Every Martin Scorsese Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Actually, The King of Comedy would be De Niro's best performance were it not for Raging Bull, Scorsese's pulverising biopic charting the meteoric rise and devastating downfall of boxer Jake LaMotta, a brilliant sportsman inevitably doomed by his greatest flaws.

Raw, brutal, unflinching and often cruel, Raging Bull pulls no punches as it follows LaMotta's highs - his iconic fights against Sugar Ray Robinson (Johnny Barnes) - and his lows - his abusive relationship with his wife Vickie (Cathy Robinson), his jealousy and paranoia. It's horrible to watch, but it's impossible to tear away from.

With finely crafted boxing scenes so powerful you can feel the blood spurt from LaMotta's face, and a remarkable supporting turn from Joe Pesci, Raging Bull is a two-hour gut-punch and right-hook that will leave you reeling, and an odyssey into hell that only Scorsese could conjure.