Much has been written about De Niro's Oscar-winning performance. And though I could fight, I'd much rather recite, 'that's entertainment'." That is essentially the thesis for the film-and what a powerful 129 minutes of entertainment it is! After La Motta's opening soliloquy, the film quickly starts back at the beginning of his career, when he seemed to fight with equal intensity against overwhelmed opponents in the boxing ring and against his first wife in his Bronx apartment. So give me a stage where this bull here can rage. "Though I'm no Olivier, if he fought Sugar Ray he would say that the thing ain't the ring, it's the play. Tying back to the double- or triple-entendre of the "stage", Raging Bull opens with a stocky, middle aged La Motta-retired from boxing-in a nightclub dressing room, rehearsing one of his comedy routines. Whether his stage is the boxing ring or the dressing room of a seedy comedy club, Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro) proves to be his own worst opponent.
It is the director's ability to cinematically elevate the violence of the boxing ring and the sins of La Motta onto a spiritual plane that makes Raging Bull a masterpiece. The way Scorsese attacks the story, all of La Motta's fighting is relegated to a spiritual stage that relates to the canvas, to La Motta's ordeal later in his life and even beyond-to the sets of the film and the screens in our home theaters, and perhaps even the inner struggles of each of us. Ultimately, the fighter's egocentrism and pride doom him to a real and metaphysical realm of sin and failure-whether he is in the ring or the street, at home or in a nightclub-pummeling his boxing opponent or his own brother or ultimately the concrete walls of a jail cell. The unflinching portrayal of La Motta's public life in the ring and his private life shows how his entire existence is an intense struggle for domination on his terms-no matter who is hurt in the process. Former middleweight champion Jake "The Bronx Bull" La Motta's rise and fall is depicted with rawness and analytical power. For those unfamiliar with Raging Bull, De Niro and Scorsese are at the height of their creative powers, delivering a black-and-white tour-de-force that to this day is their most focused and stark. The BD is a must-buy with impeccable picture and sound quality. And if there is a better release of Raging Bull than MGM's new Blu-ray edition, I haven't seen that either. If there is any actor-director tandem better than Robert de Niro and Martin Scorsese, I haven't seen it. Reviewed by Greg Maltz, February 11, 2009 The De Niro/Scorsese classic proves itself a winner by technical knockout in its 1080p debut.
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