Raging Genius

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ONY RICHARDSON reviews the new Martin Scorsese film, Raging Bull", staring Robert De Niro and now on general release.

Nurseries: How & Why to Fight "Astounding" is the only way to describe the impression left after seeing the latest Martin Scorsese film, ' Raging Bull'.

The strength is twofold: the power of the film itself -which is even more stunning than "Taxi Driver'; and the acting of Robert De Niro.

If you thought De Niro was good in "Godfather Part , "The Deerhunter" or «Taxi Driver" , then you haven't seen anything yet.

This performance has be seen to be believed.

Not only does he eat himself to the point of looking fat for the part of the film, but he is thoroughly convincing in an extremely difficult part.

Hollywood

De Niro got the 'best actor' award-but it is rumoured that Ordinary People' only beat 'Raging Bull' for the best film' Oscar because director Robert Redford is a Hollywood man, while Scorsese comes from New York.

"Raging Bull' is the story. of ex-World Middleweight boxing champion Jake La Motta as told by Scorsese. La Motta was an advisor, but the story line reflects Scorsese's interpretation.

For effect, the film is shot in black and white, except for a few sections shot as family "home movies".

La Motta's early life in the Bronx shows him as a thoroughly despicable character who does not simply "Tage" in the ring (where such behaviour is a certain way to lose a fight) with his brother. It is this suspicion which leads.to him splitting with the only person he is really close to.

This links in with his sense of machismo: he, the great mall, is gung ly mane is aning to make it to the top, on his own, with no help from the 'mob' Independent But the problem is that he cannot get a crack at the title without help, and he is eventually forced to take a "dive" to enable the mob' to rake in enough cash to make it worth their while to offer him a title fight.

La Motta is so independent however that he will not simply go down in order to lose the fight: he makes it obvious that he is taking a dive, and loses his licence for a period as a result.

The fact is that the image of the man they couldn't knock down is crucial for his machismo.

Indeed when he finally loses his title to Sugar Ray Robinson he proudly boasts that "you never knocked me down Ray"

In this last fight he seems determined to be badly beaten-trying to make himself suffer.

This pervades the whole film. Why does he have to torture himself? Why can't he have a real relationship with his second wife?

After retirement he arrested for introducing them to men.

an prisun he keeps asking himself why he does it. He -to make himself suffer.

He winds up as compere in a strip club-the stripper being his girlfriend. Then the religious message is delivered.

scorsese, as a contused elements of the US middle class, sets be vialle do uri alann code the hlame as an individual question. But he also believes that we are all simply individuals and therefore "all to blame"

His recent interview with Melvin Bragg on the South Bank Show indicated what a tortured mind he has. He plans to make a series of films on early Christianity "to see where we went wrong" • Scorsese himselt trained as a priest but fax ed to make the grade.

When asked about the religious maniac who is the main character in Taxi Driver-and who goes around shooting people to "clean up the streets"-Scorsese says that his attitude was "basically right", ', though "he used the wrong methods".

And when describing his past in 'Little Italy'-part of New York-he talked of the racialism of his characters which "intellectually" he rejects, but which plainly remains part of his attitude.

Listening to Scorsese shows that it was no fluke that the young fascist who tried to assassinate Reagan was deeply moved by the film Taxi Driver. This blend of religious mysticism and violence strikes a chord amongst many confused petty bourgeois forces in the USA today.

But this criticism of Scorsese's politics is not meant to detract from the genius of his achievement as a film maker. 'Mean are all great movies. for Them "The aim is to force the state to run the services we need. Many unions -NUPE, NALGO, NUT, etc., cover all sectors in the social and educational services, and their union officials must be forced to act in support of policies already accepted against the cuts... So states this vital booklet 60p plus 15p p&p from NCCC c/o Surrey Docks Child Care Project, Dockland Settlement, Redriff Rd, London SE 16.

----- pull-quotes -----

opens a club, and allows under-age girls in. He is

starts punching the wall and knocking his head against it

Streets'. ', Taxi Driver' and now the best, 'Raging Bull'