The story began when Robert De Niro picked up Jake LaMotta’s memoir, Raging Bull: My Story. He was entirely into the concept, and so he decided it needed to hit the theaters. Niro pitched the idea to Taxi Driver director Scorsese, but he wasn’t really having it. “I always thought boxing was boring… something I couldn’t, wouldn’t grasp,” he later confessed.
Fast forward to 1979—Scorsese’s career went for a toss when he got a little too involved with drugs. But guess who shows up to visit him? Yes, De Niro. He pitched him the Raging Bull idea again—and this time, things clicked. Scorsese saw himself in LaMotta’s tale of self-destruction and redemption—and it was about battling demons this time, not just boxing.
But even after saying yes, Scorsese had to tackle the daunting task of shooting boxing matches—something he still found pretty snoozy. Instead of the usual outside-the-ring shots, he let the camera get right in the ring. Suddenly, the audience wasn’t just watching the fight; they were part of it. Talk about a game changer!
Now, about that script. The first draft? Not great. Enter Paul Schrader, the mastermind behind Taxi Driver. His rewrite was raw and gritty, but the studio freaked out about the potential X rating. Scorsese and De Niro had to scramble to tone things down, but they still made it their own, even if they didn’t get credit for it.
Despite all the hard work, Raging Bull faced a bumpy road. United Artists wasn’t exactly jumping for joy about it. They gave it a minimal marketing push, and the flick flopped at the box office. But Scorsese wasn’t ready to give up. He thought this could be his last Hollywood hurrah, so he fought to keep it true to his vision.
Fast forward to today, and Raging Bull is hailed as a classic. It’s kind of wild when you think about it—the guy who thought boxing was boring ended up making a film that blew everyone away. Who knew a little desperation and a lot of creativity could turn a snooze fest into a knockout hit?
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