The Reading
For this module we’re going to be reading chapter 03 in The Art of Watching Films, entitled "Fictional And Dramatic Elements.” This chapter goes into what makes any story work: dramatic structures, plot, conflict, characterization, etc. But it also explores how film is unique amongst storytelling forms: how rhythm and pacing, visual language, movement, and sound and music all work together to help tell stories in such a dynamic way.
The Watching
“You didn’t get me down, Ray.” – Jake LaMotta
Raging Bull (1980) by Martin Scorsese |
The Smashing Machine (2025) by Benny Safdie |
After reading Chapter 03 in The Art of Watching Films, we’re going to explore how fictional and dramatic elements shape the structure of narrative cinema. To do this, you’ll be watching and comparing two films: Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980) and Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine (2025). Though these films were made 45 years apart (yikes!), they share some stunning parallels — not just in content, but in their use of character development, dramatic arc, and visual rhythm.
Not to oversell it, but Raging Bull is widely considered one of the greatest American films ever made – like ever. It stars Robert De Niro in an iconic performance as Jake LaMotta, a real-life boxer whose violent rise and tragic fall unfold in stark black and white. The screenplay, by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin, adapts LaMotta’s autobiography and builds an intense portrait of masculinity, rage, jealousy, and alienation — all rendered in Scorsese’s explosive, operatic style.
Safdie’s The Smashing Machine (2025), by contrast, tells the true story of Mark Kerr — a troubled star of early mixed martial arts in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Like LaMotta, Kerr is a man at war with himself, pushed by fame, addiction, and physical punishment. But where Raging Bull explores punishment as a psychological and spiritual state, The Smashing Machine (starring Dwayne Johnson in a radical turn) explores it through the lens of physical damage, chemical dependency, and performance under constant surveillance.
What makes this comparison especially productive is the *structure* of each film: both are tragic arcs built around a protagonist’s rise and fall, marked by signature fights, disintegrating relationships, and the inability to escape oneself. Pay close attention to the way both directors use visual language to deepen character psychology: Scorsese’s stylized boxing sequences (shot like ballets of violence), and Safdie’s chaotic, kinetic style (a signature from Uncut Gems) both do more than simply depict violence — they make us feel it in narrative and emotional terms.
Be sure to track the progression of each protagonist — how their personal demons shape the story arc, and how the filmmakers use dramatic structure, conflict, and performance to bring these themes to life. Think about the ways both films blur the line between physical struggle and inner collapse.
Note: as always, the media for this can be found in the LEH 353 - Visual Storytelling library on Plex.
The Questions
After watching these films, complete the following questionnaire. You will only need to answer these questions once, commenting on – and sometimes comparing – both films in your answers. You can access the questionnaire for Module 02 in another window here.