Martin Scorsese, United States, 1981, 2h 9min, Original Version with Subtitles. Cast: Robert de Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci [DCP 4k version restored and supervised by Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker]

One of the most celebrated collaborations between De Niro and Scorsese, with a screenplay by Paul Schrader inspired by various episodes in the career of the flamboyant boxing champion Jake LaMotta. From humble beginnings, LaMotta was the hero of legendary fights, particularly against Robinson and Cerdan. Self-destructive, paranoid, torn between the desire for personal redemption and damnation, he ended his life as a nightclub manager and entertainer.

Approved by director Martin Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, this new master was created in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director scanner from the original 35mm camera negative. The original 2.0 surround sound soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm three-track magnetic tape. “Scorsese is (along with Godard) one of the few directors who possesses a sensual taste for film material, which overflows into abstraction and leads him to experiment with black and white and Super 8 film stock. The pseudo-amateur footage disturbs the film and, through rare moments of familial happiness, breaks the film’s heterogeneous fabric, like a Rauschenberg painting or an atonal composition.” (Pascal Bonitzer, Film notebooks, 1981)