Raging Bull currently beats The Departed 59–41
De Niro's self-destruction outfights the Boston crime machine.
Who do you think should win?
The Verdict Director's Cut
De Niro in the jail cell — punching the wall, head-butting the concrete, 'I'm not an animal' — is the scene that makes Raging Bull more than a boxing film. Scorsese builds two hours of escalating self-destruction toward a man turning the body that won fights into a weapon against itself. The Departed has the more complex plot. Raging Bull has the more devastating trajectory. The lead says a single devastating trajectory outperforms a complex architecture. De Niro's descent carries the film past Scorsese's own later brilliance.
The Numbers
| The Departed | Raging Bull | |
|---|---|---|
| Head-to-Head | 41% | 59% |
| Overall Win Rate | 58% | 44% |
| Championships | 56 | 15 |
| Avg Decision | 2.1s | 2.8s |
| Budget | $90M | $18M |
| Return | 3.2x | 1.3x |
The Departed wins 58% of its matchups across BingeBracket, compared to 44% for Raging Bull. The overall record favours The Departed — but not in this head-to-head.
Where This Matchup Sits
BingeBracket tracks 105 Drama films — The Departed is in the top quarter, Raging Bull is in the lower half.
Among Martin Scorsese's 4 films on BingeBracket, The Departed sits at #2 and Raging Bull at #4.
Looking at shared opponents, Taxi Driver draws a line between them: The Departed dominates that matchup, but Raging Bull comes out on the wrong side.
Adjusted for what they cost, The Departed (2006) returned 3.2x its budget while Raging Bull (1980) managed 1.3x. Despite the ROI gap, Raging Bull wins the head-to-head on BingeBracket.
Where to Watch
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