Films
Raging Bull
Starring Robert DeNiro
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Cinema World, 342-6536
If Robert DeNiro wants your
sympathy he’ll beat it out of
you.
Violence seems to be inher
ent in DeNiro’s character: he’s
portrayed violent men in films
like The Godfather, The Deer
Hunter, and Taxi Driver. DeNi
ro and director Martin Scpr
sese brought Taxi Driver to the
screen, and now they’re back
together for Raging Bull.
Raging Bull is a relentless
film that never stops hammer
ing. DeNiro is a middleweight
boxing champ, Jake LaMotta,
a man who thrives on violence
in and out of the rink. Scorsese
pulls no punches in his por
trayal of the profession’s bru
tality.
LaMotta is a hard guy to
sympathize with, but, then, he
really doesn’t ask for sym
pathy. He’s a volatile man who
pulverizes his opponents and
beats people when he gets
mad. At the same time he's a
victim: Violence is all he’s ever
been good at.
From the film’s very first
frame LaMotta’s life is tragic.
He seems incapable of the
Unmarried Woman, Kramer vs
Kramer and Ordinary People
share: A sensitive look at the
problems contemporary peo
ple face in their relationships.
sensitivity brought from intel
ligent evaluation. There’s an
adolescent awkwardness
between him and his girlfriend.
LaMotta is interested in a ser
ious relationship; his girlfriend
says she loves him, but in truth
her love for him is rarely
evident.
LaMotta can’t deal with love.
He transforms his relationship
with her into a prison of
jealousy and paranoia. With
little tenderness in his life he
batters himself emotionally
like he batters his opponents
in the ring.
Scorsese and cinemato
Dreyfuss’ portrayal as the
enormously arrogant, yet ba
sically insecure pianist is ap
pealing and has a ring of truth
most of the time. Irving is less
grapher Michael Chapman
float the film through round
after round of dreamy battles,
which maintain a poetic quality
despite their brutality, sharply
etched in black and white.
The fight scenes are
gracefully savage When the
blows land, the frame ex
plodes with slow motion foun
tains of sweat and blood,
punctuated by exaggerated
smashing sounds. Chapman s
camera careens with LaMotta
in the ring DeNiro’s oppon
ents are real-life boxers, and
the real-life Jake LaMotta was
technical adviser during the
filming.
too much, neither of which
give her any greater sensitivi
ty
Both of them give superb
piano performances; it’s hard
DeNiro's LaMotta thrives in
the ring. This is what makes
him great, what allows his in
secure ego to survive. When
LaMotta is finally beaten, he
reminds his vanquisher that
despite his bloody face and
swollen eyes, he didn't fall
down.
Through with boxing, we
see LaMotta degenerate phy
sically and emotionally. Con
fined in prison at one point,
humiliated, he cries “I'm not
an animal!” Unlike the same
line in The Elephant Man,
LaMotta's line is a lie. In the
end, LaMotta is a loser.
By Richard Lallberte
The Competition
Starring Richard Dreyfuss and
Amy Irving
Directed by Joel Otiansky
Valley River Twin
It’s irritating when a film gets
a lot of advance publicity and
fails to deliver the story
promised. The Competition
could have been a fine movie,
but it consistently fails to come
together as a whole. We are
left with a good scene here
and there, with the rest of the
film being easily forgettable.
It's a shame, because the
film attempts to explore com
petition between men and
women. As a dramatic idea, its
time has come as more women
gain the power, prestige and
skill that men now hold in a
variety of fields.
The story centers around
two gifted pianists who are
competing in a prestigious
recital which guarantees a
bright future for one of them.
They fall in love and attempt to
explore the problem that such
a relationship must surely in
vite. Paul Dietrich (Richard
Dreyfuss) is more comfortable
with the idea of losing to a man
rather than to the woman he
loves. Heidi Schoonover (Amy
Irving) is uncomfortable at the
thought of being a better
pianist than her lover.
The Competition could have
earned the respect that An
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But the film falls short of the
mark, suffering mainly from a
bad screenplay and poor dir
ection. There are intermittent
flashes of clarity in both, but
director Joel Oliansky relies
too much on slushy romance.
Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving star in “The Competition." They are drawn to each other both as young lovers and as rivals vying for the
same prize in an international competition.
arrogant, more secure and
more willing to give up her
career to save his. Her naivete
is unsettling in scenes which
call for greater personal
strength She is prone to
wringing her hands and crying
to Deneve tney aren t actually
playing The piano concertos
are wonderful, and better il
lustrate the intensity of the
couple’s relationship to each
other and their work than in
any dialogue they share. The
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exception is when Dreyfuss is
explaining his devotion to
music to Irving after breaking
down under the pressure he’s
facing.
But these scenes are sand
wiched too far between a
ridiculous plot involving the
defection by a Soviet piano
instructor, a twist that could
have been cut without hurting
the film in the slightest.
The bright spark in the mid
dle of all this mediocrity is Lee
Remick, as Greta Vandemann,
Irving’s piano instructor and
mentor. She gives the film
more credibility than anyone
except Dreyfuss, and she’s the
only character to address
what’s really important about
this film: How far are people
willing to go to be the best in
their field? She tells Heidi the
piano "gives you a center that
no man — that very few men —
can give you.” Women don’t
hear that kind of statement
often, whether or not it’s true.
It’s that kind of choice The
Competition considers, but
not consistently or forcefully
Oliansky strays from the point
too often. Instead of focusing
on self-exploration, he has his
characters wandering around
uttering meaningless phrases
to one another. Remick’s tart,
realistic remarks are a wel
come change from too many
longing glances across the
piano. Sally Oljar
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with Bob Childs, caller
TRADITIONAL AMERICAN
CONTRAS-CIRCLES-SQUARES
— All dances taught —
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$2.00 Admission