RAGING BULL
Directed by: Martin Scorsese.
Produced by: Irwin Winkler & Robert Chartoff.
Written by: Paul Schrader & Mardik Martin.
Director of Photography: Michael Chapman.
Edited by: Thelma Schoonmaker.
Released by: MGM Home Entertainment.
Country of Origin: USA. 129 min. Rated R.
With: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty & Frank Vincent. DVD Features: Three audio commentaries including the director, writers, producers, editor, and boxer Jake La Motta. Four behind-the-scenes featurettes. Making-of documentary. Newsreel footage of a La Motta bout. Shot by shot comparison of La Motta to actor De Niro. Trailer.

Considered by many American film critics to be the best film of the ‘80's, Raging Bull is simply one of the greatest sports films ever made. Portraying Jake La Motta as both middleweight champ and heavyweight chump, Robert De Niro's powerful and emotional performance redefined method acting. This is the film that made audiences take notice of Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty, whose Lana Turner-like beauty radiates in the magnificent black-and-white transfer.

DVD Extras: This special edition is a film buff's dream. The multiple commentaries from cast and crew, as well as the real Jake La Motta, are engaging and shed light on the difficulties of the shoot, which took months off to accommodate De Niro's famed weight gain. There is a generous if not repetitive 82-minute, four-part featurette highlighting the precision that went into shooting and choreographing the brutal boxing scenes. "The Bronx Bull" is a half-hour documentary that allows La Motta to tell his story directly, adding that after training De Niro, the actor was in good enough shape to have competed professionally. The newsreel footage shows us a La Motta comeback while the shot-by-shot comparison to De Niro clearly illustrates the actor’s astonishing physical transformation. Jeff Sneider
March 16, 2005