How This Sports Drama Altered Martin Scorsese’s Life & Robert De Niro’s Looks! (Photo Credit – YouTube)

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When Raging Bull dropped in 1980, it didn’t just shake up boxing films. It shook up Martin Scorsese’s entire life. Now sitting at a proud 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, the biographical drama captured Robert De Niro in his rawest, most unhinged form as middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta. The performance won De Niro his first Oscar. But behind the scenes? It nearly broke both him and Scorsese.

Scorsese didn’t even want to direct Raging Bull at first. He turned it down multiple times. De Niro, however, wouldn’t let go. He’d gotten obsessed with LaMotta after reading his memoir on the set of The Godfather Part II. Scorsese thought it was just another sports story until it wasn’t.

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Raging Bull & Robert De Niro Pulled Martin Scorsese Back From The Brink Into Cinema History

After the flop of New York, New York, Martin Scorsese hit rock bottom, literally. According to ScreenRant, a near-fatal drug overdose in 1978 had him in the hospital fighting for his life. De Niro visited and laid it all out. If Scorsese didn’t pull it together, he’d miss out on his daughter, work, and future. That hospital-bed conversation changed everything. Scorsese credits De Niro and Raging Bull with saving his life.