Raging Bull 2? Say it ain't so, Jake

Raging Bull II? Say it ain't so, Jake

By Jerry Saravia

For what it is worth, "Raging Bull" is not just a masterpiece, it is one of the great cinematic wonders of the 20th century. It is also one of the four or five most perfect Martin Scorsese films ever made (the others being "Taxi Driver," "GoodFellas," "The Age of Innocence" and, possible shocker to some, "Hugo.") "Raging Bull" dares to show not only the unflinching brutality of the sport of boxing, it also conveys the brutal, masochistic and macho-istic nature of the real-life boxer Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro). The film is the opposite of the glory, uplifting appeal of "Rocky" - it criticizes and empathizes with a man who not only fought his inner demons in the boxing ring but also at home, physically and emotionally abusing his wife and accusing her of infidelity. It also contains Robert De Niro's finest performance ever, a shattering, emotional, violent animal of a powerhouse of a performance (let me say that not even the late Marlon Brando or any actor could've mined this kind of titanic work).

  A combination prequel and sequel that explores "before the rage" and "after the rage" of world middleweight boxing champ Jake LaMotta's tumultuous life and times. 

- Raging Bull II

An announcement was recently made that a sequel was in the works, which is iffy at best even if Scorsese and De Niro were involved. They are, however, not involved in any capacity.  Instead Argentinian director Martin Guigui (who helmed "National Lampoon's Cattle Call") is directing and co-writing this, based on the 1986 book of the same name by Chris Anderson, Sharon McGehee and Jake LaMotta, and tough-as-nails actor William Forsythe has been cast as the titular pugilist. I still got to ask: what is the point? The original film was criticized by some at the time (Pauline Kael for one) for not providing any insights into Jake's childhood (something which this pre-sequel will cover) but no insights were really necessary (the sequel book also deals with Jake's other abusive marriages and domestic violence rages). Jake's background was clear enough with his surroundings, the people he consorted with, the tumultuous relationship to his equally volatile brother Joey (Joe Pesci), and the way Jake treated his wife, Vicky (Catherine Moriarty). And when his boxing days were over, Jake became a nightclub act, owned his own Miami club before getting busted for allowing underage girls in his club, performed in bad, cheap venues in N.Y.C, and eventually played at ritzier clubs with skits that involved the writings of Tennessee Williams. Jake divorced from Vicky yet managed to reconcile with his brother. The result was a film that was a relentless and vivid biographic tale of a man who fought hard on and off the ring, and also fought hard to punish himself for his sins. He is not quite redeemed, but how many Scorsese protagonists ever are? 

I can give credit where it is due in continuing the story of Jake LaMotta. At least it is better than attempting yet another foolhardy sequel in the "National Lampoon Vacation" series (or God forbid, a remake of the original Chevy Chase classic). Scorsese himself has turned down sequels in the past to his own works (though he did helm "Color of Money", which was the inferior yet flashy and entertaining sequel to Robert Rossen's "The Hustler"). He had refused any involvement in a "Cape Fear" sequel, claiming that he did his best to show that Max Cady, the film's villain, was dead. There were also rumors for a long time of a "Taxi Driver" sequel to be co-directed or co-written with the insane director Lars Von Trier (!), and a continuation of "GoodFellas" (this is actually happening as it has been picked as a TV series for AMC and will be penned by "GoodFellas" author Nicholas Pileggi. Scorsese's involvement, though, is probably zilch). But the original "Raging Bull" had fully encapsulated Jake LaMotta, so the only place you can go from there is where Jake almost fell himself - downhill.