Jack Kroll of Newsweek called Raging Bull the "best movie of the year". Vincent Canby of The New York Times said that Scorsese "has made his most ambitious film as well as his finest" and went on to praise Moriarty's debut performance saying: "either she is one of the film finds of the decade or Mr. Scorsese is Svengali. Perhaps both."Evans, Mike The Making of Raging Bull pp. 124–129 Time praised De Niro's performance since "much of Raging Bull exists because of the possibilities it offers De Niro to display his own explosive art". Steven Jenkins from the British Film Institute's (BFI) magazine, Monthly Film Journal, said "Raging Bull may prove to be Scorsese's finest achievement to date".
Jack Kroll of Newsweek called Raging Bull the "best movie of the year" Vincent Canby of The New York Times said that Scorsese "has made his most ambitious film as well as his finest" and went on to praise Moriarty's debut performance saying "either she is one of the film finds of the decade or Mr Scorsese is Svengali Perhaps both"Evans Mike The Making of Raging Bull pp 124–129 Time praised De Niro's performance since "much of Raging Bull exists because of the possibilities it offers De Niro to display his own explosive art" Steven Jenkins from the British Film Institute's (BFI) magazine Monthly Film Journal said "Raging Bull may prove to be Scorsese's finest achievement to date"