Raging Bulls

found “Easy Riders/Raging Bulls” by Peter Biskind to be a fantastic portrait of the best dozen years of American film and the insane circumstances that created them. The reading included many features in one, cultural anthropology, film criticism, and gossip. This book is an excellent account of the film industry revolution during the 60's and 70's. It focuses more on the directors and not the actors, which is good because most of the decent directors of that time were completely out of their minds.
The films made by the featured directors were so rich with the soil of these decades that it kept viewers wanting more. The movies produced in this era are considered remarkable, and movie making this way is probably never to be seen again. The
I felt that the character Jake LaMotta, played by Robert De Niro, was so ignorant and annoying with his anti social behavior. He gave me the impression of a beast who was in constant battle with himself and everyone around him. One of the first scene when I initially lost respect for him, was him smacking his wife around over a piece of steak. That really pissed me off, such a big strong man disrespecting his wife in such a way totally lost any means on me rooting him on throughout the film. Not long after Jake marries Vicki. He becomes incredibly jealous and possessive and suspects everyone of sleeping with her, even accusing his own brother. This part really frustrated me, he hits Vicki and attacks his brother for no reason other than suspicion. He ultimately creates his own faith and winds up alone, hitting his lowest point in jail. Strangely, I felt content he was in jail, this was his punishment for his abusive ways. All the times he slapped around and hit his wives and over all for being such an awful individual. This film affected me because my mom was abused by her husband, and no punishment was ever dealt to him. I was glad Jake found himself in a cell, this way he could reflect on his wrong doing and change his
I felt overwhelmed with surprise and suspense through the first few minute of the film. Yet,I was intrigued by the west feel of the movie and the smart tactics of each character, but the killing and torture were so harsh. The Bad cold heartedly killing a family and later shooting another person in the face, very intense scenes. The scene I appreciated the most was the famous face-off between the three men, the ‘trio’ scene. The impact of this moment was like a little time bomb waiting to unfold. The scene gets more frenetic with close ups of the hand and face as the music got louder. I felt as if I had entered inside the characters’ minds, shaking in my seat along with them in fear and anticipation. The movie affected because I realized how movies can grab hold of my brain and emotions and manipulate them in such a way. Upon leaving the classroom I felt that I had to be ready for sudden attacks. My brain was still captured in the west and felt that I too had to anticipate others movies. I've never been one to watch western films, and after seeing this one it, I gave me an alternative to watching the scary horror movies I usually gravitate too. I always thought these kind of films were not for me and I was pleasantly surprised that it's something I really