Raging Bull:

Subjectivity vs. Objectivity in Editing

Raging Bull (1980)

An emotionally
self-destructive
boxer's journey
through life, as
the violence and
temper that leads
him to the top in
the ring, destroys
his life outside it.

Envisioning the Cut

Read over the script for this last fight scene in Raging Bull, and break into pairs to
answer these questions.
Identify a key moment in the script that you expect to build up to and away from in
the scene. Mark it in the script - and then well see if you made the same choice as
the filmmakers.
If you were directing the scene, what shot choices would you like to see arrive in the
edit bay for this key moment?
Make notes that indicate the sense of pace and rhythm you would be likely to employ
in building these scenes.
Identify the elements that would be necessary to justify an edit from one shot to
another.
Engage you visual imagination - see the edit in your head before the shoot to grow
your ability to recognize the essential moments for the construction of powerful
narratives.

Reactions
Any particular cuts, shots, or sounds that stood out to you in the
scene? Any favorite moments?
What was different from the script in the finished cut?
Where was your key moment? Where do you think the key
moment in the filmed scene was? Do we have a consensus or
different ideas?
What shot choices surprised you? Was there anything you
envisioned that was in the cut? That wasnt? That you think could
have been?
How was the pace and rhythm compared to what you envisioned?

Subjectivity
As the film progresses, each fight gets more and more subjective We are inside Jake LaMottas mind more and more as he spins out
of control.
What are some elements in this scene that accentuate this
subjectivity?

http://nofilmschool.com/
2014/04/editor-thelmaschoonmaker-breaksdown-raging-bull-tribecafilm-festival

The Aviator (2004)

Reactions
How is Howard Hughes (the lead character) feeling in this scene?
How do the filmmakers show us how he is feeling?
What are some similarities and differences between this scene
and the Raging Bull scene? (Shot 24 years apart, but by the same
director/editor team)
At what point do we switch from objective to subjective?
Lets look at the scene from the viewpoint of Eisensteinian
montage - Are there any moments that fit one of the 5 types?

Did you notice any other editing techniques being used?

Pacing Breakdown - Raging Bull

Break into groups of 3 people and re-watch the scene.
Chart out the pacing in the scene - when time seems to slow
down or speed up, when the editing becomes more frenetic or
more slow. You can do this by writing timecodes with notes or
even making a graph.
How does the pacing change throughout the scene? And what is
the motivation for the changes in pacing?
Pay attention to specific cuts where the pacing changes begin &
end.