Raging Bull

Day 200 - 7/19/09 - Movie #200

BEFORE: Aw yeah, crossing another big, important film off the list tonight - and people said it wouldn't last... TWO HUNDY! 200 films this year, that's got to be the most films I've ever watched in a calendar year - so now that I'm in the routine, there's nothing left to do now but go for 300, or even 365...

THE PLOT: An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it.

AFTER: I admit to not knowing much about the sport of boxing, but this is the sort of film that makes me want to learn more - the logistics about who gets a shot at the title, how and why a boxer takes a "dive", etc. This film works fine as a biopic of a specific boxer, and some of the boxing footage is spectacular, but I wish there was more information about the boxing, since some of the parts in between tended to be a little boring. With the exceptions, of course, of a couple notable interactions between Jake LaMotta and his wife and brother, when his paranoia and suspicion got the better of him.

My original plan was to follow this film with a bunch of other boxing films, like "Million Dollar Baby", "Cinderella Man" and "The Hurricane" - but my Comic-Con trip's going to get in the way here. So instead I'm going to finish out my De Niro chain, head to San Diego, and hopefully pick up the boxing thread when I get back.

RATING: 6 out of 10 body-blows (and a left hook)

DENIR-O-METER: 8 - not just for the weight gain in playing LaMotta, but for the unique combination of disappearing into the role, and still shining through when it counted.