Scorsese's Dark Period After 'New York, New York' Led to 'Raging Bull'

When Martin Scorsese released 'New York, New York' following his Palme d'Or triumph with 'Taxi Driver,' he never anticipated the lukewarm reception that would follow. The musical starring Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro received tepid reviews from critics who had previously celebrated his work, leaving the filmmaker questioning his future in cinema.

Personal Crisis and Creative Drought

The disappointing response to his romantic comedy sent Scorsese spiraling into what he would later describe as one of the darkest chapters of his life. During this period, he battled both drug addiction and severe depression while simultaneously navigating a divorce from Julia Cameron after their brief marriage. Cocaine became his escape mechanism as he struggled to cope with professional failure and personal turmoil.

The combination of career disappointment and relationship breakdown created a perfect storm that threatened to derail everything he had built as a filmmaker. Critics seemed to have turned against him, and he found himself questioning whether his previous successes had been mere flukes.

Finding Salvation Through Cinema

Robert De Niro proved instrumental in Scorsese's recovery, recommending Jake LaMotta's book that would eventually become the foundation for their next collaboration. The director realized that returning to filmmaking might be his path to redemption, and he threw himself completely into developing what would become 'Raging Bull.'

In Mary Pat Kelly's biography 'Martin Scorsese: A Journey,' the director reflected on this transformative period: '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.'

Channeling Pain Into Art

Rather than wallowing in self-pity, Scorsese decided to transform his suffering into creative fuel. He defended his previous work, stating: '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.'

By fall 1978, everything crystallized for the director. '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,' Scorsese explained. He approached the boxing drama as a form of therapy, exploring themes of self-destruction and redemption that mirrored his own experiences. 'I used Raging Bull as a kind of rehabilitation.'

The gamble paid off spectacularly. 'Raging Bull' earned two Academy Awards—one for De Niro's powerhouse performance and another for editor Thelma Schoonmaker—while Scorsese himself received a Best Director nomination, confirming his return to form.