i love opening sequences to films, and this one for Raging Bull will always be one of my favorites. 1978: Martin Scorsese almost loses his life due to a cocaine overdose. While in the hospital, he is visited by Robert de Niro who convinces him to make Raging Bull; a film about a pro boxer whose jealous, insecure and violent behavior becomes the cause of his own undoing. Scorsese decided to make this film because he related to the character, being at the lowest point of his own life and of his career. He was being swallowed up by addiction and depression to the point where it almost killed him, and didn’t think he would ever make another film. He decided to pour everything he had into Raging Bull. This became his redemption film. If it weren’t for Raging Bull, there would be no Goodfellas, no Casino, no The Departed, no Wolf of Wall Street... It’s not an easy film to watch. It’s violent, emotionally taxing, and a bit slower than his later work, but you will see beautiful cinematography that tells a tragic story of self-destructive men played brilliantly by de Niro and Joe Pesci. This opening sequence is just of de Niro boxing alone facing his biggest opponent, himself. Scorsese, who is not a fan of sports, saw the boxing ring as “an allegory for whatever you do in life. You make movies, you’re in the ring each time.” The music is from the opera of Pagliacci which is about a jealous man who kills his wife and her lover. There couldn’t be a more elegant way to set this film in motion. Raging Bull is a must watch!