Martin Scorsese Refused to Make Raging Bull Until He Had a Drug Overdose

One of Robert De NiroHis most beloved film (and the last one for which he won an Oscar) is raging bullthe 1980 classic film directed by Martin ScorseseThis was the duo's fourth film together and is based on former middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir, Raging Bull: My Story. At the time of its release, It was a box office disappointment and received mixed reviews despite eight Oscar nominations.But today it is considered a modern classic and one of the best films in the opinion of everyone who participated in its production.

However, the way to make raging bull The film was a tough one to make, and much like boxer Jake LaMotta, it took a lot of hits during development. At the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival (via SlashFilm), De Niro and Scorsese explained the difficult time they had getting the film made. Here's the story of how it almost didn't happen, Its initial reaction, and how it serves as a reminder that the film's story doesn't end after the box office.

Martin Scorsese originally didn't want to make Raging Bull.

raging bull

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Directed by Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull is a 1980 sports drama that follows the rise and fall of real-life boxer Jake LaMotta as he strives for success while dealing with his inner demons and violent temper. Robert De Niro co-stars as the middleweight champion, with Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty and Nicholas Colasanto in supporting roles.

release date

November 14, 1980

exit

Martin Scorsese

Runtime

2h 9m

The studio

United Artists

Logo

Easy to like, hard to love.

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Robert De Niro was the first one who wanted to make raging bull After reading the novel, he first turned to his friend, director Martin Scorsese.who worked with him in Medium streets, cabbyand New York, New YorkHowever, Scorsese was not interested in directing the film, which eventually earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. As Scorsese told a Tribeca audience:

“I was interested in anything he offered me, but…”
I was not affected by the book at all. I am not against sports, but after I got severe asthma [being] I was told I can't run, I can't do this
“I couldn’t laugh… I was very isolated, and that kept me from doing any team sports, which was sad on the one hand, but on the other hand, it made me focus on fantasy. I went to a lot of movies.”

However, Scorsese changed his mind in 1979 after being hospitalized for a drug overdose. De Niro visited his friend in the hospital.This time, when he was presented with the story, Scorsese found a connection to the material, seeing parallels between LaMotta’s self-destruction and his struggle with addiction. “I got lost in a way, so I had to start over,” the director said. De Niro and Scorsese knew the director could channel his artistic ambition into making this redemptive story that could help Scorsese stay on track. It was also a chance to recover from a box office failure. New York, New YorkK. Everything was riding on raging bull.

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Martin Scorsese thought boxing was boring.

Scorsese knew he would eventually have to film boxing matches, and he was terrified by the idea. Although Scorsese was already averse to sports, one of his initial reasons for refusing to film was that he found boxing, in particular, boring. In Peter Biskind's 1998 book, Easy knights, raging bullsScorsese once said, “Even as a kid, I always thought boxing was boring… It was something I couldn't get my head around.” This didn't change either after Scorsese agreed to make the film and did some research by watching some boxing matches, which he also found boring.

Related: The 15 Best Boxing Movies, Ranked by Importance

However, when he decided to film the project, he found that the obstacle he had to overcome was how to shoot the scenes. Previous boxing films, including the recent Oscar-winning rockyScorsese had a camera outside the boxing ring, watching it as a spectator would. Scorsese's big idea was to put the camera inside the ring and make the audience feel like they were the boxers. This was an innovative but expensive technique that extended the film's shoot, as the fights were choreographed like dance scenes and were much more technical.

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Problem behind the scenes

once raging bull It was fine, and the script needed to be rewritten. Mardik Martin, who previously wrote Medium streetsDe Niro was hired to write the screenplay, but De Niro and the studio did not like his draft. cabby Screenwriter Paul Schrader was called in to rewrite the film, which was more brutal, graphic and sexual.

While United Artists was more impressed with this version, in November 1978, CEOs Stephen Bach and David Field told Scorsese, De Niro, and producer Irwin Winkler (the film's Oscar-winning producer) rocky) The movie's script could get an X rating and limit the movie's audience. Scorsese and De Niro are then scheduled to spend two weeks reworking the script, but their work on the film is not noted.

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raging bullThe small pilot screening of the film went very well, with artist Andy Albeck describing Scorsese as an artist. Despite the praise, United Artists decided not to distribute the film, and no other studios were interested when they tried to sell the rights.While United Artists eventually released the film, it was given a limited marketing campaign, resulting in raging bullThe box office was disappointing. During production, Scorsese thought raging bull This is probably his last movie in Hollywood, so he was very careful about it and made sure it wasn't touched.

Time heals all wounds

raging bull It is considered one of the greatest films of all time, but at the time of its release, critics were less kind. The film made money, but it was by no means a huge success. Unfortunately, Scorsese followed it up with another film called King of ComedyA box office flop (but an excellent film). The director entered the world of filmmaking, only to return with perhaps his most underrated film, After business hoursreflecting the turbulent and difficult past five years of Scorsese's career.

Roger Ebert, an early fan raging bullCritics have called it the best film of the 1980s and one of the ten greatest films of all time. In 1990, just 10 years after its release, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry and deemed “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant” by the U.S. Library of Congress. In 2005, Time magazine listed it as one of the greatest films of all time. raging bull It has been ranked in other lists of the greatest films of all time, such as those published by Entertainment Weekly, Variety, and Rolling Stone.

In 2002, raging bull Tied with bike thieves and vertigo In sixth place Sight and soundSight & Sound magazine's poll of the greatest films of all time, and when the directors' and critics' lists from Sight & Sound magazine were combined that year, raging bull It received the most votes of any film made since 1975. Although he is not a sports fan, Scorsese's work on raging bull It has become one of the most influential sports films ever made and one of the most acclaimed in the genre, if not the most acclaimed. Voted the greatest sports film of all time by the American Film Institute, its influence is still felt today.

It's pretty impressive for a movie that almost didn't happen.