I missed Raging Bull when it was in theatres in 1980 and I have intentionally avoided watching it on home video. Scorsese's masterful use of black and white film was legendary and I wanted to be sure to see the movie in a theatre. For various reasons over the years I have missed opportunities to catch the film, until tonight. When I went to a screening at The Castro Theatre.
The film was breathtakingly beautiful. It was almost luminescent. The movie's reputation proceeds it, so I don't need to give a recap here. I was stunned by the brutality and versatility of Robert DeNiro's performance. In his performance DeNiro captures all the emotions that bedevil men. Jealousy, suspicion, inferiority, impotence, rage all come across, sometimes with just a look or a gesture. And Cathy Moriarty and Joe Pesci hold their own, acting against him in scene after scene. The brutality of the film was unrelenting, but you can't turn away. Yet it did not touch me emotionally, I felt more like a voyeur watching the self-destruction of a man.
At The Movie House rating **** stars.
In 1980 five films were nominated for Best Picture; Coal Miner's Daughter, Elephant Man, Ordinary People, Raging Bull and Tess. The other three were good pictures, but everyone knew the contest was between martin Scorsese's Raging Bull and Robert Redford's Ordinary People.
Ordinary People was the directorial debut for movie star Robert Redford, but the film appears to be the work of a filmmaker at the pinnacle of his talents. There is not a single wrong note in the film. Redford bravely cast the two main leads against type by hiring Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland to play Beth and Calvin Jarrett. Their work in this film is a triumph of acting. In addition he directed first time actor Timothy Hutton to an Oscar winning performance as Conrad Jarrett and directed Judd Hirsch to a nomination as well.
The film tells the story of a seemingly perfect mid-western family that is imploding from within. The tragic loss of one son has upset the careful balance these three people have maintained and they seem incapable of helping each other to set things right again. Redford uses the camera and quiet moments to communicate more than any ten pages of dialogue could.
The film is heart-breakingly sad and touches you in a profound way.
At The Movie House rating**** stars.
The Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director went to Ordinary People and Robert Redford. Over the years the status of Raging Bull has grown and many feel that Raging Bull was more deserving, but watching both films back to back I would say they are equally deserving for very different reasons.
This Oscar rematch is a tie.
2 comments:
Masterful reviews. I have seen Raging Bull many times..One of the few films that has made all three of the Critic's Ctitic List's (I am the Critic's Critic) which includes: All Time Great Movie, American Classic Movie and the ultimate award, Desert Island Choice Movie.
That being said, I never saw Ordinary People. Hopefully one day I will get the opportunity, however, a movie about a family falling apart in the 70's is something that may depress me.
Last summer i saw Summer of 42 for the first time. That movie stuck in my head for longer than any movie I can recall
Did you read my comment regarding Planes and Trains???
Raging Bull deserves all the critical praise it receives. Roger Ebert may be right in calling it the best movie of the 1980's. I plan on watching it again on Blu-Ray very soon.
Ordinary people is both depressing and uplifting if that is possible from one film.
yes I read your comment about Planes, Trains and Automobiles and I will not quibble about half a star. I have two problems with the film that keep me from giving it 4 stars. The "forced" concern the wife has for Steve Martin's character that makes his homecoming more profound. The script seems to hint that he is having marital difficulties but there is no evidence of that.
And the music. It is grating, annoying and does not fit the tone of the film.
But I will concede that it is a very funny movie, one of the best and good be given a full 4 stars by some.
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