Raging Bull

Rob Kelly

10/03/05

Raging Bull

Raging Bull is based upon the real life tale of former middleweight boxing champion, Jake La Motta. The ups and down’s of the legendary boxer are well documented and were brought to an intense light in Scorcese’s 1980 epic starring Robert De Niro as La Motta and Joe Pesci as La Motta’s brother, Joey who was also his long-time trainer. From his rise as Middleweight champion to his downfall, Scorcese captures everything in black and white from his boxing triumphs to his marital chaos. Throughout the movie, La Motta seems not only to spar with opponents in the ring but mainly with himself and his demons of paranoia and quick-tempered outbursts. The scene I chose however is La Motta past his boxer’s prime and freshly released from serving a jail term.

The film’s final scene returns to the film’s opening scene where La Motta is alone in the room by himself. The camera zooms in focusing on many objects within the confides of the room including a dangling bare bulb light, a wall light switch, liquor bottles, an empty coat hanger, and a telephone perched upon the wall. La Motta sits with a cocky stare upon his face smoking a cigar eyeing his own reflection in a mirror. The idea of Jake being at war with himself is clearly reflected upon the use of the mirror. What’s even more ironic is the fact that Jake is reciting lines from the Marlon Brando classic “On The Waterfront”. “I could’ve been a contender”, Jake says which more then clearly embellishes the fact of his own personal hardships in life and his past regrets his rants off with little emotion back into the mirror. A stagehand then enters and informs Jake that he has five minutes before he takes the stage. Jake then begins shadowboxing revving himself up with lines a trainer might feed a young fighter before his fight. “I’m the boss, I’m the boss” he repeats as the camera pans away from Jake and into the eventual end which graces us with a bible passage and a dedication from Scorcese to his film teacher.

Squares play a huge role as far as shapes are concerned throughout the scene and most of the movie. Within the scene we see that the mirror is rectangular, outlined in white while within the background is objects reflected, we could tell this by looking into the mirror. La Motta also is sporting a black suit coat with a white dress shirt underneath of it. The use of squares perhaps embarks on the fact that there is more then just two sides to our main character Jake La Motta. The table he sits at is entirely square and bland with no texture. The only thing that doesn’t fit the mold of a square is the black ashtray Jake ashes his cigar into as he rants off into the mirror. As far as textures go within the shot, they remain bleak and dull toned, very simple yet efficient and fitting for the scene in which La Motta who himself was anything but simple sends his own farewell to himself via a mirror.

The depth of field is extremely significant in this scene as Martin Scorcese does an excellent job at identifying objects right as we enter the scene. The zoom on the bare dangling light bulb perhaps suggests to the audience that La Motta is leaving himself out in the open now to express himself through the “I’m a contender” speech. The bottles of liquor speak for themselves, as they are identifiable demons within La Motta’s rise and fall as not only a champion boxer but also a person. The writing on the wall with the phone next to it suggesting that maybe Jake wanting to pick up the phone and reconcile with those he has lost along his troubled road. The light switch on the wall probably proving us