There is something about the dynamic duo that is Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro that makes you want to curse up a storm and beat the shit out of everybody. In Scorsese's brutal depiction of Jake La Motta a ruthless boxer at reaching for the middleweight title in the 1940's, DeNiro and Pesci complement each other nicely. Scorsese seems to stick with what works, by combining two of hollywoods most famous wise-guys Scorsese is able to yet again blow the audience away with raw graphic violence, foul language and a fast dialogue. I like how Scorsese uses the same actors in a lot of his films because that way he is really able to get to know them and how they work. The film takes place in New York City in the 1940's following the ups and downs of boxer Jake La Motta, Scorsese captures the essence of the era and the city through advanced cinematography. Throughout the film there are many technical shots especially during a fight in the ring. The film is in black and white and opens with a robed Deniro dancing around in the ring practicing his footwork. This shot is in slow motion with classical music playing during the opening credits. Along with this shot, Scorsese uses a wide variety of techniques inside the ring, in one instance when La Motta gets hit in the face the camera reels around in a circle as if to show us how dizzy and rattled his brain must be. When the bell rings between rounds the camera focuses on La Motta (DeNiro) in the corner aith a dutch angle, oftentimes the camera is slowed down when his manager is cleaning his wounds and cleaning his face with a sponge full of water.
Along with many of these shots one stands out above the rest, this is obviously when Jake notices Vicky from across the dance floor in a restaurant. It is a slow motion zoom in on her face and as it it travels across the dance floor people dance in front of the camera making it seem as if we are gazing at this girl from across the room as well. One thing that I have noticed about Scorsese's films is that in every one they start out fairly slow giving some good background information on the characters, after all he is well known for his incredible character development. Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro dive so deep into their characters that it amazes me, for a minute there I actually believed they were brothers. Along with all of the violence and blood, Raging Bull spends a great amount of time on the ups and downs of Jake La Motta's boxing career and family life, which I really enjoyed. I like how Scorsese makes you feel as if you know this "character" personally after viewing the movie. I also enjoyed how much time Scorsese spent on developing Jake's nasty behavior and personality, he points out how jealousy, mistrust, and domestic violence destroys his career and breaks up his family. After viewing these three films by Scorsese I have grown in admiration of a man who has become a master of his craft.
2 comments:
I never thought about it but the scene in the restaurant with Vikki reminds of the scene in Vertigo.
Yeah I liked his "advanced cinematography" and that "technical shot" too. Nice. But really, I agree with your observations both of Scorsese's concentration on the ups and downs, and his great character developement. These were present in all three of his films that we watched.
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