“Raging Bull” is a sports movie that I’ve heard a lot about
for a long time, but for whatever reason, I’d never seen it. It’s not shown on
television very often, and I don’t ever remember ever watching even part of it.
I added it to my “bucket list” a couple of years ago and finally watched it
from start to finish in Sunday thanks to NetFlix.
For those of you unfamiliar with “Raging Bull,” its about
former World Middleweight Boxing Champion Jake LaMotta, whose nickname was “The
Raging Bull.” Directed by Martin Scorsese, the movie’s cast included Robert
DeNiro in the lead roll as LaMotta as well as Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty,
Nicholas Colasanto and Theresa Saldana. “Raging Bull” was first released in theaters
on Nov. 2, 1980.
Prior to watching this movie, I knew very little about
LaMotta and his boxing career. I was even more surprised to learn that, as of
this writing, he’s still alive at the ripe, old age of 93. In all, he fought
106 professional fights and won 83, including 30 by knockout. His last pro
fight was a split decision against Billy Kilgore in Miami Beach, Fla. on April
14, 1954.
My interest in “Raging Bull” really ramped up after I saw it
on several “best of” lists. In 1999, Entertainment Weekly ranked “Raging Bull”
No. 5 on its list of “100 Greatest Movies of All Time.” In August 2003, Sports
Illustrated ranked “Raging Bull” No. 3 on its list of “Greatest Sports Movies.”
Shortlist.com also included it on its list of “20 Greatest Sports Movies Ever
Made.”
TIME Magazine also included “Raging Bull” on its list of
“All-TIME 100 Movies,” and Variety ranked it No. 39 on its list of 50 greatest
movies ever. In 2008, “Raging Bull” was ranked No. 8 on Empire magazine’s poll
of “500 Greatest Movies of All Time.” It was also placed on the National Film
Registry in 1990.
Interestingly, despite this movie’s popularity, it didn’t
win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Instead, it went to “Ordinary People”
that year, but DeNiro did win an Academy Award for Best Actor and the movie
also received an Academy Award for Best Film Editing. I’ve seen “Ordinary
People” and “Raging Bull,” and if I had to pick one to re-watch right this
minute, I’d go with “Raging Bull.”
I was also especially interested to learn that “Raging Bull”
was based on a 1970 book called “Raging Bull: My Story” by Jake LaMotta, Joseph
Carter and Peter Savage. Originally published by Prentice-Hall, the book was
re-released in paperback in August 1997 by Da Capo Press. Now that I’ve seen the
movie, I’m tempted to add this book to my “bucket list.”
In the end, how many of you out there have seen “Raging
Bull”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or not? What other
sports-related books would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section
below.
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