Can Martin Scorsese's 'Raging Bull' be determined as aesthetically successful?
How does he exaggerate the use of micro elements to suite his needs?
Does this develop the aesthetics?
One could say that Martin Scorsese’s ‘Raging Bull’ is aesthetically successful due to the way it creates varied effects on the audience. Scorsese produced this film as a way of ‘rehabilitation’, editing conflicting images, influenced by Sergei Einstein and described by Tod Berliner as ‘visual absurdity’, as a way of demonstrating the subjective view of Jake La Motta and defying the spatial (and narrative) continuity.
Scorsese opens the film to show a figure sparring in a boxing ring as credits show on the screen. Throughout this opening scene, the non-diegetic sound of Pietro Mascagni’s ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ is being played. Classical gravitas is created due to it being played in Waltz time, Scorsese purposefully uses this to soften our interpretation of boxing as a sport. This is supported by the way in which the legato melody analogues to the movement, adding onto the idea that Scorsese wants to create an almost poetic atmosphere and an aesthetically harmonious scene as a whole. Likewise, the unidentifiable figure, the misty surroundings and low-key lighting all give the impression of unclarity and mystery to this solitary character. One could develop this to say that, due to him being solitary, it’s almost as if he’s fighting himself or that we are seeing his inner conflict. To be precise, Scorsese’s use of slow motion could suggest that he’s waiting for affirmation or in fact aiding the song in juxtaposing the theme of boxing by giving it a waltz-esc appearance. Along with this, this scene is shot as a long shot therefore creating a considerable distance between the boxer and the audience. This ‘aestheticizing distance’ explores the idea of isolation and Scorsese’s method of inducing sympathy onto the audience. On the contrary, this scene is almost disrupted by the ropes of the ring at the foreground of the frame, suggesting that the audience aren’t privileged enough to bond closer with this ‘instrument of choreography’ (Ulloa).
The scene then changes to show a medium shot of Jake La Motta (the fait accompli casting of Robert De Niro) talking to himself in a dressing room. This brief, non- linear scene depicts a more aesthetically displeasing depiction of Jake with a singular lightbulb casting low-key lighting, demonstrating his desperate cling to fame. The ironic, ‘where the bull here can rage’, pep talk with the sound bridge of ‘that’s entertainment’ act as foreshadowing giving the audience a tantalising glimpse of the character’s journey. The scene then changes to show a younger Jake in the ring. This scene immediately contrasts the previous one as it’s no longer misty and foggy and Jake’s appearance has improved. Scorsese uses this dramatic change to give the scene a poetic realism with the stark black and white film giving it a similar-to-documentary appearance. Throughout this scene, Scorsese uses ‘visual absurdity’ to depict the fight in an almost disorientating way. For example, the camera suddenly whip pans left to the source of a woman’s scream, giving the impression that the camera is drawn to the violence/chaos. However, the fight itself is shot in quite an unrealistic way therefore demonstrating Scorsese’s expressionism with the cinematic tools elevating the realism. When the fight’s result is given a fight breaks out in the crowd. Heavily influenced from Robert Wise’s ‘The Set-Up’ (1949), it gives the impression that the violence is ‘spilling’ out into the world which in turn brings the audience’s attention to Jake’s behavior outside the ring. The scene ends by showing a woman being disregarded as she is practically trampled. One could say that Scorsese is bringing the contextual mistreatment of women at this time to the audience’s attention and in turn showing how the film is set in a male-dominated environment.
