The film "Raging Bull" (1980) American Blu-ray Edition Sleeve
In 1973, Robert De Niro was filming Bernardo Bertolucci (1941-2018) in Italy.
Just before the film starts, Robert De Niro received a book, Raging Bull (1980), which was sent to him by Peter Savage (1921-1981), one of the authors of the book.
A still from the film Nineteen Zero (1976), Robert De Niro and Gérard Depardieu
This is the autobiography of boxer Jake LaMotta (1922-2017) (co-authored by himself with Joseph Carter, Peter Savage).
Intrigued, Robert De Niro began reading, and soon he discovered that the book had the potential to be made into a movie — and a good character of his dreams.
Robert De Niro and boxer Jack LaMotta
So Robert De Niro called Martin Scorsesese, who was on the set of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), to talk about the idea.
Robert De Niro admits to Martin Scorsese that the book is not very well written, but its content makes for a great movie.
Location of the film Once Upon a Time (1974), from left: Chris Christopherson, Martin Scorsese, Alan Bostin
He also said that he had a great interest in playing the role of boxer Jack LaMotta, and mentioned the idea of changing his body shape for it, first shaping the boxer and then gaining 25 kilograms for the figure.
But Martin Scorsese wasn't interested, saying he hated boxing. However, Robert De Niro still sent the book he had finished reading to his friend director Martin Scorsese.
On location for the film Raging Bull (1980), Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro discuss the details of the shooting
Robert De Niro stood his ground, and eventually he convinced Martin Scorsese that the book Raging Bull could be adapted into a movie. Despite this, the latter did not actively promote the project.
After working together on Taxi Driver (1976) and New York, New York (1977), Robert De Niro was reluctant to let his unfinished project fall short.
A still from the film New York, New York (1977), Robert De Niro
He also discussed "Raging Bull" with Martin Scorsese during the filming of both films, and he allegedly spent time in the dressing room practicing boxing while filming "New York, New York."
And Martin Scorsese, after encountering the Waterloo of the musical and dance film "New York, New York", was affected by the frustration of his marriage, which caused him to be depressed and not interested in anything.
On the set of the film New York, New York (1977), Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese
In September 1978, Martin Scorsese left the Lyudlet Film Festival and experienced a severe internal hemorrhage, which he described as the most terrible day of his life, and had to stop all work.
However, it was during these painful days that he finished reading Jack LaMotta's biography from his hospital bed, and it may have been during this time that he felt the same way, found resonance, and began to identify with Jack LaMotta.
Set for the film Raging Bull (1980) with Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro
So the project was finally launched, and through the production of "Raging Bull", Martin Scorsese gradually got rid of the entanglement of drug addiction, and also opened the door to his own inspiration - the 80s and 90s of the 20th century were the golden period of Martin Scorsese's creation, and he really understood what it means to be "reborn from the fire".
At the end of the play, he quotes a passage from the Gospel of John in which Jesus exhorts Nicodemus to be born again from water and the Holy Spirit in order to enter the kingdom of God, showing the strength of this identification.
On the set of the film Raging Bull (1980), Martin Scorsese is directing Robert De Niro
"Raging Bull" is his second chance, his promise of rebirth.
"Every time I make a movie, it's like standing in the boxing ring. It was in Jack La Motta that he saw himself that made Martin Scorsese determined to make this film.
He discovered "what attracted him", and that was "self-destruction, along with the destruction of all those around him, destruction for the sake of destruction." I'm Jack LaMotta. ”
On the set of the film Raging Bull (1980), Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro
Haig Manugin, a professor at Martin Scorsese's time university, died during the filming of Raging Bull, and in honor of the teacher who denounced the lack of "determination" of the contemporary television scene, he decided to end with the parable of Jesus healing the blind.
He thinks Jack LaMotta's madness has made his vision clearer: "It's all about learning to accept yourself." "We should also thank Robert De Niro, who helped Martin Scorsese regain his self-control as a director and allowed him to regain his love for cinema.
On the set of the film Raging Bull (1980), Martin Scorsese is directing the crew while Robert De Niro is resting
When Robert De Niro was told by Martin Scorsese that the project had been launched, he immediately asked a mentor to learn dialects from him.
He grew up in New York's "Little Italy" neighborhood and now learns the accents, dialects and colloquialisms of the Bronx. Next, he was asked to coach him in boxing, and in the first six months he fought a thousand rounds.
On the set of the film Raging Bull (1980), Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro
He had watched several boxing movies and felt that the main character's muscles were not developed enough, and even if the scene was good, it was difficult to realistically, so he asked Sylvester Stallone's coach to guide him on how to build muscles.
Sylvester Stallone was an action star of the time, and his boxing film "Rocky" (1976) became world-famous.
The picture shows a makeup photo of the movie "Raging Bull". These eight Polaroid photographs were taken to show the real effect of Robert De Niro stuffing cotton in his nostrils, which Robert De Niro used to approximate the appearance of La Motta, the film's main character.
