This certificate 18 film is from 1980 and it's largely shot in black and white. It stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and is directed by Martin Scorcese. De Niro plays 1940s boxing champion Jake La Motta. Joe Pesci plays La Motta's long-suffering brother and manager, and Cathy Moriarty plays Jake's wife.
The story follows Jake's traumas and triumphs in and out of the ring. It is based on Jake's autobiography. The depiction of the rise of La Motta, is punctuated by the scenes in which, as a fat has-been 20 years later, he's reduced to acting out self-pitying monologues in a tawdry Manhattan nightclub. He thinks he's a great comedian but it's painful to watch.
He's also abusive towards his family but ironically his ultimate downfall - an accusation of under age sex - isn't really his fault. How will he manage in the end?
De Niro's performance is typically tough - he really played the part and put on all the weight necessary. Doing the boxing training to help with the fighting scenes, gaining about 5 stone and banging his head against a wall as La Motta declined are just some of the lengths he went to, to really feel and look the part.
The film won 2 Oscars and deservedly so. I would recommend it but be warned, it's one of those films which isn't a pleasure to see. It's not meant to be enjoyed in the usual sense. The boxing scenes are harrowing and the documentary style is often jarring.
I watched this on TV but the video is around £8 in the shops but is available on Amazon for much cheaper than that. The DVD is about £16.
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gives an amazing portrayal of a man whose animal side lurks just beneath the surface ever ready to erupt. Vivid and unremitting in its uncompromising brutality ...
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gives an amazing portrayal of a man whose animal side lurks just beneath the surface, every ready to erupt. Vivid and unremitting in its uncompromising brutality...
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Syklone 15.08.2009 (15.08.2009)
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