Raging Bull (1980) Special Edition
1.85:1 (16x9 Enhanced)
Dolby Digital 5.1, Monaural
MGM Home Video, $29.98

When American Film magazine asked 54 film critics to name the most important American film of the 1980s, a majority of them chose Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese’s lyrical, complex film about middleweight boxing champion Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro). The picture recounts La Motta’s climb to fame as “the Bronx Bull,” and as his star rises, the self-loathing bully obsessively punishes himself and those around him, including his devoted brother, Joey (Joe Pesci), and his wives, particularly young Vickie (Cathy Moriarty); he eventually destroys the relationships that are most crucial to him and winds up a lonely, tragic shadow of his famous self.

One of Scorsese’s key collaborators on Raging Bull was cinematographer Michael Chapman, ASC (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Fugitive), who had previously worked with the director on Taxi Driver, American Boy and The Last Waltz. Chapman had never shot a black-and-white feature and prepared for the job with much research. He and Scorsese agreed that the camerawork in the ring would be frenetic and diverse through careful choreography, and that much of the rest of the picture would be standard setups with a more realistic style. The contrast between the mundane environments of La Motta’s life and the visceral, kinetic stage of the ring gives Raging Bull a distinctive quality, and Chapman’s intricate work brought him his first Academy Award nomination, as well as awards from BAFTA, the National Society of Film Critics and the Boston Society of Film Critics. (The ASC honored Chapman with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.)

MGM Home Video’s recently released two-disc collector’s edition of Raging Bull features an exceptional picture transfer with solid, sharp blacks and a wide grayscale that captures the movie’s tabloid look perfectly. Though the previously issued DVD certainly had an acceptable picture transfer, this new one is bolder and more pronounced. The sound has been given a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround upgrade, and the solid bass range beautifully shows off Frank Warner’s dynamic sound-effects work.

The supplemental features on this DVD are first rate. Disc one offers three feature-length audio commentaries, each of which is fascinating and absorbing. The first commentary, borrowed from the 1991 Criterion laserdisc edition of the film, is an outstanding discussion shared by Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker. The second, equally impressive commentary features a boisterous Chapman, Warner, music supervisor Robbie Robertson, producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, actors Theresa Saldana and John Turturro, and casting director Cis Corman. An interview with La Motta by his nephew, Jason Lustig, headlines the third commentary track, which also features screenwriters Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader.

Disc two offers four new documentary featurettes: the 26-minute Before the Fight covers aspects of preproduction; the 14-minute In the Ring details how the filmmakers shot the boxing scenes; the 27-minute Outside the Ring dissects the creation of La Motta’s domestic world; and the 15-minute After the Fight details the project’s postproduction and critics’ responses to the film. Offering tremendous insight into the making of Raging Bull, these documentaries include extensive interviews with many principal crew and cast members, including De Niro, Moriarty, Pesci, Warner and Chapman. Rounding out disc two are the 28-minute documentary The Bronx Bull: An Introduction to Raging Bull, which offers interviews with La Motta, Schoonmaker and several British film critics; a photo essay comparing La Motta and De Niro; the film’s theatrical trailer; and newsreel footage of La Motta defending his title.

Of all Raging Bull’s incarnations on home video, this new edition marks the most definitive presentation yet. Considered by many to be the definitive Scorsese film, Raging Bull is a brilliantly executed tale of a man who is his own worst enemy, a contemporary American tragedy viewed through the eyes of one of the nation’s most accomplished filmmakers.

— Kenneth Sweeney