The Drama of the Fight - Now Showing on DISH Network

The very best of Robert De Niro. I’ve seen it ‘n’ number of times and they are showing it this whole month.

Synopsis: 1964. A middle-aged Jake La Motta is rehearsing his speech for a celebrity appearance in a nightclub. The film follows his career chronologically in a series of extended flashbacks, beginning with a fight in 1941 which has been rigged by the Mafia. The audience erupts with displeasure when Jake loses. Joey is his manager as well as his brother and is just as unhappy with the result. Later, a squabble between Jake and his wife, Irma, is interrupted by Joey with a warning from the Mafia that Jake should be cooperative. Salvy is the Mafia’s messenger and watches the two brothers sparring at the gym. Jake is angry that Joey has acquiesced to the Mafia and hits him viciously.

Jake is fascinated by Vickie, whom he glimpses with Salvy and his friends at the local swimming pool. The brothers attend a church dance in the hope of seeing her. She is there, but Joey does not get an opportunity to talk to her. Irma is angry at being left at home, which provokes another row. The next day, Jake encounters Vickie at the swimming pool and invites her for a drive. They make love in the fl at he bought for his father.

Ensuing scenes are interspersed with further glimpses of Jake in the ring. He divorces Irma and marries Vickie. In their bedroom he draws back from her, putting award the match to Robinson, despite an indifferent performance. Joey is angry that the fight has been rigged, while Jake feels jinxed.

1947. When Vickie remarks on the good looks of Jake’s opponent, Janiro, the overweight Jake is jealous. His suspicions are fuelled when Salvy kisses her at a nightclub, prompting him to ask Joey to watch her. Vickie confides to Joey the problems which Jake’s jealousy is causing, but Joey is unsympathetic. His links with the Mafia have strengthened, and he advises Jake to lose the fight. Jake dismisses the suggestion but loses anyway. He becomes suspicious that Vickie is too close to Joey and turns on them, though afterwards he is filled with remorse. He is out of condition and loses his next fight, which is with his old adversary Sugar Ray Robinson. The next day, Jake encounters Vickie at the swimming pool and invites her for a drive. They make love in the fl at he bought for his father.

1948. Jake is seen performing in his seedy Miami nightclub. He emerges at dawn to find Vickie outside. She announces that she is leaving him. To add to Jake’s woes, he is imprisoned for allowing underage prostitutes into his club. He is next seen after his release, introducing strippers in a New York bar. In the street outside he encounters Joey, who turns down his attempt at reconciliation. In a reprise of the opening scene, Jake is seen rehearsing for his stage show before a mirror.

Indeed a must see movie!

By: Bob Jackson