The next scene of note is the introduction of Vicki (Cathy Moriarty) at the public swimming pool. Vicki’s personal high key lighting is immediately noticeable. When accompanied with her slow-motion movements, this captures Jake’s spontaneous desire towards her, emphasized by his fixed staring continuously throughout the scene. Scorsese purposefully does this so that the audience’s attention is drawn to the re-occurring theme of machismo and how, in Jake’s ‘male gaze’, Vicki is something to be obtained. This could be developed to say that Jake purely just wants her so that the mob can’t have her, and that she only exists as an award in their “feud”. The camera then moves to several point-of-view shots which in turn sum up the underlining theme of masculine repression and Jake’s newly revealed obsessive personality. Scorsese concludes the scene by showing a close-up, slow motion shot of Vicki’s legs splashing in the water. This bright, aesthetically exciting frame contrasts with the later shown, still water, when Jake is soaking his bloodied hand after a fight. Scorsese does this to highlight the Madonna-Whore complex and how Jake’s impression of her has slowly changed over the years, from exciting to obsessive. Scorsese also shows the Madonna-whore complex through other mis-en-scene, for example, the development of Jake’s body language towards Vicki; at the beginning of their relationship, in the car, he put his arm around her affectionally yet later on, after his dispute with Joey, he controls her vision by clasping her head. By taking inspiration from Fuller’s ‘Shock Corridor’ (1963), Scorsese progresses to show a collection of home movies which are all shot in colour. One reason why Scorsese shot in black and white was to relate to the grainy newspapers at the time he was growing up and, as Michael Chapman (Raging Bull’s cinematographer) would say, ‘the forties were the great days of press photography […]and photojournalism.’ However, one could say Scorsese shot it this way to elevate Jake’s darkness and his need for punishment in the ring. By shooting this scene in colour, it gives the audience an insight into what Jake could have had therefore revealing the underlining theme of tragedy. Scorsese has almost paused Jake’s negative/ obsessive personality to encourage the audience to have false hope.
The camera then moves to a medium shot showing Jake and Joey (Joe Pesci) trying to fix a TV. This in itself forebodes the broken relationship that is about to occur yet, one could say that, it’s in fact symbolising Jake’s broken mind and how he sees everyone around him. When Vicki enters, the camera follows her movement, waits on the stairs, then pans back to the brothers. The lingering on the stairs could relate to Scorsese’s auteur imprint on the film, his propensity to focus the camera on an empty space (similar to Taxi Driver when the camera pans away from Travis Bickle to the empty corridor beside him), even though due to the slow pan back, it almost suggests that the camera is afraid to look back at Jake in fear of his reaction. This shows there has been a transference of the point-of-view, so that the camera is now the audience’s subjective point of view. This is supported by how there is an undercurrent of silence throughout this scene, giving the impression there is a greater audience also afraid of his reaction. When Jake is talking to Vicki upstairs, Scorsese uses a lot of religious iconography, for example, having the cross above the bed and Vicki kneeling by the bed as though praying, making her look like the Madonna. Jake then proceeds to look down on her and play with her hair as though he sees her as a whore. Furthermore, his stunned facial expressions when Vicki “admits” to cheating, shows he’s been waiting for affirmation and confirms that he thinks his suspicions are enough for her to be guilty. Along with this, when Jake is beating Joey, Scorsese adds in a screeching sound (acquired from Warner scraping ice against glass) so that Jake’s attack seems almost animalistic. These aesthetically emphasised sounds and cinematography add to the chaos and lack of comfort of the scene.
Scorsese particularly amplifies the aesthetics on the “possum” fight against Sugar Ray Robinson (Johnny Barnes). Scorsese’s use of sound aids in the visual disharmony of the scene. In particular, Scorsese uses the sound of Flashbulbs which explode effervescently. Warner and Scorsese were able to create a staccato effect by overlaying the sounds so that a rapid series of gun shots could be heard which therefore emphasise the beating Jake is taking. In addition, Scorsese’s fascination of the catholic church was shown when Jake sat in the ring corner. To demonstrate Jake’s physical atonement, the motivation from his team turn into a catholic ritual. He is bathed in his own blood, Vaseline applied like an anointment and his mouth guard is given as if a sacrament. To support this, when being punched by Sugar Ray Robinson, close-ups showing blood spurting out of his face symbolise the demons being released from his body as he is atoned. To add to this religious iconography, when Robinson lifts his glove, the camera moves to a