Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin
Starring: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty
Country: United States
Running Time: 129 min
Year: 1980
Martin Scorsese is no stranger to having boutique releases of his films. Criterion alone have released Mean Streets, After Hours, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Last Waltz, The Age of Innocence, The Irishman, Rolling Thunder Revue and the Scorsese Shorts collection of early films from the legendary filmmaker, so when it was announced that they had a 4K UHD edition of Raging Bull on the way, it didn’t surprise me but had me excited, given their stellar track record with Scorsese’s work on home media.
I requested a screener copy and got my hands on the Blu-ray for Criterion’s new release and as somebody who’s only ever watched the film via streaming (I’m terrible, I know), I was beyond thrilled to finally check the film out on physical media and despite the fact that I didn’t even check out the UHD disc, this is still one of the most impressive disc releases I’ve seen in quite some time.
Briefly, for those who don’t know, Raging Bull follows Jake LaMotta, a professional boxer who’s hailed as one of the greatest boxers of all time, and the film adapts his memoir Raging Bull: My Story, with some revisions made for the screen by legendary writer/filmmaker Paul Schrader, along with help from Mardik Martin. Robert De Niro plays Jake, after chasing Scorsese up on the project for years, and while it sounds like it’s a project that Marty wouldn’t have completely had his heart in at first glance, when you see the film that’s presented on screen, you’d think this was the project he’d been warning to make for his entire life.
LaMotta was a fantastic boxer, but a less than stellar individual outside of the ring and that’s where Raging Bull focuses most of its time. We follow LaMotta with his brother Joey (played by Joe Pesci) and eventual wife Vickie (Cathy Moriarty in her first on-screen role) and many of the verbal and physical disputes that happen between those close to Jake. It’s probably fair to say that De Niro’s performance in Raging Bull is his greatest, but he’s delivered so many phenomenal roles, especially in the hands of Scorsese that it’s a given. This isn’t Travis Bickle or Rupert Pupkin, it’s arguably one of the most humanly dark performances of his career, never making you root for the character in the ways you would with someone like a Rocky, but you’re transfixed on LaMotta throughout, regardless. Schrader’s way of writing LaMotta for the picture feels similar to many of his other protagonists in both his written work and his directorial efforts, a tortured soul who believes he’s doing the right thing, but deep down, is stuck in a vicious cycle of abuse. In any other case, I’d say it was the case of somebody riding off of the success of one great idea, but Schrader’s protagonists never feel like the same character, and given that LaMotta is a real person (with some creative liberties taken for the film, of course), it’s even more surprising how well Schrader’s screenplay pulls it off.
Scorsese’s direction is perfect, as always, with the stunning black and white cinematography giving this dream-like quality to the boxing matches, and the conversational sequences feel more akin to something like On The Waterfront in terms of how they’re presented. I feel like it’d be redundant to explain how excellent of a filmmaker Scorsese is, because he’s arguably the greatest one to still be doing it after all of these years. There’s a feeling I get with each Scorsese film, whether it’s a new watch or one I’ve seen countless times that no other filmmaker is able to offer. It’s a master at the top of his game, but he’s been at the top for over fifty years.
The film isn’t an easy watch, and if you’re going in expecting a film primarily about the boxing sequences, you might come away disappointed but if you’re open to seeing an unflinching character study, you’ll more than likely adore what Scorsese, De Niro and Schrader pull together with Raging Bull. It’s a perfect movie, and there’s still five other films from Marty that I love more. That’s how great of a filmmaker the man is!
Film: 
Raging Bull released on the 20th May via Criterion on 4K UHD and Blu-ray. I viewed the Blu-ray edition and it looked absolutely phenomenal. The new 4K digital master looks flawless and I can only imagine that the UHD transfer looks even better with the added HDR colour grade. Audio wise, it’s an English DTS HD M.A 2.0 track and it also sounds utterly fantastic. As is the tradition with Criterion, they offer the best version of Raging Bull that home media has seen. A/V is perfect. The following extras are included:
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY™
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital master, approved by director Martin Scorsese, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
Three audio commentaries, featuring Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker; director of photography Michael Chapman, producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, casting director Cis Corman, music consultant Robbie Robertson, and others; and boxer Jake La Motta and screenwriters Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader
New video essays by film critics Geoffrey O’Brien and Sheila O’Malley
Fight Night, a making-of program featuring Scorsese and key members of the cast and crew
Three short programs highlighting the collaboration between Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro
Television interview from 1981 with actor Cathy Moriarty and the real Vikki La Motta
Interview with Jake La Motta from 1990
Program from 2004 featuring veteran boxers reminiscing about La Motta
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: Essays by poet Robin Robertson and film critic Glenn Kenny
New cover by Eric Skillman
The first archival audio commentary included is with director Martin Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, which was recorded in 1990 for the LaserDisc release of Raging Bull. If you’ve ever listened to a Scorsese and Schoonmaker commentary before, you’ll have a general idea on what you’re in for but it’s a rich track, with all of the behind-the-scenes information that you’d hope for, whether it’s how the opening credits were shot in 120 frames per second, how Scorsese got involved with adapting LaMotta’s memoir in the first place and more. There’s a few moments of silence throughout the commentary, but I’ve noticed that this is the case for most of the LaserDisc era commentary tracks, as the one included on the Taxi Driver Blu-ray has similar spots. Regardless, it’s an interesting track and absolutely worth listening to if you’re a fan of the film.
The second archival audio commentary included is a cast and crew track, with Michael Chapman, Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Robbie Robertson, John Turturro, Theresa Saldana, Cis Corman and Frank Warner, which was recorded in 2004. Given how many people are included in the track, it’s packed with technical information and anecdotes from the production from all involved. Given that this was recorded 45 years after the production, there’s a good deal of retrospective thoughts given too, such as the film’s enduring legacy and overall, it’s a pretty good listen.
