Mudcat
yap
- Since
- Jan 27, 2010
- Messages
- 32,603
- Score
- 427
- Tokens
- 0
I watched this recently. It had been so long since I had seen it, it felt almost like a first viewing.
My conclusion: this is a vastly over-rated movie. I don't get why there is such a fuss about it. As a depiction of boxing, it is really bad. So distractingly fake (not just in the ring but some of the out-of-the-ring scrapping was well into the realm of unintentional comedy). I realize it is hard to do many sports convincingly for movies and Raging Bull is not alone in that, but nevertheless it has to be said.
I also realize it is not really supposed to be about boxing. It is a character study - and as a character study, I found it really weak. I feel like if you are going to do a biography of a marginal historical figure, there should be something about them that stands out - but apparently Jake LaMotta was just a dime-a-dozen idiotic manchild. That's what he was at the start and that's what he was at the end.
He was a boxer with some violent tendencies. It does not amaze me.
It's in black and white. Wow?
Great Performance by Deniro - I see that. Pesci too. Normally for a movie where I feel so clear that I don't ever need to watch it again, my rating would be thumbs down - sub-5 - however the strength of those performances bumps my rating to 5.7 out of 10.
I dunno. Maybe someone can tell me why this is in the top 5 AFI movies of all time.
My conclusion: this is a vastly over-rated movie. I don't get why there is such a fuss about it. As a depiction of boxing, it is really bad. So distractingly fake (not just in the ring but some of the out-of-the-ring scrapping was well into the realm of unintentional comedy). I realize it is hard to do many sports convincingly for movies and Raging Bull is not alone in that, but nevertheless it has to be said.
I also realize it is not really supposed to be about boxing. It is a character study - and as a character study, I found it really weak. I feel like if you are going to do a biography of a marginal historical figure, there should be something about them that stands out - but apparently Jake LaMotta was just a dime-a-dozen idiotic manchild. That's what he was at the start and that's what he was at the end.
He was a boxer with some violent tendencies. It does not amaze me.
It's in black and white. Wow?
Great Performance by Deniro - I see that. Pesci too. Normally for a movie where I feel so clear that I don't ever need to watch it again, my rating would be thumbs down - sub-5 - however the strength of those performances bumps my rating to 5.7 out of 10.
I dunno. Maybe someone can tell me why this is in the top 5 AFI movies of all time.
