The bigwigs already didn’t like the idea of LaMotta as a protagonist, with one producer terming him “a cockroach”. Choosing black and white rather than colour to combat the Rocky comparisons, the studio initially rejected their decision. Like their subject, Scorsese and De Niro had to fight to achieve their destiny. When Scorsese finally conceded to De Niro’s demands, he did so fully believing Raging Bull would be his last film. Their last film, New York, New York, had flopped critically and commercially. De Niro visited his friend in hospital after an overdose and found Scorsese reeling from both health concerns and blown confidence.
But the iconic director was at his lowest ebb. Seeking out frequent collaborator Scorsese, De Niro pleaded his case to make LaMotta’s brutal book into a film. The protagonist was about as far from the loveable lug portrayed by Stallone. In the book, LaMotta confesses to committing rape, beating his wife and a number of other frankly disgusting indiscretions. ‘The Bronx Bull’ was one of the most complex, aggressive and at times odious men to have ever laced up the gloves. No amount of Hollywood edge-smoothing would do. What the Godfather II star took away from the visceral, harsh read was that LaMotta’s story needed to be told warts and all. Then as now, ‘The Italian Stallion’ was the measuring stick for every cinematic foray into the squared circle.īut De Niro did not have a plucky underdog tale in mind after reading LaMotta’s autobiography, gifted and personalised to him by the boxer himself.
Sylvester Stallone’s beleaguered but beloved pugilist had demonstrated the strength of the formula again in 1979 with the well-received Rocky II.
Rocky had invited a glut of copycats upon its 1976 release.
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