The ‘70s are considered the “second golden age of cinema,” and in the end-capping year of 1980, Martin Scorsese’s black and white tapestry of passion and destruction entered our lives as part of a masterful set of films that represent the finest year of character-driven movie making (Elephant Man, Ordinary People, Gloria, Empire Strikes Back). Yes, Raging Bull was a gritty, violent, gorgeous character study of the rise and fall of scrappy boxer, Jake LaMotta (Robert DeNiro), and backed by skillful performances from Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty, one glimpse of DeNiro battling his way through life, blood and sweat splashing all over the screen, and you’ll feel positively ashamed for mooning over garbage like Avatar. Seriously, stop the fx madness.
Sun., March 14, 6 p.m.; Mon., March 15, 8 p.m.; Wed., March 17, 6 p.m., 2010
