Raging Bull (1980) [The Criterion Collection]

Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana

With this stunningly visceral portrait of self-destructive machismo, Martin Scorsese created one of the truly great and visionary works of modern cinema. Robert De Niro pours his blood, sweat, and brute physicality into the Oscar-winning role of Jake La Motta, the rising middleweight boxer from the Bronx whose furious ambition propels him to success within the ring but whose unbridled paranoia and jealousy tatter his relationships with everyone in his orbit, including his brother and manager (Joe Pesci) and his gorgeous, streetwise wife (Cathy Moriarty). Thelma Schoonmaker’s Oscar-winning editing, Michael Chapman’s extraordinarily tactile black-and-white cinematography, and Frank Warner’s ingenious sound design combine to make Raging Bull a uniquely powerful exploration of violence on multiple levels—physical, emotional, psychic, and spiritual.



Commentary tracks:
– Audio Commentary with director Martin Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker (1990)
– Audio Commentary with director of photography Michael Chapman, producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, music producer Robbie Robertson, actors John Turturro and Theresa Saldana, casting director Cis Corman, and supervising sound effects editor Frank Warner (2004)
– Audio Commentary with writers Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader, boxer-author Jake LaMotta, and LaMotta's nephew Jason Lustig (2004)

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