Editing Raging Bull (section)

===Development===
''Raging Bull'' was initiated when [[Robert De Niro]] read the [[Raging Bull: My Story|autobiography]] while he was on the set of ''[[The Godfather Part II]]''. Although disappointed by the book's writing style, De Niro became fascinated by the character of [[Jake LaMotta]]. He showed the book to [[Martin Scorsese]] on the set of ''[[Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore]]'', with the hope that he would consider the project.<ref name="Biskind p254">Biskind, Peter, ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'', 1999, p. 254.</ref>

Scorsese repeatedly turned down the opportunity to direct the film, claiming that he had no idea what ''Raging Bull'' was about, although he had read some of the text. Never a sports fan, when he found out what LaMotta used to do for a living, he said, "A boxer? I don't like boxing...Even as a kid, I always thought that boxing was boring... It was something I couldn't, wouldn't grasp." His overall opinion of sport in general is, "Anything with a ball, no good."<ref name="Biskind p378">Biskind, Peter ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'' 1998, p. 378.</ref>

The book was passed on to Mardik Martin, the film's eventual co-screenwriter, who said, "The trouble is the damn thing has been done a hundred times before—a fighter who has trouble with his brother and his wife and the mob is after him." De Niro had even shown the book to producers [[Robert Chartoff]] and [[Irwin Winkler]], who were willing to assist only if Scorsese agreed.<ref name="Biskind p315">Biskind, Peter, ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'', 1998, p. 315.</ref>

After nearly dying from a [[drug overdose]], Scorsese agreed to make the film, not only to save his own life but also to save his career. Scorsese began to relate very personally to the story of Jake LaMotta, and in it, he saw how the boxing ring can be "an allegory for whatever you do in life", which for him paralleled moviemaking: "You make movies, you're in the ring each time."<ref name="Thompson pp.76/77">Thompson, David and Christie, Ian, ''Scorsese on Scorsese'', pp.&nbsp;76/77.</ref><ref name="Friedman p115">Friedman Lawrence S. ''The Cinema of Martin Scorsese'', 1997, p. 115.</ref><ref name="villarreal">Phil Villarreal. "Scorsese's 'Raging Bull' is still a knockout", ''The Arizona Daily Star'' (Tucson, Arizona), February 11, 2005, p. E1.</ref><ref name="torrance">Kelly Jane Torrance. "Martin Scorsese: Telling stories through film", ''The Washington Times'' (Washington, D.C.), November 30, 2007, p. E1.</ref>

[[File:JakeLaMotta with DeNiro.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Robert De Niro in training with the real Jake LaMotta]]

Preparation for the film began when Scorsese shot some 8&nbsp;mm color footage featuring De Niro boxing in a ring. One night, when the footage was being shown to De Niro, [[Michael Chapman (cinematographer)|Michael Chapman]] and his friend and mentor, the British director [[Michael Powell]], Powell pointed out that the color of the gloves at the time would have been only maroon, oxblood or black. It is one of the reasons that Scorsese chose to film ''Raging Bull'' in [[Black-and-white|black and white]]. Other reasons were to distinguish the film from color films at the time, and to acknowledge the problem of fading color film stock—an issue that Scorsese recognized.<ref name="Biskind p389">Biskind, Peter, ''Easy Riders, Raging Bulls'', 1998, p. 389.</ref><ref name="Total Film pp180-181">Total Film, ''The 100 greatest films of all time'', pp. 180–181.</ref><ref name="Thompson p80">Thompson, David and Christie, Ian, ''Scorsese on Scorsese'', p. 80.</ref> Scorsese attended two matches at [[Madison Square Garden]] to aid his research, picking up on minor but essential details, such as the blood sponge and subsequently, the blood on the ropes (which would be used in the film).<ref name="Thompson p80" />

According to the brief comments on the inlay card of the DVD, Scorsese was not a fan of sports nor boxing, which he describes as boring. When he saw the blood-soaked sponges being dipped in a bucket, he recalls thinking, "And they call this sport".

Multiple titles were considered for ''Raging Bull'', including ''Prizefighter'' and ''The Jake La Motta Story''. Scorsese stated that ''Prizefighter'' was his favorite title, but did not select it, for he was afraid that people would think that the film was solely about boxing.{{sfn|Wilson|2011|p=83}}