The third and final archival audio commentary included is primarily a writer’s commentary, with Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader, as well as the boxer-author that the film’s based on, Jake LaMotta, with LaMotta’s nephew Jason Lustig too. This was recorded in 2004 and it’s probably the most interesting track given that LaMotta’s an absolute character, highlighting his troubled childhood, the hardships he went through and he’s incredibly open about his history, both the positive and negative aspects. While I was initially excited to hear Schrader talk about the film, LaMotta’s segments are the real highlight of this track. A must listen for fans of the film.
Pour Everything In is the first video essay on the release, by critic and poet Geoffrey O’Brien and it runs for 26 minutes. In this essay, O’Brien shares his love for Scorsese’s film, while analysing the film’s production, its visual style and how it compares to Scorsese’s other works. It’s a great piece that’s highly worth a watch.
The second video essay is Gloves Off by critic Sheila O’Malley, which runs for 18 minutes and this one focuses more on the characters in Raging Bull, primarily the LaMotta family and its inspirations such as Shakesphere’s Othello. It’s another good essay that’s worth your time.
Raging Bull: Fight Night is an archival 2004 4-part documentary that covers every aspect of the film’s production and legacy. The first chapter, Before the Fight focuses on the inception of the film, how De Niro initially read LaMotta’s memoir and wanted Scorsese to adapt it to the big screen, who was initially hesitant to do it. There’s a great moment with writer Paul Schrader who discusses his original concept for a masturbation sequence that slowly turns into a big dramatic scene that sounds super Schrader-y, but De Niro wasn’t a fan so the scene was axed. Producer Irvin Winkler talks about how his prior success with Rocky inspired United Artists to greenlight the production. A solid 26 minute introduction to the documentary. Inside the Ring is the second part of the documentary and looks at the process of shooting Raging Bull’s fighting sequences, with interviews from Scorsese and director of photography Michael Chapman touching on how the decision was made to shoot the film in black and white as opposed to colour, as well as the challenges that editor Thelma Schoonmaker had. Another excellent segment to the documentary, which runs for 14 minutes. The third segment, Outside the Ring focuses on the rest of the shoot, highlighting a lot of the dramatical sequences, how De Niro and Pesci handled those particular scenes, Cathy Moriarty talks about playing Vikki, how she found the experience of filming her first feature film and Chapman touches on the religious iconography that’s present throughout the entire film. There’s a segment touching on De Niro’s notorious weight gain, which shot down the production for months. Another solid segment that runs for 27 minutes. Finally, there’s After the Fight, which focuses on the violence outside of the ring and some of the more technical aspects of the production, such as the animal noises used during the fight sequences in the film. The legacy of the film is also talked about, such as its performance at the Academy Awards. It’s a great way to end the documentary and runs for 15 minutes. Fight Night is a behemoth of a documentary in terms of the areas that it covers and as far as retrospective docs go, this is one of the best out there.
Marty and Bobby is an archival 2010 featurette that runs for 13 minutes that was included on the prior 30th Anniversary Blu-ray release. It focuses on Scorsese and De Niro’s history, and they detail their first collaborations such as Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, as well as the tumultuous reception to New York, New York, which led to the inception of Raging Bull. The stories about how the production was almost shut down until De Niro stepped in were really fascinating. It’s another solid piece and as always, it’s an utter delight listening to Scorsese talk. Props to him talking about The King of Comedy towards the end too!
Marty on Film is an archival 2010 featurette that runs for 10 minutes and was included on the 30th Anniversary Blu-ray. It follows Scorsese talking about how his love for film grew from a young age and it’s a charming little extra. Hearing him gushing about his love of every genre and how they influenced his work growing up was delightful and if you’ve ever watched the Scorsese behemoth of a documentary A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, you’ll be familiar with what Marty’s saying but it’s a really fun inclusion regardless.
Robert De Niro on Acting is a 14 minute selection of audio excerpts from a 1980 seminar at the American Film Institute. It’s an interesting inclusion, although some of the stories that De Niro tells are mentioned in prior extras, such as his anecdote about meeting the real LaMotta while he was down on his luck in his later years. Still, it’s a solid inclusion and hearing about De Niro’s process for playing LaMotta during Raging Bull results in an insightful listen.
A 1990 interview with Jake LaMotta is included, alongside footage from his career and this piece runs for about 5 minutes. While it would have been nice to see a longer interview from LaMotta, the few minutes of him recounting his career is a fun inclusion.
Remembering Jake is an archival 2010 featurette that runs for 11 minutes and again, was included on the prior 30th Anniversary Blu-ray. This featurette highlights members of the Veterans Boxers Association of New York talking about La Motta’s legacy, ranging from people who looked up to him growing up, to people who knew him personally. It’s a fun little piece.
A 1981 Belgian TV interview with Cathy Moriarty and Vikki La Motta is also included, which runs for 8 minutes long. Seeing the real Vikki alongside the actress who played her in the film is as fascinating as it sounds, it’s a fantastic inclusion. Props to Criterion for sourcing this interview, as I can’t think of many other biopics that would have a press run with the real life individuals that the film was based on.
A theatrical trailer is included.
I wasn’t provided with the physical release or the essays, but I assume it’s up to Criterion’s usual high-quality standards.
Criterion’s release of Raging Bull is (nearly) the definitive release of the film. While it’s missing a chunk of the extras included on the 30th Anniversary Blu-ray release, the content that’s ported over is all excellent. The new transfer is stunning on Blu-ray and I can only imagine it looks even better on 4K UHD. Absolutely recommended for fans of the film or Scorsese’s body of work.
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