How Martin Scorsese’s Lowest Point Sparked His Raging Bull Comeback
After the lukewarm response to New York, New York, Martin Scorsese spiraled into a dark period of addiction and self-doubt—until a new project reignited his creative fire.
Martin Scorsese’s career soared after Taxi Driver took home the Palme d’Or at Cannes, but his next project, New York, New York, didn’t land as he’d hoped. The musical, starring Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro, received a chilly reception from critics who had previously celebrated his work. The unexpected disappointment left Scorsese questioning his future in film, unsure where things had gone wrong. The sting of failure was sharp, and it sent him into a downward spiral that would ultimately shape his next masterpiece.
Struggling Through Darkness
In the wake of New York, New York’s underwhelming reviews, Scorsese found himself in a personal and professional crisis. He was reeling not just from the film’s reception, but also from a brief marriage to Julia Cameron that ended in divorce. The weight of it all pushed him into a period marked by heavy drug use and depression. He turned to cocaine, hoping to numb the pain, but it only deepened his sense of isolation and disillusionment.
Reflecting on this time in Martin Scorsese: A Journey by Mary Pat Kelly, he shared,
The motives for making a movie are very important—why you make a picture, why you go through the process. It’s a terrible journey each time you do it; it’s really a hard thing to do. And you have to have clear motives, and they have to be good motives. Between New York, New York and Raging Bull, in my personal life and also in my career, I was very disappointed.
He also noted that critics may have been overly harsh, saying,
And I said, ‘Wait a second. This picture is not dreadful. I mean, there are some problems with it, but…’ I became very disillusioned with the whole process. Everything was very destructive, and it was very bad for me.
Finding Redemption in a New Project
Despite the setbacks, Scorsese’s earlier successes reminded him that he still had more to give. Rather than letting New York, New York define his career, he decided to channel his pain and frustration into a new film. With encouragement from Robert De Niro, who suggested he read Jake LaMotta’s memoir, Scorsese found a story that resonated with his own struggles. He poured his energy into what would become Raging Bull, using the project as a way to process his own self-destructive tendencies.
He recalled,
In the fall of 1978, everything clicked together, and I kind of woke up and said, ‘This is the picture that has to be made, and I’ll make it that way. These are the reasons why it has to be made, for me anyway’.
The film became a deeply personal exploration of what it means to hit rock bottom and fight your way back, mirroring his own journey from despair to creative rebirth.
A Triumphant Return
Raging Bull went on to earn critical acclaim, winning two Academy Awards —one for Robert De Niro and another for editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Scorsese himself received a nomination for Best Director, a testament to the power of channeling adversity into art. By throwing himself into the project, he rediscovered his passion and proved that even the darkest moments can lead to greatness.