medium low angle before zooming into the glove, highlighting its importance and almost suggesting that it’s the ‘hand of God’. This could be developed to say that the mist around the ring gives the impression of a mythical/ religious dimension. At this point Scorsese cuts out all sound so that silence accentuates this pinnacle point in the film along with Warner’s principal of “The richest sound I have to offer is silence.” Furthermore, Scorsese presents the scene as a religious slaughter which is aided by his use of visual absurdity. The distorted editing, the lack of spatial and narrative continuity, the discordant angles all help towards the metaphorical accentuation of his ‘slaughter’, along with the constant violations of the 180 and 30-degree laws. Likewise, similar to other boxing matches, the camera is inside the ring therefore making the scene more immersive for the audience yet also as if ‘Scorsese involved us on a personal level’ (Brian Eggert). In addition, when against Robinson, Scorsese shrunk the ring so that it feels more claustrophobic and ‘envelopes the audience almost like a prison cell’ (Mike Evans). One could develop this to say that the ring in this fight creates a sense of foreboding for when he is arrested later on or that it represents Jake’s state of mind. On the other hand, at another point in the film, Jake is shown walking towards the ring from his dressing room. This uninterrupted sequence contrasts sharply to the other boxing matches in the film (including Robinson’s) due to there frantic collages of images. One could say Scorsese does this to add to the gladiatorial theatricality of the fight, therefore inducing a more dangerous atmosphere and life-threatening aesthetical appearance. This scene finishes on a 180-degree pan, ending on a rope dripping with blood. This creates a sickening mood for the audience as it makes the more realistic and deadly parts of boxing more apparent as well as referring to how escapism was obsolete and realism was coming to the fore. Consequently, Scorsese wanted to demonstrate the expressionistic side of realism and the ongoing tradition in Hollywood of fight films that ‘de-glamourize boxing’.
Scorsese then goes on to show Jake in a prison cell reciting “I’m not an animal”. Although he is being self-reflective, it gives the impression that he’s trying to convince himself or, due to this being the lowest depth in the film, appeal to his humanity. He then goes on to punch the wall. Scorsese purposefully does this to show how, similarly to when he’s in a ring, he must find a way to punish himself through pain and violence. Scorsese also uses extreme low-key lighting in this scene with only small shards of light. By doing this, it gives the impression that these glimpses of light are his last hope or his last chances for redemption. One could also say that, due to him being sat in complete shadow, Scorsese is sparing the audience from the unpleasant appearance of Jake at his very lowest depth. On the other hand, this scene also shows a turning point for Jake where he’s gone from ‘sensation to reflection’ with the use of silence demonstrating that its just him and that he’s contained within his thoughts.
The ending of the film shows Jake in a dressing room (like the beginning), lit by a singular lightbulb, getting ready for his comedic performance. Above all else this scene highlights the continuous theme of performing and how he still hasn’t let go of the past, supported by his ‘you’re a champ’ pep talk. The ending diminishes the aesthetic appeal as the audience encounter no narrative resolution or restored equilibrium. One could say that this is to demonstrate the low point America was in at this time and the disillusionment everyone felt towards their nation. Scorsese uses this ending to confirm how ‘boxing is the arena not the subject’ (Roger Ebert) and how ‘Jake works on a primitive level’. This idea justifies the animalistic shadowing we see Jake do. To be precise, the mis-en-scene favours the idea of isolation with the singular coat hanger demonstrating his loneliness and the ironing board serving as a desperate call to his departed family.
To conclude, Scorsese synchronizes sound, editing and cinematography to give a unique aesthetic appeal to the audience. An example of this is the ‘visual absurdity’ of the editing, and how the disorientating shots and angles, combined with the staccato of sound, create the chaotic metaphor of Jake’s mind. Another clear example is in the ring, Scorsese uses sweeping camera angles when Jake is winning yet leaves the camera to reside outside the ring when he is losing as if the camera responds to the depth of Jake’s emotional state when in the ring. Sometimes, Scorsese ‘dropped the sound out completely’ to create more of an impact on the audience when it comes ‘crashing back’. Likewise, the several underlining themes of religion, tragedy, isolation, Madonna-whore all help to educate the audience on how the disturbed equilibrium from the start is prevented from being restored.
Research
http://people.uncw.edu/berlinert/research/documents/BerlinerRagingBull.pdf
https://youtu.be/eYLKKS2p5b4
https://youtu.be/GlCfVops9_A