight story with such intensity. She allows the audience to breathe before we get hit in the face with another punch from LaMotta’s life.
It isn’t an easy film to watch with emotional and physical violence taking place inside and outside of the ring. Call it hypnotic and harsh, but Scorsese’s film is beautifully disciplined. It is probably the greatest biopic of all time and an absolute essential entry for my top 100 list.
