Martin Scorsese (“The Aviator”, “Silence”) directs “Raging Bull”, a film that is often compared to “Rocky”. However, the two films are very different. “Rocky” concerns itself much more with boxing while “Raging Bull” features very little ring action and instead, it focuses more organised crime and domestic violence.

Based on the life of boxer Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro “The Godfather Part II”, “Heat”). We follow Jake through his boxing career to his later work in stand-up comedy. We also see that his violence in the ring is a reflection of his violence outside it. He’s one angry man and nobody is safe from his outbursts when his temper flares.

De Niro frequently collaborates with Scorsese and the two really seem to get each other. De Niro did lots of training for this role and apparently, he would have been good enough to enter professional fighting. LaMotta is not a nice guy and the movie never tries to make us think that he is. Here we see that he’s sleazy and vicious. Joe Pesci (“Home Alone”) plays Jake’s younger brother, who served as his manager. He gives a really good performance. Some of the other boxers look suitably menacing in the brief fight scenes.

“Raging Bull” visually stands out because this film came out in 1980 yet it was filmed in black and white (although there is a home video montage in colour). Usually, it’s only independent films that have opted to shoot in black and white since the 60s. Somehow, “Raging Bull” appears far more alive than I think it would have done had it been presented in colour. Don’t go into expecting to see another “Rocky” because it’s such a different kind of movie. If you like Scorsese and/or De Niro then you owe it to yourself to see this.