Raging Bull
Drama
MGM / UA  (1980) 129 mins R

8.4 (70,218 votes) Top 250: #72
Robert De Niro teams with director Martin Scorsese in this "extraordinarily compelling" (Leonard Maltin) film that introduced unflinching realism to stunned audiences in 1980. An "exceedingly violent as well as poetic" fight picture that maps "the landscape of the soul" (The New York Times), Raging Bull garnered eight Oscar® nominations, and won two, including Best Actor for De Niro.

De Niro gives the performance of his career as Jake La Motta, a boxer whose psychological and sexual complexities erupt into violence both in and out of the ring. Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty are unforgettable as the brother who falls prey to Jake’s mounting paranoia and jealousy, and the fifteen-year-old girl who becomes his most prized trophy. A "brilliantly photographed film of extraordinary power and rare distinction" (The Wall Street Journal), Raging Bull is filmmaking at it...

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Cast and Crew
Robert De Niro  ......  Jake La Motta
Cathy Moriarty  ......  Vickie Thailer
Joe Pesci  ......  Joey La Motta
Frank Vincent  ......  Salvy Batts
Nicholas Colasanto  ......  Tommy Como
Theresa Saldana  ......  Lenore
Director  .....  Martin Scorsese
Producer  .....  Irwin Winkler; Robert Chartoff; Hal W. Polaire
Writer  .....  Paul Schrader; Mardik Martin; Jake LaMotta; Joseph Carter
Notes
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: As Jake hurries to the bathroom after pouring ice water down his shorts, the top of a crewmember's head appears briefly in the lower left-hand side of the screen. (This may be peculiar to the 1988 MGM/UA videotape version.) (more)

Trivia:
In 1978, when Martin Scorsese was at an all-time low due to a near overdose resulting from an addiction to cocaine, Robert De Niro visited him at the hospital and told him that he had to clean himself up and make this movie about a boxer. At first, Scorsese refused (he didn't like sports movies anyway), but due to De Niro's persistence, he eventually gave in. Many claim (including Scorsese) that De Niro saved Scorsese's life by getting him back into work. (more)

Filming Locations:
Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA (more)

Quotes:
[first lines]
Jake La Motta: I remember those cheers / They still ring in my ears / After years, they remain in my thoughts. / Go to one night / I took off my robe, and what'd I do? I forgot to wear shorts. / I recall every fall / Every hook, every jab / The worst way a guy can get rid of his flab. / As you know, my life wasn't drab. / Though I'd much...
[...]
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Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 16 nominations (more)