Stephen King Hates 1 Martin Scorsese Movie That Literally Saved His Life

Although notable author Stephen King hates this Martin Scorsese movie to the core, it did help save Scorsese's life during a dark period!

Iconic author of It and countless horror novels, Stephen King, hates this one Martin Scorsese movie that literally saved Scorsese’s life. Raging Bull, credited as one of Martin Scorsese’s finest films, is hated by King for reasons unknown.

However, the author did make it public that he cannot be convinced that the movie is good when he replied to a tweet on the social media platform X.

RAGING BULL. https://t.co/ee1hXTuQxf

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) December 1, 2025

Well, although Stephen King hates it, the movie has some pretty great reviews, and considering the fact that Scorsese went out of his comfort zone to make the movie, it seems like a pretty good deal.

The Boxing Ring Became Martin Scorsese’s Personal Allegory

Growing up, Martin Scorsese suffered from severe asthma problems and felt very sheltered and away from sports. So when Robert De Niro showed up with a movie idea, Martin Scorsese was quite hesitant.

Being a biography based on the life of boxer Jake LaMotta, Scorsese wasn’t sure about directing Raging Bull, while De Niro had become obsessed with the boxer’s life while reading about him during The Godfather II.

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Martin Scorsese’s previous film, New York, New York, was a massive failure, and the director was quite down. As time passed, the director realized that the boxing ring was an allegory for whatever you do in real life, and that paralleled filmmaking.

During his talks, Scorsese revealed (via No Film School) that shooting Raging Bull was similar to a last round of boxing. He had to give everything he had to make this movie.

I made it as if this was the end of my life. Over. Suicide film. I didn’t care if I made another movie… In a way, it wiped me out. I had to start all over and learn again. Every day on the shoot, ‘This is the last one, and we’re going for it.’

However, before Scorsese even sat in the director’s chair, he had a wake-up call when he was hospitalized for a drug overdose ahead of the filming of Raging Bull.

How Raging Bull Literally Saved Martin Scorsese’s Life

Following the failure of New York, New York, Martin Scorsese was in a downward spiral and was later rushed to a hospital in a “near-death” state. According to author Jay Glennie’s Raging Bull: The Making Of (via The Independent), Scorsese “was bleeding from the mouth, bleeding from his nose, bleeding from his eyes.”

De Niro, who was a close friend of Scorsese’s, visited the director in the hospital and gave him a much-needed wake-up call.

What is it you want to do? Do you want to die, is that it? Don’t you want to live to see your daughter grow up and get married? Are you gonna be one of those directors who makes a couple of good movies and then it’s over for them?

Scorsese realized that the story of Jake LaMotta was very relatable to him, considering LaMotta’s self-destructive behavior. Getting better, Scorsese quickly jumped into making Raging Bull, and it went on to be the first Oscar nomination for the acclaimed director.

Naturally, Raging Bull literally saved Scorsese’s life as well as his Hollywood career.

What do you think of Martin Scorsese’s near-death experience? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.