Sure, I love the steadicam shot from the Copa, but..

[King of Depew]

I really think the one in Raging Bull is more effective and evocative. When it follows LaMotta completely uncut from him training in the locker room moments before all the way into the arena and unto the stage, it's so fucking captivating. We are sent right into Jake's world, the highest he'll ever be, probably the biggest night of his life. It's just amazing, and with the orchestration it's even more visceral.

I understand the motivation behind both shots in both films, but there's just something about the sequence in Raging that just slugs me in the gut. Even the first time I saw it, it kind of took my breath away and I was floored on both an aesthetic and technical level. It was one of the earliest moments I realized how much actually goes into a film and how powerful the impact can be.

It's probably one of my favorite shots or moments in any film I've ever seen, and really got me fascinated with steadicam. Now it's even worse because I've been on so many major television show sets as an extra and was able to talk to steadicam operators and see them in action. Most guys were gracious enough to give me a close look and explained how it worked, and the one DP even let me hold one while it was in the chest rig. I'm thinking one day I'd like to operate one of those, but I guess it's pretty expensive/extensive schooling. Who knows, but I'd say that's the shot that did it.

[Buck Turgidson]

Having watched it a couple of times here recently, I tend to agree.

For all of the reasons KoD outlined above, and also for the wonderful flourish of having the operator sit on a crane at the end and take the shot on up into the ring. And, apparently, as phenominal as that take was, it was Marty's backup one and his favorite take was ruined sometime after it was shot.

They're both excellent sequences, but it's a close win for the one from Detroit (Briggs Stadium, as it was called for a little while there...)