Raging Bull
When Jake LaMotta steps into a boxing ring and obliterates his opponent, he's a prizefighter. But when he treats his family and friends the same way, he's a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Though LaMotta wants his family's love, something always seems to come between them. Perhaps it's his violent bouts of paranoia and jealousy. This kind of rage helped make him a champ, but in real life, he winds up in the ring alone.
Working with a moderate budget of $18.0M, the film achieved a steady performer with $23.4M in global revenue (+30% profit margin).
2 Oscars. 24 wins & 28 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Raging Bull (1980) exhibits carefully calibrated story structure, characteristic of Martin Scorsese's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 9 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 3.7, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Jake LaMotta
Joey LaMotta
Vickie LaMotta
Salvy Batts
Tommy Como
Main Cast & Characters
Jake LaMotta
Played by Robert De Niro
Middleweight boxer whose paranoia and violent temper destroy his relationships and career
Joey LaMotta
Played by Joe Pesci
Jake's brother and manager who tries to guide his career but becomes a victim of Jake's paranoia
Vickie LaMotta
Played by Cathy Moriarty
Jake's second wife whose beauty triggers his obsessive jealousy and possessiveness
Salvy Batts
Played by Frank Vincent
Connected wiseguy and Joey's friend who becomes entangled in Jake's paranoid suspicions
Tommy Como
Played by Nicholas Colasanto
Mob boss who controls boxing matches and expects Jake to take a dive
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Jake LaMotta alone in a dressing room in 1964, overweight and past his prime, rehearsing his nightclub act. This flash-forward establishes the "after" before showing us the "before" - a broken man practicing lines from "On the Waterfront.".. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Jake sees 15-year-old Vickie at the public pool. He is immediately transfixed, watching her with an intensity that reveals both desire and the possessiveness that will define their relationship. This moment redirects his obsessive nature from boxing alone to romantic fixation.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 22% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Jake agrees to throw his fight against Billy Fox to get in the mob's good graces and secure a title shot. He deliberately takes a beating in an obvious tank job, sacrificing his integrity and pride. This choice will haunt him and gets him suspended, but opens the door to the championship., moving from reaction to action.
At 58 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 45% of the runtime—arriving early, accelerating into Act IIb complications. Notably, this crucial beat Jake beats Vickie in front of their children after forcing her to say she slept with the entire neighborhood, then storms to Joey's house and beats him savagely, accusing him of sleeping with Vickie. This false defeat destroys his closest relationships at the height of his success. The championship means nothing; he's losing everything that matters., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 86 minutes (67% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Jake is arrested for allowing underage girls in his nightclub. In his cell, he pounds his fists against the wall crying "I'm not an animal" and "Why, why, why" - a complete breakdown. He has lost everything: his title, his brother, his wife, his dignity. This is his whiff of death, the death of who he was., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 93 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 72% of the runtime. 1964: Jake prepares for his nightclub act, practicing his lines and shadow-boxing in the mirror. He tells himself "I'm the boss, I'm the boss" - a quiet moment of acceptance. He's no longer fighting the world or himself, just trying to survive with what dignity remains. He is ready to face the small audience that is his life now., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Raging Bull's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Raging Bull against these established plot points, we can identify how Martin Scorsese utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Raging Bull within the biography genre.
Martin Scorsese's Structural Approach
Among the 18 Martin Scorsese films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.0, showcasing experimental approaches to narrative form. Raging Bull takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Martin Scorsese filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional biography films include After Thomas, Taking Woodstock and The Fire Inside. For more Martin Scorsese analyses, see Casino, Killers of the Flower Moon and After Hours.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Jake LaMotta alone in a dressing room in 1964, overweight and past his prime, rehearsing his nightclub act. This flash-forward establishes the "after" before showing us the "before" - a broken man practicing lines from "On the Waterfront."
Theme
Jake's brother Joey tells him, "You got small hands, you got girl's hands" - establishing the theme of masculinity, inadequacy, and Jake's deep-seated insecurity that will drive his self-destructive paranoia throughout the film.
Worldbuilding
1941 Bronx: Jake is an up-and-coming middleweight with talent but no title shot. We see his volatile temper in the ring and at home, his dependence on brother/manager Joey, his first marriage crumbling, and his obsessive jealousy already present. The mob controls boxing.
Disruption
Jake sees 15-year-old Vickie at the public pool. He is immediately transfixed, watching her with an intensity that reveals both desire and the possessiveness that will define their relationship. This moment redirects his obsessive nature from boxing alone to romantic fixation.
Resistance
Jake pursues Vickie while Joey arranges a meeting with mob boss Tommy Como to get Jake a title shot. Jake resists throwing a fight, debates working with the mob, and courts Vickie. He's torn between his pride as a fighter and his ambition for the championship.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Jake agrees to throw his fight against Billy Fox to get in the mob's good graces and secure a title shot. He deliberately takes a beating in an obvious tank job, sacrificing his integrity and pride. This choice will haunt him and gets him suspended, but opens the door to the championship.
Mirror World
Jake marries Vickie and they settle into domestic life. She represents the normal life and love he craves, the mirror to his violence. Their relationship will be the emotional center that reflects Jake's inability to accept love without destroying it through jealousy.
Premise
Jake wins the middleweight championship from Marcel Cerdan. He defends his title successfully, becomes famous and wealthy, moves to a bigger house. But his pathological jealousy grows - he interrogates Vickie about other men, suspects Joey of betraying him, and his paranoia begins poisoning everything he's achieved.
Midpoint
Jake beats Vickie in front of their children after forcing her to say she slept with the entire neighborhood, then storms to Joey's house and beats him savagely, accusing him of sleeping with Vickie. This false defeat destroys his closest relationships at the height of his success. The championship means nothing; he's losing everything that matters.
Opposition
Jake's life falls apart: Joey cuts ties with him permanently, Vickie stays but is emotionally distant, Jake loses his title to Sugar Ray Robinson in a brutal beating, he retires from boxing, gains massive weight, and opens a nightclub in Miami. His paranoia and violence have cost him his family and career.
Collapse
Jake is arrested for allowing underage girls in his nightclub. In his cell, he pounds his fists against the wall crying "I'm not an animal" and "Why, why, why" - a complete breakdown. He has lost everything: his title, his brother, his wife, his dignity. This is his whiff of death, the death of who he was.
Crisis
Jake serves his sentence, loses his nightclub, and Vickie divorces him. He is completely alone, reduced to doing stand-up comedy and recitations in cheap clubs. The dark night of realizing he destroyed his own life through his inability to trust or accept love.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
1964: Jake prepares for his nightclub act, practicing his lines and shadow-boxing in the mirror. He tells himself "I'm the boss, I'm the boss" - a quiet moment of acceptance. He's no longer fighting the world or himself, just trying to survive with what dignity remains. He is ready to face the small audience that is his life now.
Synthesis
Jake performs his act, reciting famous film and literary passages including the "I coulda been a contender" speech from "On the Waterfront." He visits Joey after years of estrangement, attempting reconciliation. Joey is civil but distant - some bridges cannot be rebuilt, but Jake tries anyway.
Transformation
Jake alone in his dressing room, shadow-boxing and reciting "I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." He has become self-aware enough to recognize his tragedy, but not enough to fully transcend it. A broken man who finally sees himself clearly.