“Raging Bull” is a tragic tale about a man whose biggest enemy was himself. A man who could have had everything he ever wanted, but his deep psychological problems such as his crippling insecurities and impotent rage destroyed his life forever.
Now I’m not a Catholic but the extremely heavy Catholic imagery throughout the movie make me think that besides the obvious reason of them being there because Jake comes from Italian Catholic roots, they’re there as a kind of irony. Jake’s house is littered with Christian imagery however he is destroying himself due to the deadly sins that he lets take over his life. Let’s delve a bit into these specific sins.
Pride: There is a sort of home made video in the middle of the film that shows how Jake’s life could have turned out if he payed attention to the people that loved him. If he truly cared for what they had to say and listened to their advice, his life could have turned out like the one in the home video. However, due to his immense pride, he never gave any of their advice the light of day. Jake’s pride turns his head into a brick and makes him refuse to listen to the people that love him. Of course, there were moments in which he followed one piece of advice or another, but that was only when he had come to the same conclusion. In the most vital moments for him to listen to his loved ones, he decides to do it his own way instead. For example, after LaMotta’s wife begs him to apologize to his brother, he reluctantly gets in the phone booth and calls him but his pride prevents him from actually speaking to him and even less, apologizing. These fatal mistakes of doing everything his own way was what lead to LaMotta’s depressing and lonely life.
Envy: Jake’s sin that is most present throughout the story is his jealousy and envy. Jake is filled with thoughts of inadequacy and self-hatred. His wife is beautiful and that makes him believe that she is too good to just stay with him, he unreasonably, has a very strong suspicion that she is with every guy in the city. These beliefs lead him to get extremely jealous of every man that even dares look at her. He lets this sin completely dominate his thoughts to the point where it leads him to forever destroy many relationships.
Rage: Now we reach the obvious one, LaMotta isn’t called the “Raging Bull” for no reason. In the boxing ring, LaMotta takes out all his rage on his poor opponents. The rage from his feelings of inadequacy, envy, and hatred for himself all man
... keep reading on reddit ➡15 round bout & the 3 knockdown rule is on.
Battle of the 5 Foot Eight, middleweights. Who do you think Takes it? Lamotta SD for me
Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci have been in a lot of movies together! From 1980 - 2019.. That's a solid run, and not one of the movies is bad!! But which pair of characters wins a battle to the death?
Every pair of characters that Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci have played in a movie together fight it out to see which is the optimal pairing!
The Bobs and Joes:
Raging Bull: Jake LaMotta & Joey LaMotta, a struggling boxer and his brother.
Once Upon a Time in America: Noodles & Frankie Monaldi, a bootlegger/gangster and a mob boss.
Goodfellas: Jimmy Conway & Tommy DeVito, a pair of mid-level mafioso goodfellas.
A Bronx Tale: Lorenzo & Carmine, a bus driver and a man at a funeral.
Casino: Sam Rothstein & Nicky Santoro, a mob casino manager and the muscle who works with him.
The Irishman: Frank Shereen & Russell Bufalino, a mafia hitman and a Philly mob boss.
All of the characters are at peak physical ability. The fight takes place in a fancy Italian restaurant somewhere in NYC.
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Round 1: Everyone is unarmed.
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Round 2: Everyone gets their weapon of choice. No automatic weapons. Pistols, shotguns, knives, knuckle dusters, etc.
Rules: Just a regular boxing match between the two. No sides cheat. Who wins?
