Wednesday Apr 16
Robert de Niro took home the Best Actor Oscar for Raging Bull — a no-brainer, given his bruising performance as tenacious, volatile heavyweight Jake LaMotta. The film reunited de Niro with the Taxi Driver team of director Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader, but this portrait of an all-American sociopath is even gloomier than its predecessor, and its fight scenes are remarkable formal achievements. Rocky, meanwhile, remains Rocky. Sly Stallone's titular underdog still runs up the steps, drinks raw eggs, and cries "Adrian!" — and the audience still cheers as wildly as ever.
– Max Goldberg