9 Movies That Were Responses To Other Films
5. Raging Bull Was Conceived As A "Feel-Bad Rocky"
After Rocky hit it big in 1976 by becoming the year's highest-grossing film and winning the Best Picture Oscar, a frantic run on boxing movies kicked off, during which Robert De Niro convinced Martin Scorsese to direct him in a biopic of boxer Jake LaMotta, Raging Bull.
The film was conceived as an attempt to create an "anti-Rocky" movie far away from its inspirational tone and likeable lead character. All while easily digestible studio boxing movies like Matilda, The Main Event and The Champ were being churned out, De Niro and Scorsese were busy prepping a darker, edgier response to Rocky and its deluge of imitators. Even the black-and-white cinematography was in part an attempt to make the film stand out from its genre brethren.
Ironically, Raging Bull needed Rocky's help to actually get made, though. Irwin Winkler, who produced both the original Rocky and Raging Bull, threatened United Artists that Rocky II wouldn't get made without their commitment to Scorsese's movie.
Holding Rocky hostage worked: UA fully funded Raging Bull (which bombed at the box office but won two Oscars) and Rocky II was released to solid acclaim and a huge $200 million box office. Everyone wins.