Photograph of Jake and Joey
Immediately before Jake and Vickie kiss and sleep together for the first time, they look at an old photograph of Jake and Joey emulating traditional boxer stances ("That's me and my brother, foolin' around," says Jake). As Jake and Vickie move toward the bed, the camera doesn't follow the young couple—instead, it remains static on the image of Jake and Joey. The photograph signifies the closeness between the two brothers, and Scorsese's fixation on the photograph foreshadows the romantic tensions between Jake, Joey, and Vickie, as Jake's jealously leads to the crumbling of the family's relationship with each other. The picture also alludes to Joey's omnipresence in Jake and Vickie's marriage: Joey introduces Jake to Vickie after going on a few dates with her, the three of them go to the Copacabana without Joey's wife, Joey embraces Vickie in the home movies.
Jake's overweight body
The transformation of De Niro's body is perhaps Raging Bull's most striking imagery. De Niro (as Jake) begins the film looking like a real champion: there isn't an ounce of fat to be found on his young, muscular physique. He gradually becomes overweight, and his once-svelte body evolves into an almost unrecognizable lump of flesh. Jake's excessive weight gain prevents him from being a true contender in the latter half of his career, and it additionally contributes to his problems with Vickie (Jake refuses to have sex with Vickie, and eats monstrously instead). The images of Jake’s fall from physical grace, therefore, mirror the downfall of his personal relationships.
The Bloody Rope
Jake's horrific last fight with Robinson is full of visceral imagery: the blood spurting into the audience, the bloody sponge, the dolly shot of Robinson. However, the single most effective bit of imagery is the silent, lingering pan of the bloody rope as Robinson is declared the winner of the fight. The rope symbolizes not only the primal brutality of boxing, but the pain Jake willingly endures from his opponents. Jake goads Robinson into beating him to a pulp, and he passively receives his punishment on the ring; the bloody rope visually exemplifies the extreme lengths Jake goes to make himself suffer. However much Jake hurts others, he hurts himself more.
Home movies
The series of home movies visually stands out from the rest of Raging Bull, as it is the only scene filmed in color and scratchy 16mm. The montage is also thematically distinct: it features candid scenes of Jake’s happy domestic life. The imagery feels delightfully amateur, laid-back, and nostalgic—we see Jake and Vickie kiss in a pool; we see the LaMottas barbecue; we see Joey get married. The home movies starkly contrast to other domestic scenes characterized by Jack’s anxious paranoia and his mounting hostility and doomed relationships with Vickie and Joey.
