Raging Bull: a review

As the title of this post suggests, I recently watched a classic from the 1980s called Raging Bull, a movie based on boxing champion Jake La Motta.

It is not your typical sports movie, however. Unlike so many other movies based on sport, this movie does not detail the rise of a boxing legend. Instead Jake is already a legend when the film begins, and although boxing is an important aspect of this movie, it is not the predominant feature. Instead, we are presented with a haunting picture of the man. His triumphs in the boxing ring are juxtaposed with the decline in everything else in his life, from his relationship with his wife Vickie to his relationship with his brother Joey. For much of the movie, you feel a barely suppressed rage inside Jake, and this is often released in most horrific manners, inflicting severe physical and psychological wounds on those he is supposed to love.

The fight scenes are brutal in their realism. They are choreographed to an excruciating level of detail, and the fighters know what they are doing. If these scenes were shown as standalone clips, you could swear that they are from an actual boxing match. Indeed, Robert De Niro spent a very long time training for his role as Jake La Motta, and won 2 matches of 3 that he participated in. It is somewhat ironic that in the latter stages of the film, the only times we feel happy about Jake's situation is when he is savagely pummelling his opponent, or is being unmercifully beaten himself. His personal life is dark and frightful, and the man himself is not someone you would normally want to sympathise with, if you could help it. As one film critic said, this is not a feel-good movie. It does not have a happy ending. The brief moments of joy you may feel watching the movie are quickly eclipsed by events that have taken a turn for the worse. From start to finish, this movie is more about a decline in Jake's life, rather than an improvement.

Along with his gruff exterior, we are also shown glimpses of Jake's softer self, when he laments the loss of a key boxing match, for example, or when he is floored by tears for various reasons (which I will not spoil for you). Robert De Niro does a truly excellent performance as Jake La Motta. With every enraged outburst we fear for those around him and with every cry of frustration we feel outraged at the injustice laid upon him. He is, of course, aided by a masterful director in Martin Scorsese and a wonderful support cast with Joe Pesci as Joey La Motta and Cathy Moriarty as his wife.

Anyway, it's late and I really should be off to bed now. There is so much more to be said about this film, but I hope what I've written makes sense and conveys how much I admire this film, for it is a masterpiece. It's also in black and white, but trust me you will hardly notice the lack of colour as the story unfolds. If you can get your hands on it somehow, I strongly recommend that you watch it. You won't regret it, I promise.

Before we talk to the spirits, let's try to get our pronunciation right first shall we?

As many of you may be aware, the accepted pronunciation of the word Ouija (a combination of the French and German words for "yes" respectively) is "wee-jee". There are 2 things wrong with this way of saying this particular word.

Firstly, where the hell did the "ee" sound of the second syllable come from? Even though English has many word components of the same spelling pronounced differently (e.g. trough, dough, through, rough etc.) I think making an "a" into an "i" is taking this concept just a tad too far. When you call someone "Wanda" you don't expect them to be addressed as "Wandee", similarly there is no such animal as a Pandee. The rocks are not jeegged and preserved organs are NOT stored in jeers. I hope I've made my point clear.

The second thing wrong with it is perhaps more of a pedantic issue...but it bugs me nonetheless. On the one hand, we have the first part of the word which is pronounced as it should be. So then, where, once again, did the "jee" come from? If we followed the pattern set by the pronunciation on the first syllable, the word should be "wee-ya". This point is different to the first in that I'm confused as to why the "j" sound is included when clearly it should be a "y" sound according to the word itself.

Even if we did manage to contact the spirits using such a device (a topic for another post), I'm sure they would be appalled at the state of the English language, and would surely look down upon us. For shame.

Must...resist...urge...not...to...blog...

I gazed upon the field of battle, the bodies of my fallen comrades scattered across the barren land. The enemy had finally broken us. Using powerful psychological attacks, they have drained us of our fighting spirit. No longer can we lift ourselves up to the task at hand, no longer do we feel the passion for creating literary masterpieces to decorate the bland face of the internet.

The Blog Revolution has failed.

There may be small pockets of resistance, but how long these will last will remain a mystery. Perhaps in another lifetime, another revolution will arise. If we are lucky, perhaps it will be revived this lifetime. But for now, blogging will become few and far between (at least from the original Blog Revolters).