But "Raging Bull" is by no means another "Rocky", and it is very different from any boxing movie in history. It's not passionate, it's not inspirational, it's not even the redemption that Jack LaMotta is looking for.
For most of the film, Martin Scorsese focuses on Jack La Motta's duality: his tenacity on the one hand, and his insanely possessive wife on the other.
A still from the film "Raging Bull" (1980), Robert De Niro
In order to further enrich himself, Robert De Niro went to the south to visit Jack LaMotta's ex-wife Vicky LaMotta and their daughter, looked at photos of their lives, and learned about Jack LaMotta's living habits and manners.
In Raging Bull, Robert De Niro's research into the life of a boxer allows him to better understand Jack La Motta's inner conflicts and emotional experiences.
A still from the film "Raging Bull" (1980), Robert De Niro
Emotional experience is when an actor creates the inner world and emotional state of a character through personal emotional memories and emotional experiences.
In order to act realistically, he specially ate more, so that his weight increased from 73 kg to 98 kg, for which the film was stopped for four months.
Some people dismiss Robert De Niro's attention to detail and truthfulness, Robert De Niro said: "Maybe the first credo of an actor is 'pretending', but I don't do it." I'm too curious to want all the details of the character to be true. ”
A still from the film "Raging Bull" (1980), Robert De Niro
While filming was suspended, Martin Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker began editing the footage that had already been taken.
Martin Scorsese also traveled to Japan, where he married his third wife, Isabella Rossellini.
When "Raging Bull" was filmed, Robert De Niro spent another 4 months on a diet and exercising to get back to his original weight.
On the set of the film Raging Bull (1980), Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro
In the dialogue of "Raging Bull", there is very little content that shows Jack LaMota's personality and inner emotions, but Robert De Niro's performance is enough to speak for itself and make you understand it in your heart.
In addition, Jack LaMotta, an extremely complex "punk" character, has serious psychological problems - jealousy that numbs him and a strong sense of sexual crisis. All of this makes Robert De Niro's appearance the most difficult performance in history.
A still from the film "Raging Bull" (1980), Robert De Niro
British cinema master Michael Powell (1905-1990) suffered a period of continuous criticism in his film career.
In the United States, Martin Scorsese became a pivotal player in the event. The representative of the French side was Bertrand Tavernier (1941-2021).
A still from the film "Raging Bull" (1980), Robert De Niro
It was Michael Powell, who visited Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro on the set of "Raging Bulls" and gave the pair the most apt praise to date: "They have worked together for many years, so closely, and you can say that they have made each other together. Martin Scorsese's idea is Robert De Niro's performance. A few words are enough to comprehend the deep meaning, and gestures or eye contact are all tacit understanding. Soon, they will become the pioneers of the era who will lead moviegoers with a unique way of speaking. ”
On the set of the film Raging Bull (1980), Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro
Compared with "melodrama", "Raging Bull" is more like a "character drama" and "psychological drama". And Robert De Niro is the actor who created a beast.
But whether he's talking to his opponent in the ring or directly expressing skepticism – staring at someone with his small, bright eyes is a prelude to smashing the opponent and there is no element of pretense.
A still from the film "Raging Bull" (1980), Casey Moratti
Cathy Moriarty, who was still a newcomer at the time and had never made a film before, played Jack LaMotta's ex-wife, Vicky LaMoarta.
Although Kathy Moratti was only 19 years old at the time, she played the role of Vicky La Motta with maturity and sophistication, which made her seem unwilling to be controlled by her husband Jack La Motta.
A still from the film Raging Bull (1980), Robert De Niro and Casey Moratti
The alienated and cold Vicky LaMotta in the film, compared with the irascible Jack LaMotta, she has been in the rivers and lakes since she was a child and is familiar with mafia figures, no wonder Jack LaMotta is always at ease with her, and wonders all day whether his wife will have an affair outside.
A still from the film Raging Bull (1980), Robert De Niro and Casey Moratti
After the release of the film "Raging Bull", the company sent Casey Moratti on a promotional trip to Europe with Vicky LaMotta.
It is worth mentioning that "Raging Bull" is not the kind of inspirational sports movie that the audience expects, it is the darkness that hits people's hearts in the opposite direction, it will not go against reality in order to please the audience, it will restore real life, it will only make you feel depressed and sad.
A still from the film "Raging Bull" (1980), Robert De Niro
Most film critics at the time, both positive and negative, praised Robert De Niro's remarkable body change and outstanding performance.
A still from the film "Raging Bull" (1980), Robert De Niro
"Robert De Niro has always been reliable and engaging, even if his character isn't," said Richard, a film critic for Time magazine, "and if you compare a movie to a boat, when its plot moves smoothly through an autopilot system, Robert De Niro still sails with his beastly power, leading his talented and unknown co-actors." ”
Raging Bull became one of the best films of all time, and Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro joined them in the ranks of greatness.
Robert De Niro won the Best Actor at the 53rd Academy Awards in 1981 without suspense with this shocking performance, but Martin Scorsese's achievements were once again ignored and ignored by the Oscars.
The film "Raging Bull" (1980) American Blu-ray Edition Sleeve
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