Raging Bull is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Theresa Saldana, Frank Vincent, and Nicholas Colasanto in his final film role. The film is an adaptation of former middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story. It follows the career of LaMotta, played by De Niro, his rise and fall in the boxing scene, and his turbulent personal life beset by rage and jealousy.
Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung
Robert De Niro in training with the real Jake LaMotta
Cathy Moriarty (left) and Joe Pesci (right) on the set
Filming of the boxing scenes with director, Scorsese (center left, with beard) and the director of photography, Michael Chapman (center right, with white shirt)
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American filmmaker. He emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He has received many accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. He has been honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1997, the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1998, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2007, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2012. Four of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
Scorsese in 2023
From left: Salvo Cuccia, Scorsese, and Vittorio De Seta at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival
Scorsese collaborator Paul Schrader wrote the scripts for Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980)
Scorsese collaborated with Robert De Niro on numerous projects.