(CBS) Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro have joined forces on eight movies. Among them is the sports classic, "Raging Bull."

It was made a quarter-century ago, and the film legends went back in time with The Early Show's Laurie Hibberd for this week's "Home Theater."

The movie tells the true story of the rise and fall of fighter Jake LaMotta. By all accounts, it was a difficult shoot, but Hibberd says it's considered one of the greatest sports movies ever.

If you're not a boxing fan, you shouldn't be scared off, Hibberd says. Scorsese certainly wasn't.

"We went a bit over schedule…I think, five weeks over, because of shooting the boxing scenes. They were very intricate…and I never was a fight fan, so I designed the fight scenes a certain way, all from the point of view of the fighter inside the ring, not outside -- that sort of thing. So we just kept sorta stumbling along and -- and making the best picture we could make."

Many have said "Raging Bull" set the bar for filmmaking, Hibberd notes, but Scorsese remembers things differently.

"We didn't try to set any bar. We just kept making the film. And you know, there wasn't a lot of buzz about the film, either, I don't think, when it came out. It got some very good reviews – L.A. Times, New York Times, and Time Magazine, I think. I don't remember any others. But it got some bad ones, too. So yeah, a couple of really classic bad ones," he recalled with a laugh.

"It was not that much of a buzz," he continued. "That's why I was surprised. I knew the actors would get in there, the Academy nominations... They had to be recognized. But I was very surprised when the film was."

"Raging Bull" got eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Joe Pesci, and Supporting Actress for Cathy Moriarty, who was making her film debut.

"She was great," De Niro told Hibberd. "We thought...her voice, her whole thing was just great for it. Perfect."

Moriarty was only 18 at the time.

"She looked, she seemed, more than 18," Scorcese recalled. "She was like... yeah, it was very brave. Joe Pesci, I think it was his first time or second time in a movie or something. …He's a remarkable sense of truth and humor, absurdity, the humor. And he understood that life. He understands that life."

"Raging Bull" won two Oscars, for Best Editing and Best Actor, for De Niro. Scorsese went home empty-handed, as he has with each of his six nominations. He's got his seventh this year, for the Howard Hughes biography, "The Aviator."

"It's a difficult event," Scorsese admitted to Hibberd. "I mean, you gotta sit there. You get emotionally carried away, the old Hollywood, and what it means and all that. For me, especially, because... I love the cinema of Hollywood, and...the history and the tradition of the awards. And so...I hope people who worked on the film get it. That's the key thing. I mean, if I don't... I'll get another picture to make."

Hibberd asked De Niro, "What does he (Scorsese) do on set that just makes it so magical for everybody who wants to work with him? Does he sprinkle fairy dust? What is it, you know?"

"Well," De Niro replied, "Marty has a great respect for actors and the creative process. And not only the actors, but everybody who works on the film. …He's not afraid to go along with those impulses. 'Cause that frees the actor to feel that they want to do more. And they might not always be right, and that's why he's a director. He may tell you to tone it down or this or that, but that's a very important thing."

Hibberd reports that Scorsese and De Niro have heard the rumors about a "Taxi Driver" sequel, and told her they're not true.

The 25th anniversary special edition DVD of "Raging Bull" is available separately and as part of a new Scorsese boxed set.

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