RAGING BULL : The difference between Martin Scorcese and Hollywood !!!!

This is one movie whose name I heard first from my father, then from my favourite directors from hollywood as well as bollywood. They refer to it as a cinema-textbook, which should be studied thoroughly if one wanted to understand the small nuances and details of film-making (Like an M. L. Khanna for the IITians !!!).

Listening to all this, I was introduced to two "heavy" names - MARTIN SCORCESE and
ROBERT DE NIRO. I downloaded the movie from the internet, (as soon as I got myself
a broadband) but never quite got down to watching it. Finally came a day, where I
had already pre-decided on watching this so-called "classic". To start with,
when I had seen the posters of Robert De Niro in his boxing gloves, I had presumed
that it is a sports film, and the film was based on Boxing. Having grown up watching the
"Rocky-franchise" starring Sylvester Stallone, I thought to myself there could be nothing
better than a Rocky Balboa, to do justice to a Boxing-film. Then, what is so special in
"Raging Bull" that people consider this movie so great ?!

I watched the first 45 minutes and, being a loyal "Rocky-Fan", was quite taken
aback by the way Robert De Niro's character "JAKE LA MOTTA" behaves !! Violent,
physically and verbally abusive on his wife as well as his brother, deeply-paranoid,
and simply-crazy would be the right adjectives to describe him. So here I was
watching a supposed-classic and still felt absolutely no sympathy for the protagonist.
Instead, I felt an anguish for this illiterate and ignorant "JAKE LA MOTTA".

But I was so wrong. As the movie progressed I found myself the difference between MARTIN SCORCESE and HOLLYWOOD ! Until the climax, all my misconceptions were cleared and doubts erased. First of all, this is NOT a sports film, it is the story of the rise of a "Champion", who falls very quickly because of his absolute disregard for other people including his wife, elder brother and even his bosses. It is the character study of a man, even though magically gifted with some boxing-skills, lands up in a cheap restaurant introducing cabarett-dancers by the end only because of his insensitivity towards the people. It is not another "Under-dog" story. It is the story of an under-dog who became a champion and then threw it all away, because of his paranoia and disrespect for other people.The film is based in the 1940s-1950s and hence Black & White was used effectively, to satiate its grammar of film-making.

My favourite scene is where Jake LaMotta has been convinced to throw away a fight,
and because of which he hardly makes an attempt or two to jab his opponent. At the end, with a profusely bleeding face and mouth he goes up to his opponent and says, "You never got me down, ray !... You never got me down, ray!!!". This very scene encapsulates the madness, and the infallible ego of Jake LaMotta.

Even though, the character arouses a lot of anguish, it also shows us a very human-problem, and makes it very relatable to the audience. There lies the masterstroke of the great Martin Scorcese and Robert De Niro. To make something so unsettling, and yet so empathic is what has me raving over this epic film.