Raging Bull
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Raging Bull is a 1980 film directed by Martin Scorsese (Academy Award nomination - Best Director) adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from the memoir Raging Bull: My Story it is commonly ranked as one of the Greatest films ever made It stars Robert De Niro (Academy Award - Best Actor) as Jake LaMotta, a temperamental and paranoid but tenacious boxer who alienates himself from his friends and family. Also featured in the film are Joe Pesci (Academy Award nomination - Best Supporting Actor) as Joey, La Motta's brother and manager, and Cathy Moriarty (Academy Award nomination - Best Supporting Actress) as his abused wife. The film features strong supporting roles from Nicholas Colasanto (who was eventually to play the character "Coach" on the TV sitcom Cheers), Theresa Saldana and Scorsese regular Frank Vincent.
Raging Bull begins with Jake LaMotta late in his life practicing his stand-up comic routine, then flashes back to his early boxing career. Jake (De Niro) is a talented and determined fighter from the Bronx, and his brother Joey (Pesci) is his manager. Jake slowly climbs the ladder to the top of the boxing world (due to numerous setbacks mostly involving his personal life and weight problems), and courts Vicki (Moriarty) a 15-year-old girl he meets in his neighborhood. After his first wife leaves, he starts a relationship with her which eventually leads to marriage and children.
As a boxer, Jake is promising but headstrong. He takes punches well, and fights with passion, but he refuses to curry favor with the old guard who control boxing. To compete for the middleweight title he is forced to throw a match to Billy Fox, which grants him the right to fight for the title. He wins, and defends the title against challengers, which puts him at the top of his career.
However, Jake becomes increasingly jealous of Vicki, and ultimately convinces himself of her infidelity with Joey. Enraged, he lashes out violently on his brother, who then abandons him. LaMotta loses his title to his rival Sugar Ray Robinson and retires from boxing a few years later due to his weight problems, and becomes a modestly successful stand-up comedian and nightclub owner. His wife finally divorces Jake, taking custody of his children, while LaMotta ends up in jail for abetting statutory rape. In jail he punches his cell walls and pounds his head against them with despair. After being released from jail, Jake tries to mend his relationship with Joey. The film ends as it began with Jake practicing his routine in front of the mirror.
