Return To The Ring For Some Knockout Raging Bull Facts

All sport makes for great theatre. The all-or-nothing nature of competition, where heroes and villains can be born and reputations sealed or smashed in a split second makes for compelling viewing. The euphoric highs and terrible lows of an athlete on their journey to overcome seemingly impossible odds and win the day transcends sport and becomes a metaphor for the human spirit. "Rocky," "Any Given Sunday," and "Chariots of Fire," are all prime examples of how sport can inspire, elevate, and bring out the best in us. Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bull" on the other hand, flips this formula on its head and gives a penetrating insight into the self-destructive nature of an individual who is consumed by the same energies and motivations that initially made them such a fierce contender.

Sometimes the lives of athletes take on the scale and scope of a Shakespearean tragedy. Jake LaMotta is one such individual. The chief protagonist of "Raging Bull," played with a career-defining intensity by Robert De Niro has none of the wholesome charm, aspirational earnestness, or everyman appeal of fictional pugilists such as Rocky Balboa. LaMotta has no off switch and cannot distinguish between the man he is in the confrontational intensity of the ring and the man he is in everyday life. The fury and fire that define and make him a household name are the same elemental energies that lead to his downfall. Four decades after its release, Scorsese's masterpiece still hits like a heavyweight punch. It's a film about a boxer, but it's not about boxing. It's about a man driven by insecurity, jealousy, and the dark places it leads him. Let's return to the ring for some inside facts about "Raging Bull."

Great art often has its origins in places of great despair, and after being rushed to hospital from a near-fatal collapse, Scorsese began to appreciate the redemptive qualities in the story arc of "Raging Bull" (via Vanity Fair). Scenes such as the one where Jake LaMotta is in a jail cell and cries out, "I'm not an animal" portray a man at his lowest, where there are only two choices: destruction or redemption. LaMotta eventually chooses the latter as did Scorsese. In an interview with Jay Glennie for "Raging Bull: The Making Of," Scorsese said, "It became more impossible for me to function, both physically and mentally, until I finally collapsed" (via The Independent). Mardik Martin, who co-wrote "Raging Bull" added that upon admission to the hospital, Scorsese was, "Bleeding from his mouth, bleeding from his nose, bleeding from his eyes."

Robert De Niro visited Scorsese in the hospital and allegedly asked, "Are you gonna be one of those directors who makes a couple of good movies, and then it's over for them?" De Niro remembered telling Scorsese that no one else on earth could make "Raging Bull" as he would. The director recalled that it was fortunate there was such a meaningful project for him to sink his teeth into. The Guardian reported that at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, Scorsese remembered lying in the hospital, not knowing, "If I could be inspired to make another movie," but in time came to view "Raging Bull" as a "rebirth in a way." Scorsese added, "I made it as if it was the end of my life. I didn't care if I made another movie."

Ask anyone to name a film about boxing and nine times out of 10, they'll say "Rocky." The film that made Sylvester Stallone famous is the classic tale of the underdog made good. It oozes a passion for pugilism from its every pore and has a feel-good vibe that's hard to beat. "Raging Bull" is an altogether different beast. Partly because Jake LaMotta is based on a real-life fighter, and not a fictional construct, and partly because Martin Scorsese wanted "Raging Bull" to be the polar opposite of "Rocky." Hollywood Suite reported that comparisons between "Rocky" and "Raging Bull" were inevitable considering there was only one year between them and they were both about boxing. To distinguish his film from John G. Avildsen's, Scorsese made a few moves that United Artists weren't exactly keen on.

Making Jake LaMotta an anti-hero that the audience at times would be repulsed by, was in stark contrast to Rocky Balboa. The Italian Stallion was so loved by the people of Philadelphia, hundreds of them would join him in his early morning runs up the city's 72 steps to the Museum of Art. Secondly, by filming in black and white, you'd never mistake Scorsese's film for the contemporary color and feel of "Rocky." By filming in black and white, Scorsese felt he could get away with making the boxing scenes more authentic by adding the blood that the more sanitized "Rocky" lacks. Lastly, Scorsese didn't believe in pulling any punches when documenting a real-life warts n' all account of the violence and anger that made a man a fearsome fighter.

