Search - Raging Bull on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Not For Children, Profanity Movie Release: 1980 DVD Release: 02/06/2001 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 9 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Drama, Biopic [feature], Sports Drama See Also: Raging Bull [Special Edition], Raging Bull, Raging Bull [Blu-ray]

Martin Scorsese's brutal character study incisively portrays the true rise and fall and redemption of middleweight boxer Jake La Motta, a violent man in and out of the ring who thrives on his ability (and desire) to take a beating. Opening with the spectacle of the over-the-hill La Motta (Robert De Niro) practicing his 1960s night-club act, the film flashes back to 1940s New York, when Jake's career is on the rise. Despite pressure from the local mobsters, Jake trusts his brother Joey (Joe Pesci) to help him make it to a title bout against Sugar Ray Robinson the honest way; the Mob, however, will not cave in. Jake gets the title bout, and blonde teenage second wife Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), but success does nothing to exorcise his demons, even as he channels his rage into boxing. Alienating Vickie and Joey, and disastrously gaining weight, Jake has destroyed his personal and professional lives by the 1950s. After he hits bottom, however, Jake emerges with a gleam of self-awareness, as he sits rehearsing Marlon Brando's On the Waterfront speech in his dressing room mirror: "I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody." Working with a script adapted by Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader from La Motta's memoirs, Scorsese and De Niro sought to make an uncompromising portrait of an unlikable man and his ruthless profession. Eschewing uplifting Rocky-like boxing movie conventions, their Jake is relentlessly cruel and self-destructive; the only peace he can make is with himself. Michael Chapman's stark black-and-white photography creates a documentary/tabloid realism; the production famously shut down so that De Niro could gain 50-plus pounds. Raging Bull opened in late 1980 to raves for its artistry and revulsion for its protagonist; despite eight Oscar nominations, it underperformed at the box office, as audiences increasingly turned away from "difficult" films in the late '70s and early '80s. The Academy concurred, passing over Scorsese's work for Best Director and Picture in favor of Robert Redford and Ordinary People, although De Niro won a much-deserved Oscar, as did the film's editor, Thelma Schoonmaker. Oscar or no Oscar, Raging Bull has often been cited as the best American film of the 1980s. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Robert De Niro - Jake LaMotta
Cathy Moriarty - Vickie LaMotta
Joe Pesci - Joey LaMotta
Frank Vincent - Salvy
Nicholas Colasanto - Tommy Como

The two-disc, 20th anniversary edition of Raging Bull provides a variety of features to be explored. The first disc contains the film, scene access, and a theatrical trailer that is a beautiful selection of edited shots from the film. But it is the second disc that includes some of the more interesting extras. A 26-minute making-of documentary includes some high-profile interviews, most notably the film's editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, who guides viewers through integral scenes. She explains at length the acting methods involved, scene construction, and the use of sound. Jake La Motta himself is also featured, commenting on the accuracy of the film and the research that was undertaken by Martin Scorsese in pursuit of a realistic portrayal. The documentary includes alternative cuts of Robert De Niro and Jake La Motta reciting the "contender" scene from On the Waterfront, which reveals just how much De Niro managed to immerse himself in La Motta's character. The second feature of disc two is a selection of jokes told to the camera by the real Jake La Motta. It is hard to decide whether La Motta's ramblings are amusing or not, although each joke ends with a shot of De Niro's character announcing, "That's entertainment." Two special "hidden" features are also included in the package. The first consists of various stills of La Motta; the second, more interesting feature is a Movietone news item of La Motta's victory in defending his world middleweight title. More tangible goods include three collectors' postcards and a making-of booklet explaining some of the pre-production processes. The package as a whole is fairly comprehensive, and the emphasis on contrasting the real with the fictional provides a whole new angle from which to watch the film. ~ Hannah Court, All Movie Guide