'Raging Bull' Fans Celebrate the Iconic Robert De Niro Movie on Its 40th Anniversary

Raging Bull, one of the best sports movies of all-time, turned 40 years old over the weekend. The [...]

By Brian Jones

Raging Bull, one of the best sports movies of all-time, turned 40 years old over the weekend. The film was released nationwide on Dec. 19, 1980, and is still talked about today. Raging Bull stars Robert De Niro, who plays former boxing middleweight champion, Jake LaMotta. The movie not only told the story of LaMotta's boxing career, but it also looked at his life outside the ring, which was an interesting one, to say the least.

"The undenied excitement of these sequences only emphasizes the amazing lack of energy in the rest of the film, though," Ron Pennington of the Hollywood Reporter wrote in 2015. "But there's no denying the power and artistry of De Niro's performance. It took courage from both Scorsese and De Niro to concentrate so intently on such a negative character without making any attempt to soften his personality."

De Niro's performance of LaMotta was so strong, it earned him an Academy Award win in 1981. Overall, Raging Bull earned eight Oscar nominations with two wins (the other being Best Film Editing). In 2008, the American Film Institute ranked Raging Bull as the best sports movie of all-time. Here's a look at fans celebrating Raging Bull's 40th anniversary.

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