Robert De Niro has a reputation for going to great lengths to inhibit the characters he plays. Yet when it came to playing a force of nature such as Jake LaMotta, De Niro wanted to push things one step further and take his act to the stage. Vulture reported that De Niro believed that the first and last frames of a two-hour-plus movie weren't enough to contain the larger-than-life LaMotta. The actor had the novel idea that after the shooting was finished for the day, he could stay in character and hit the clubs with a one-man stand-up "Raging Bull" routine, similar to the one LaMotta once took to the club circuit. De Niro told an audience at the Beacon Theater, "I had a thought about doing it as a play, doing like a one-man show. We actually talked to the studio about that, and I think they would have gone along with it if it could have been possible."

Martin Scorsese remembered also thinking it was a fine idea and added, "We were crazy — 32 or 33 or something like that. If you're that age, there's that will, the energy of going from the movie set to the stage, you feed off that." However, when De Niro and Scorsese studied the specific details and planning involved it proved one step beyond. De Niro explained, "I actually thought I could do it. But it was just the logistics of it and then wearing a fat suit. It's so complicated. It was tough enough to get the script right. In theory, it seemed like an interesting thing to do, but whether could it have been really done is another story?"

Before shooting the movie, Robert De Niro spent months under the watchful eye of Jake LaMotta getting match fit and in the shape of his life for "Raging Bull." Vanity Fair reported that the actor put in 1,000 rounds of sparring in a New York gym, piling on the muscle and learning LaMotta's distinctive fighting technique. By the time LaMotta had put him through the paces, he was even landing some punches and physically punishing his teacher. As a committed actor, De Niro was determined to learn how to fight properly to do his portrayal of LaMotta justice. It obviously worked because his mentor arranged for De Niro to anonymously appear in three licensed fights, and he only lost one. The iconic opening scene of "Raging Bull" poignantly demonstrates how successfully De Niro developed the grace and movement of a natural fighter.

Shawn Levy's book, "De Niro: A Life" explained how during the boxing sequences, which Martin Scorsese opted to shoot first in Los Angeles, LaMotta was a mainstay on set to give De Niro tips on fighting tactics and how to carry himself in the ring. However, when the film crew upped sticks and relocated to New York to shoot scenes of LaMotta's life outside the ring, they asked the boxer to stay put in case he interfered with the development of his character. De Niro revealed, "He understood because you don't want the guy to come over and say, 'That's not the way I did it.' You feel his presence and all your energy is drained. You feel like you're doing it for the approval of someone else."

Look closely and you'll notice that the boxing ring is seemingly forever changing shape in "Raging Bull." One minute it is expansive and accommodating, allowing freedom of movement and space for self-expression, and the next it appears claustrophobic and restricting as it chokes all life and energy out of its inhabitants. It was a deliberate ploy on behalf of Martin Scorsese to reflect Jake LaMotta's state of mind. No Film School reported that during a talk by longtime Scorsese collaborator, Thelma Schoonmaker, at the Tribeca Film Festival, the legendary editor detailed how different-sized rings were used to achieve the desired effect. She also explained how various animal noises, barely discernible to the casual viewer, were added to the scenes to create a chaotic and savage ambiance.

Schoonmaker, who said she feels boxing should be banned, revealed that when she edited the fight scenes, her cuts were based on if LaMotta was winning or losing the fight. When he scented victory, the editing was smooth, and expansive and allowed LaMotta to dance around the ring like a butterfly in its natural habitat. When he was losing, her cuts became short, sharp, and blunt, creating an alien and hellish environment where cruelty and punishment reign supreme. Lighting was also used to great effect to create a nightmarish landscape that doesn't so much exist inside the ring as it does in LaMotta's head.