I just saw Rocky again. First time in years. And I thought of these movies. Both very different, but similar boxing. I’m sure this might be a landslide, but which do you think is the better movie?

I love both and even though Rocky is fresh and I’m going to do the series, I still love to death Raging Bull. I just thought it was raw and wonderful. I also find it so rewatchable. I usually see it once a year. Even though it is long it magical. Robert De Niro is sublime. Joe Pesci right behind.

But maybe you find Rocky more rewatchable? So, which do you think is the better movie? Better boxing movie, perhaps.

For boxing alone, I’ll give that to Rocky.

Technically Raging Bull might be better but I like Rocky more. The first Rocky is damn good in its own right. They’re pretty different types of movies really.

I mean, yeah, they are both about boxing. Alien? Or ET?

I love Scoreses, DeNiro, and Pesci but have never been able to finish Raging Bull. I don’t know, it’s just not for me.

I've seen Raging Bull once, and while it was a good movie for what it is, I've never had the desire to see it again. Rocky on the other hand I've rewatched loads of times. So i view Rocky as the better of the two personally

Other please explain:

Robocop. No explanation needed.

Rocky, all day. Raging bull is annoying. Every character is entirely unlikeable.

Raging Bull by a country mile

Rocky for me. Far more rewatchable. Raging Bull is a great film but once was enough.

I'm a dope. Is this just an alphabetical order thing?

they are very similar in some respects. both Oscar winners, both about boxing and the world outside of boxing. that's the connection.

Still, apples to oranges in tone, intent, etc. The similarities are superficial in my opinion.

As boxing movies go, the gold standard was achieved decades ago by CITY FOR CONQUEST (1940), BODY AND SOUL (1947), THE HARDER THEY FALL (1956) and SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME (1956).

I saw ROCKY at an advance screening that featured Stallone and Avildsen doing a Q&A and I saw RAGING BULL when it came out, but I haven't seen either one since. If I had to choose one, I'd choose uplifting over depressing, hence ROCKY. To be fair, history was on ROCKY's side. It was the right movie at the right time and it pulled audiences out of the '70s doldrums. RAGING BULL brought the doldrums back. I eventually read Jake LaMotta's book and I found it much more interesting than the movie and was alarmed at how much Scorsese missed or completely ignored about the man's real story.

However, as Stallone goes, I lean more fully towards the RAMBO and EXPENDABLES series. I've seen each of those more than once (well, except for EXPENDABLES 1) and would be happy to sit through the RAMBOs and EXPENDABLES 2 & 3 again.

Rocky 3

Come on Ash, you can't rattle off a list of old timey boxing movies and not mention The Set-Up. For shame.

But the two greatest boxing movies of all time are When We Were Kings...

...and Rocky 3.

I really thought Raging Bull would run away with this. Very surprising. I love RB and Rocky, but something about RB that makes me want to see it at least once per year.

And, now I gotta go searching for it. Did Criterion do it? I have all those in a draw. But I took pictures of my entire collection. About 50 so I can look at the pictures instead of going through every fucking drawer.

There wasn't any criteria mentioned and I think Raging Bull is a "better" movie than Rocky. Actually I don't think I've ever watched Rocky all the way through although I'm certainly aware of it's significance. I'm not a Sylvester Stallone fan but I like him in Tulsa King.

I think boxing is as reprehensible as cockfighting and bull fighting both of which I've seen live in their pitiful real-life versions. However Muhammad Ali is one of my heroes so I have to rate When We Were Kings as the best boxing movie.

Raging Bull is Like Schindler's List, in that both are milestone cinema masterpieces, but they are not Hollywood entertainment films. Rocky does not provide the triumphant happy ending that its sequels do, but it is a fan-friendly movie that invites rewatching.

Both are great but Raging Bull is more artistic and realistic.

Oops, an oversight. THE SET-UP (1949) definitely belongs up there.

Haven't seen either one. Are they any good? Never found the idea of watching two sweaty shirtless men hitting each other for two hours appealing.

I did see Rocky IV though. I guess I couldn't resist the idea of an American whooping some Ruskie ass back in the '80s.

Rocky is one of, if not my favorite movie of all time.

Rocky isn't my favorite movie, but it's way more entertaining than Raging Bull, which is also a good movie. The Rocky franchise is one of my favorite movies series though. It's just the best underdog story.

No, neither of them is good. The 40+ years of praise that has been given to these movies has all been an elaborate gas-lighting conspiracy.