History Film / RagingBull

* JailBait: Jake's downfall in Miami happens when he canoodles a bit with a young lady at his club who says she's 21, and introduces her to some male customers. Turns out she was actually 14 and using a fake ID, so the vice squad busts him and he gets incarcerated.

* HairTriggerTemper: Jake [=LaMotta=].

* RedOniBlueOni: Jake is a hothead, Joey is restrained.
** A very big switch from [[Film/{{Goodfellas}} later]] [[Film/{{Casino}} films]].

* DomesticAbuser: Jake. Once he knocked his wife out with one hit, in his brother's residence, just moments after attacking his brother in front of his family.

* ByronicHero: Jake.

A sequel was long in DevelopmentHell (with [=LaMotta's=] involvement), but eventually under the threat of a lawsuit from MGM, the title was changed from ''Raging Bull II'' to ''The Bronx Bull'' in order to disassociate itself from the original. The film stars William Forsythe as the older Jake [=LaMotta=], Morjean Aria as a young [=LaMotta=], and has a supporting cast including the likes of Joe Mantegna, Tom Sizemore, Penelope Ann Miller, Natasha Henstridge, Alicia Witt, Ray Wise, and James Russo.

''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 film, directed by Creator/MartinScorsese and starring Creator/RobertDeNiro. It revolves around middleweight boxer Jake [=LaMotta=], a man who is consumed by his anger, paranoia, and shame.

The film begins in 1964, as we see an overweight, aging [=LaMotta=], now a comedian, practicing his routine. The scene changes. It is now 1941, as [=LaMotta=] boxes and throws his fights at the behest of {{the mafia}}. His brother and manager, Joey [=LaMotta=], does his best to support Jake and get him a chance at success. Jake seduces Vicky, [[{{Ephebophile}} a 15-year-old girl]] he met at a Bronx public pool. While he catches a break and wins a string of victories, he becomes increasingly paranoid that Vicky is cheating on him, and becomes more and more abusive. Eventually, he accuses his brother of sleeping with his wife and attacks them. The rest of the film details the aftermath in the following years after [=LaMotta=] has retired, as he spirals downward ever further.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Jake and Joey are just as racist and homophobic as you'd expect the average Italian-American from 1940's New York to be. Joey calls an African-American fighter a "moulie," while Jake chides Joey by telling him he punches like he "takes it up the ass."

** Played With early in their marriage. Of course, going without sex is part of his fight prep regime. There is a scene where Jake asks his wife to "take off (his) pants", and then "take off your panties", she replies "you made me promise not to get you excited" and they fool around. Jake stops before sex happens, and cools down by dousing his, uh, excitement, in cold water... suggesting this sexless marriage is certainly not without passion and desire at this point.

** Possibly justified, as the real life Jake may have had the hardest head in boxing history. The fact that LightningBruiser Sugar Ray Robinson couldn't knock him down in real life despite administering a vicious NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, (in a fight that was later dubbed "The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre", no less) says ''a lot''.

-> '''Jake La Motta''': Come on, hit me. Harder. Harder.
-> '''Joey La Motta''': What the fuck do you want? That's hard. What are you trying to prove?

A sequel was long in DevelopmentHell (with [=LaMotta's=] involvement), but eventually under the threat of a lawsuit from MGM, the title was changed from ''Raging Bull II'' to ''The Bronx Bull'' in order to disassociate itself from the original. The film stars William Forsythe as the older Jake [=LaMotta=], Morjean Aria as a young [=LaMotta=], and has a supporting cast including the likes of Joe Mantegna, Tom Sizemore, Penelope Ann Miller, Natasha Henstridge, Alicia Witt, Ray Wise, and James Russo. The film has been completed, but currently remains on TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment.

''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 film, directed by Creator/MartinScorsese and starring RobertDeNiro. It revolves around middleweight boxer Jake [=LaMotta=], a man who is consumed by his anger, paranoia, and shame.

** Of the conventional Hollywood {{Biopic}} (by showing the character WartsAndAll, avoiding HistoricalHeroUpgrade and refusing to sanitize the ugliness) and the sports movie genre (no, "success" in the Boxing Ring doesn't solve your personal problems or win you the love of your life) and the concept of redemption (it can sometimes take years for people to [[HeelRealization accept that they've done]] something wrong and even then they can't count on other people accepting that they have changed).
** More specifically, the movie shows the physical and psychological toll a career in sports involve, especially one like Boxing. All those punches on different parts of your body [[RealityEnsues will take a toll on you]], the effort it takes to maintain physique is such that on retirement, Jake [[FormerlyFit really lets himself go]]. Likewise, on retirement, [[AndThenWhat boxers have to rest on their winnings]] and income or find another means of income because the sporting career only last till you approach 40.
** It also shows that as much skill as boxing involves, sportsmen are nothing without the managers, coaches and institution that will get them their big goal, advice them on how to protect their money and generally prevent them from making fools of themselves. Jake [=LaMotta=] learns far too late about this by which point he has alienated all his friends and family.

* DomesticAbuser: Jake. Once he knocked his wife out with one hit, in his brother's residence.

"All I know is this: Once I was blind and now I can see."\\
-->-- '''[[Literature/TheFourGospels John IX. 24–26]]''', ''The New English Bible''

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Jake and Joey are just as racist and homophobic as you'd expect the average Italian-American from 1940's New York to be. Joey calls an African-American fighter a "moulie", while Jakes chides Joey by telling him he punches like he "takes it up the ass".

* BreakTheHaughty: The premise of this film, showing the repercussions incurred on Jake LaMotta because of his insecurity and anger, ultimately changing him as a human being.

* BreakTheHaughty: The premise of this film, showing the repercussions incurred on Jake LaMotta because of his insecurity and anger, ultimately changing him as a human being.

* {{Homage}}: The ICouldaBeenAContender monologue from ''{{On The Waterfront}}''.

* LonelyAtTheTop

* RedemptionQuest