Robert De Niro - Triple - Raging Bull / Ronin / True Confessions (DVD)

A truly excellent box set for any discerning De Niro fans, with possibly one of his best performances - barring Taxi Driver - as Jake La Motta in Raging Bull ... a truly epic film. De Niro is abley supported by the excellent Joe Pesci as brother Joey La Motta, in this cinematic masterpiece based upon the life of the middle-weight boxer from the late 40's early 50's. La Motta's "raging" temper, was his achilles heal, and the film aptly portrays ...
...his chances of greatness, and led him to a sorry shell of his former self by the end of the film, having ostracised himself from his brother, wife, and then girlfriend, after becoming involved in corruption, the criminal underworld, throwing flights, and beating his wife. As a Boxing fan, this was a particularly interesting insight into the temper that rages inside many boxers but is not normally so obviously destructive, except in the more recent ... more

A truly excellent box set for any discerning De Niro fans, with possibly one of his best performances - barring Taxi Driver - as Jake La Motta in Raging Bull ... a truly epic film. De Niro is abley supported by the excellent Joe Pesci as brother Joey La Motta, in this cinematic masterpiece based upon the life of the middle-weight boxer from the late 40's early 50's. La Motta's "raging" temper, was his achilles heal, and the film aptly portrays his struggle with it. His temper ultimately ruined his chances of greatness, and led him to a sorry shell of his former self by the end of the film, having ostracised himself from his brother, wife, and then girlfriend, after becoming involved in corruption, the criminal underworld, throwing flights, and beating his wife. As a Boxing fan, this was a particularly interesting insight into the temper that rages inside many boxers but is not normally so obviously destructive, except in the more recent case of Mike Tyson, to whom - maybe - some comparisons could be drawn.

Ronin is a modern day spy thriller, full of car chases, shooting, back stabbing, suspense and continual location changes - mostly thoughout France. The show is stolen for me by excellent performances from both De Niro and Jean Reno. The plot remains distinctively secret throughout the film, which still keeps you guessing to a degree at the finish, allowing the viewer to make their own assumptions / conclusions in regards to certain aspects of the film ... something I think allows a film to live on.

True confessions is probably a film not to everyone's tastes and differs from the previous two films in so much that it is a character study made up as a detective film. The film is centred around two characters - one a priest and one a detective - who are both, in one way or another, corrupt and seeking salvation throughout. De Niro delivers a typically excellent performance, which I thoroughly enjoyed, particularly with the thought provoking and intelligent nature of the film.

The Box set also includes the followng special features;
- Raging Bull ORIGINAL Theatrical Trailer
- True Confessions ORIGINAL Theatrical Trailer
- Ronin ORIGINAL Theatrical Trailer
- Ronin Alternate Ending
- Filing in the Fast Lane Featurette
- Feature Length Commentary by John Frankeneheimer  

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