Film: Raging Bull
Director : Martin Scorsese
Year Released : 1980
Stars : Robert De Niro, Jose Pesci, Frank Vincent, Cathy Moriarty
Raging Bull is an American drama directed by Martin Scorsese. The story is an adaptation of a memoir of the same title written by boxer Jake LaMotta. The film stars Robert De Niro as LaMotta, an aging, angry professional boxer living in Bronx, New York. LaMotta's brother Joey, played by Joe Pesci, tries to guide him through the ups and downs of his life as he deals with the stress of his career as well as his marriage which all together causes him to build up rage.
The film was made in the 1980s but takes place in the 1960s New York City. The film being in black and white gives it a moody & gritty feel, just like the main characters personality. LaMotta lives in a small apartment with his family which gives the audience a good sense of being trapped in a small space which adds to the rising tension of his rage.
The film gets 1960s New York City correct as far as I'm familiar with. The Bronx was a populated area among Italian-Americans years ago. The majority of the character we see are portrayed as the stereo-typical Italian "mobster" type even though they aren't mobsters at all. The attire on the men and women show the sophistication of the era given the setting. The characters aren't wealthy by any means but still dress formally. Characters in films today would not look the way they do in Raging Bull if they were not well off with money.
http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1994-44512-001
This article relates LaMottas character to Sigmund Freud's theory of sadomasochism, where someone gets enjoyment out of physically or mentally abusing another person. It's very obvious in the film that what the article says is accurate. LaMotta does have a lot of built up tension. We see him grow more and more angrily towards everyone surrounding him as a way to relieve stress he has built up that continues to grow.
I thought the film was very good. It has a good story but also is a great character to study. It becomes much more interesting after seeing it & studying the type of personality disorder Jack LaMotta has. The fact that it is based on a real life human makes the story and character even more tragic.
