Raging Bull
Movie, 1980, The '80s, Set in Jake LaMotta's rise and fall
Raging Bull is #7 of 26 in release order and #7 of 26 in chronological order in the Martin Scorsese.
The story
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Raging Bull recap
Raging Bull (1980) follows Jake LaMotta, a Bronx middleweight whose jealousy and rage wreck his family even as he fights his way to a world title. Martin Scorsese directs from Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin's adaptation of LaMotta's memoir. Robert De Niro plays Jake, and Joe Pesci plays his brother and manager, Joey LaMotta. He leaves his first wife for Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), a 15-year-old he spots at a pool, and marries her, but he becomes convinced she wants other men and controls her every move. He refuses help from local mobster Salvy Batts (Frank Vincent) and boss Tommy Como until he agrees to throw a fight against Billy Fox to get his shot. In 1949 he beats Marcel Cerdan for the championship. His paranoia peaks when he accuses Joey of sleeping with Vickie and beats him in front of his family. Raging Bull is the seventh of the 26 Scorsese films listed here, between New York, New York and The King of Comedy, and De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Raging Bull ending explained
Raging Bull ends in 1964 with an overweight Jake rehearsing a nightclub act in a dressing room mirror, reciting Marlon Brando's "I could have been a contender" speech from On the Waterfront. Before that he loses his title to Sugar Ray Robinson, retires to Miami, and opens a nightclub. Vickie divorces him, he is jailed for letting underage girls into the club, and he pounds the walls of his cell. On release he finds Joey and hugs him in the street. The film closes with a quote from the Gospel of John.
Post-credits scenes
No. Raging Bull has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Raging Bull
Raging Bull is streaming on Prime Video, Hoopla, MGM Plus, YouTube (free), Fawesome, and Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes 92%
Where it fits
- Release order: after New York, New York, before The King of Comedy.
- Chronological order: after New York, New York, before The King of Comedy.
Cast
- Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta
- Cathy Moriarty as Vickie LaMotta
- Joe Pesci as Joey LaMotta
- Frank Vincent as Salvy Batts
- Nicholas Colasanto as Tommy Como
- Theresa Saldana as Lenore
- Mario Gallo as Mario
- Frank Adonis as Patsy
- Joseph Bono as Guido
- Frank Topham as Toppy
- Lori Anne Flax as Irma
- Charles Scorsese as Charlie - Man with Como
Directed by Martin Scorsese.