Scorsese’s take on the highs and lows of 1940s “Bronx Bull” boxer Jake La Motta endures as masterpiece, a blend of grit, arthouse, matchless fight sequences and an Oscar-winning performance by De Niro that stands as a high-water mark for an actor’s transformation into a character. The movie demonstrated its own legend by screening to a nearly packed (and vaccine-screened) house. Go for it.As the “Raging Bull” foursome shared memories of making the movie and perspective on its impact after 40-plus years, Mankiewicz couldn’t help going over (by a lot) his allotted Q&A time.

Every day on the shoot was like, 'This is the last one. I had to start all over again, I had to learn again. And I mean, that whole style of filmmaking. I guess I would a year later (1982's 'The King of Comedy'), but in a way, it wiped me out. “I made it as if it was pretty much the end of my life: It's over. Scorsese, 78, who first collaborated with De Niro on 1973's “Mean Streets,” said that initially, he “wasn't affected by the book at all.” Having never played sports as a child, he also found boxing to be “extremely boring.” But after being hospitalized for a drug overdose in 1978, “my whole world changed as to the kinds of films I wanted to make.” Maybe I could take the time to gain this weight, see how far we can go with that.' ” There's something physically that's so graphic. He loses (his title) and gains all the weight and he falls apart in that sense. “So I told Marty, 'Read the book, there's something there. “The book, for some reason, it wasn't great literature, but something about it, it had a lot of heart,” De Niro said. No matter what, it would be special … because everything we put into it.”ĭe Niro gained 60 pounds to play the boxer Jake LaMotta in his later years.

In a sit-down with star Robert De Niro at the close-out of De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival, Scorsese and De Niro discussed the iconic Oscar-winning film with Leonardo DiCaprio.ĭe Niro says: “The one thing that I always felt is that we didn't know how well it'd do but we knew it'd be a special movie. 1980’s “Raging Bull” almost did director Martin Scorsese in.

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