Raging Bull

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro make the biography of boxer Jake LaMotta into a visceral meditation on existential suffering. Eschewing the romance associated with the sport, Raging Bull shows the struggle of an athlete whose willful determination to succeed on his own terms takes its toll on all those around him—friends and adversaries in equal measure—before he is undermined by self-loathing. Every punch is framed, lit, and cut for maximum impact, with black-and-white cinematography inspired by James Wong Howe. “A fusion of Hollywood genre with personal vision . . . closer to poetry than pulp. Its sculptural weight can only be appreciated on the big screen” (Amy Taubin, Village Voice).