Session 3 Raging Bull

I watched Raging Bull for my session 3 text book selection. This film was directed by Martin Scorsese in 1980. It is a period piece reflecting the boxing world and a prize fighter Jake LaMotta in the 1940's. I really loved this film. You can watch a movie and it is just a movie but, this was art. It was filled with artistry created by still shots, slow motion detail, hand held camera snippets, and black and white film to better represent the time.

It is very hard to sum up this movie and even to decide on which things to pick out and evaluate. I have written many things of which to comment but, I am left feeling as though I can't put into words what everything meant. Martin Scorsese is one of the best producers and arguably the best. This film is proof of that.

I didn't feel that the costuming in this film was so important but, it did reflect the time period of the film. The starting point of the script was 1964 in New York City. The main character Jake LaMotta was alone in a room preparing for something which was not specified. He wore a tux and was rehearsing a line from Shakespeare. Previous to showing this during the opening credits the focus was on a boxer warming up in a boxing ring. The scene was in slow motion and you couldn't identify the man nor the audience. I felt that this moment was a signature Scorsese moment. The setting set the mood for the film. Starting out with a trim boxer in the ring and then showing an out of shape man. It was a foreshadow of what was to become of the boxer.

Another indicator of the time period was a reference made to a film that would have been premiering around the late 1950's. This reference was made at the end of the film which was supposed to be 1960. The referenced film was On the Waterfront and the material was the main character and his brother. When this reference was made it was indicating LaMotta's point of view from a cinematic objective point of view. The movie was filmed in this cinematic objective point of view. I feel like the home video snippets really depict the objectiveness of the film.