Searching for Touches of Humanity in the Raging Bull (1980)

Directed by Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull is a film about boxing, but it is so much more than just a boxing film. It is the story of Jake La Motta, a middleweight boxer active between 1940s and 1950s. The film starts from his early professional boxing career, follows his rise to the world champion, and then his decline until he retires finally. Intercutting scenes of La Motta’s boxing bouts with ones of his interactions with his family provide hints on why the film is titled Raging Bull — in the ring, he is a ruthless fighter, never knocked out; in his personal life, he is distrustful and short-tempered, often lashing out uncontrollably. Although La Motta is referred to as the raging “bull,” and this is his story, I believe it is in fact a very human story to which anyone can relate to at some level.

Raging Bull is mostly shot on black-and-white, and this deliberate artistic decision of Scorsese’s worked very well. The boxing scenes in the film look more intense, because without the distraction of colors, the audience pays more attention to the lights, sound, and even the slightest change in the shades of black. In these scenes, Scorsese showcases his mastery of the art of restraint. For example, in the final boxing scene in the film, we are first shown how the water coming out of the sponge used to rub La Motta is not transparent, but dark. We do not need to see the wounds on the boxer, nor do we need to see the color red to know he is bleeding. In addition, at several points in the sequence, Scorsese cuts out all the sound and uses slow motion, which means less action, to create drama that in turn draw the audience more into the story. The flashing lights that imitate the reporters at the arena and make some shots too bright to be seen clearly also help intensify the atmosphere.

One particular sequence in the film stands out, which is a montage showing vignettes of La Motta’s life between 1944 and 1947. It is special not only because it is shot in colors and has a more rustic look, but also because it is a sequence that makes La Notta seem the most human. This sequence is cut between black and white still images of La Motta’s boxing bouts and short clips of color home-movie, recording his everyday family life as well as major life events such as his and his brother’s weddings. Cutting between these footages suggests that boxing is just a part of La Motta’s normal life, and should not be the one thing that defines him. The montage gives the impression that he is just like any other hard- working man, striving to be the best he can be at his job, but the best times he has do not come from triumphs, but instead come from the simplest things such as spending time with his family. After La Motta retires, a group of journalists interview him about how he feels about his retirement. His remark — “I got a nice house, I got three great kids, I got a wonderful, beautiful wife. What more can I ask for?” — also echoes this impression. However, the usage of montage instead of a classical narrative arc also suggests that because of La Motta’s own character, this happiness is transient for him.

As a student who does not know much about the historical context of La Motta’s story, I had trouble understanding parts of the film that suggest the Italian mob’s intervention in boxing matches while watching the film for the first time, thus I hope the film provides more information. I also have mixed feelings about the fact that the film does not explain how La Motta became interested in boxing and decided to be a professional — I wonder if this part of the story will explain La Motta’s struggles and behavior. These musings aside, I nonetheless find Raging Bull an artistic masterpiece and a thought-provoking story that has become a classic and should not be missed by any student of film. To this day, I still cannot get the image of La Motta punching and banging his head on the prison wall when he was at his lowest point in his life, crying out “Why? Why? I am not an animal!” out of my head. Insecurity, prone to jealousy, and competitiveness may not be our best qualities, but are they not what make us human?