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Aside from Rocky, Raging Bull is my favourite boxing movie. Although the latter surpasses Stallone's 1976 underdog tale in terms of its technical virtuosity, it is mainly due to the emotionally-driven individual scenes that Scorsese's cinematic masterpiece is as much a constant feature of my DVD player.

Focusing on the rise and fall of boxer Jake LaMotta -- the "Raging Bull"-- the film showcases De Niro at his best. For two hours eight minutes, De Niro is LaMotta: His character is seen being abusive towards his manager and his wife, beating people senseless in the ring, and eventually ending up being a washed-up, fat-bellied host of a comedy club who likes to sleep with underage girls. It's a huge testament to De Niro's charm and acting ability that we take a huge interest in LaMotta, despite his obscenity.

Raging Bull reunites producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler (Rocky), and De Niro with Pesci and Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Mean Streets). This is a personal tale, celebrated by the director's gritty, realist style of film making. Shot in black and white, and accompanied by a wonderful soundtrack, LaMotta's life appears as art, which explores the character's emotional insecurities and prize ambitions as a fighter (many of which the mass media would overlook because of his negative reputation).

The cynicism of LaMotta's downfall towards the end only depicts the realism of an individual struggling with his own identity and acceptance of the people around him. I wouldn't say that we particularly sympathise with the character, but we are taken in by the powerful depiction of LaMotta's life in De Niro's performance. We are intrigued, and want to know more.

In a recent interview in the Telegraph, the real Jake LaMotta said "I've never been knocked out by anyone in my life except my previous six wives." His immense punching power made him one of the most feared men in the boxing world; as a character, he remains immortalised by the sheer brilliance of Scorsese's film making.

If you've never heard of the fighter, or, even worse, not seen the film, you can pick up Raging Bull: My Story and the DVD from Amazon pretty cheaply Fascinating stuff.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2008.