Film Al Pacino Vs Robert De Niro

Jev said:
Surprised the answers are so mixed. De Niro is the far superior, subtler actor and has way more iconic roles. Take away the slightly overrated Godfather franchise and Al Pacino's bio doesn't look all that amazing.
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That’s underselling Pacino’s other films from the 70s like Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico. He’s also produced good films with a range of directors, while De Niro’s best output is mainly linked with Scorcese.

They are both great actors and for me it’s a bit futile to try to put one above the other.
 
Jippy said:
Would agree with the first bit. I get they wanted some backstory for secondary characters, but the stand-in driver is a real contrivance to smooth the plot. After his backstory he only gets to drive 50 yards before being shot. The prolonged shootout works really well though.

Not sure about the ending. I think McAuley was more pragmatic and wouldn't have bothered with Waingro. Michael's motivation to do the last job was inexplicable too.
The ending in Mann's LA Takedown original TV movie version is better, though wouldn't have had the De Niro/Pacino emotional ending.
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These guys live for the score. And McAuley was out after this; he needed closure. Not going after Waingro would've eaten away at him for the rest of his life.

I also think Mann did an amazing job making you give a shit about the new driver with minimal screen time and dialogue.

What I will say is that God Moving Over the Face of the Waters is an emotional cheat code. It could've ended with Hanna taking a shit on McCauley's chest and I still would've welled up thanks to Moby.
 
HTG said:
It might partly be the genre itself. I’m not too big on cop films. And I’m not a big fan of Mann in general. His movies are usually good, but I wouldn’t call any of them great.
With Heat I wouldn’t point to any specifics. It’s mostly a lack of interest in the characters for me. I often had the feeling the characters themselves didn’t matter, as they were just a vehicle to finally get De Niro and Al Pacino to star in the same scenes. So I basically didn’t really care what was happening. It was all a little underwhelming for me and I left the movie feeling that I didn’t get exactly what I was promised.
In itself it’s still a good movie. But it wouldn’t make my top 100.
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HTG said:
Scorsese‘s biggest mistake in my opinion. A good and talented actor who peeked early and never bothered to perfect his craft. Can’t compare him to a great like De Niro in my view.
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Jev said:
Surprised the answers are so mixed. De Niro is the far superior, subtler actor and has way more iconic roles. Take away the slightly overrated Godfather franchise and Al Pacino's bio doesn't look all that amazing.
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A trio of posts I couldn't disagree with more, that's quite the feat! :lol:

While most of it is subjective, the part in the last post is just plain weird to me - why the need to rank them? They're clearly immense actors with great filmographies!
 
Rooney in Paris said:
A trio of posts I couldn't disagree with more, that's quite the feat! :lol:

While most of it is subjective, the part in the last post is just plain weird to me - why the need to rank them? They're clearly immense actors with great filmographies!
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Well, the whole point of the thread is to rank them, isn't it? Obviously they're both great actors. For me, De Niro has four roles that all surpass Pacino's best (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Cape Fear and King of Comedy).
 
De Niro has never bettered Dog Day Afternoon imo, 70's Pacino was unbelievable.

I know his character in Heat is somewhat polarising but in my view his character is the perfect foil for De Niros coldness in the movie, Heat is probably in my all time top 10 loved that movie.
 
It's difficult to choose when you see them together in the masterpiece that was, of course, Righteous Kill.
 
Salt Bailly said:
These guys live for the score. And McAuley was out after this; he needed closure. Not going after Waingro would've eaten away at him for the rest of his life.

I also think Mann did an amazing job making you give a shit about the new driver with minimal screen time and dialogue.

What I will say is that God Moving Over the Face of the Waters is an emotional cheat code. It could've ended with Hanna taking a shit on McCauley's chest and I still would've welled up thanks to Moby.
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Michael lived for the job he said, but McAuley was more pragmatic with his walk and leave everything, eg his girlfriend, if you feel the heat.
 
Jippy said:
Michael lived for the job he said, but McAuley was more pragmatic with his walk and leave everything, eg his girlfriend, if you feel the heat.
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That's the discipline.

I see what you're saying, I personally think he reached breaking point after the botched bank job and the personal vendetta won out.

Would he have even made it onto the plane? Maybe he realised he's fecked either way. He said he "ain't ever going back" to prison, if he's to die in a blaze of glory he'd rather do it after making sure Waingro got what he deserved.
 
Salt Bailly said:
That's the discipline.

I see what you're saying, I personally think he reached breaking point after the botched bank job and the personal vendetta won out.

Would he have even made it onto the plane? Maybe he realised he's fecked either way. He said he "ain't ever going back" to prison, if he's to die in a blaze of glory he'd rather do it after making sure Waingro got what he deserved.
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Yeah fair point and he did take out that Van Sant guy.

It can't have done Henry Rollins' fragile ego much good getting pushed over so easily by an old midget like Pacino:lol:
 
Scarface
Serpico
Godfather 1 to 3
Dog day afternoon

Vs

The Deer Hunter
Raging Bull
Taxi Driver
Once upon a time in America

I missed quite a few films here, plus the ones they were in together, but my god what performances they were in all the above. They both make my top 5 of all time for sure
 
One question that can be asked imho is whether we'd even have this discussion if they hadn't played off each other so well in several movies together? Yes, they both starred in absolute blockbusters of their own, but id argue the thing that truly makes either of them magical is for the performances they had together.
 
Redplane said:
One question that can be asked imho is whether we'd even have this discussion if they hadn't played off each other so well in several movies together? Yes, they both starred in absolute blockbusters of their own, but id argue the thing that truly makes either of them magical is for the performances they had together.
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You’re really only talking Heat and The Irishman there aren’t you? Good movies but not sure they’d rank up there with their very best. Godfather 2 maybe but they didn’t have a single scene together there obviously. I could be forgetting something though.
 
The Insider was very good, indeed. It was the peak of a mini resurgence Pacino had in the 90s. It is not a surprise that it coincided with Mann's directorial peak. There's also a run of films - Donnie Brasco, The Devil's Advocate, The Insider - in which Pacino seemed to have found his place alongside the younger stars and roles that suited him at 50+.

Edit: Yeah, Scent of a Woman is also on that particular list.
 
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2cents said:
You’re really only talking Heat and The Irishman there aren’t you? Good movies but not sure they’d rank up there with their very best. Godfather 2 maybe but they didn’t have a single scene together there obviously. I could be forgetting something though.
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You know what, I was mixing up things in my head because one of my favorite movies with DeNiro, if not my favorite, is Casino but that is opposite Joe Pesci and not Pacino. Whoops.
 
Redplane said:
You know what, I was mixing up things in my head because one of my favorite movies with DeNiro, if not my favorite, is Casino but that is opposite Joe Pesci and not Pacino. Whoops.
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Ah right, yeah De Niro and Pesci together is certainly a legendary duo on screen.
 
2cents said:
You’re really only talking Heat and The Irishman there aren’t you? Good movies but not sure they’d rank up there with their very best. Godfather 2 maybe but they didn’t have a single scene together there obviously. I could be forgetting something though.
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Righteous Kill too.
 
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
The Insider was very good, indeed. It was the peak of a mini resurgence Pacino had in the 90s. It is not a surprise that it coincided with Mann's directorial peak. There's also a run of films - Donnie Brasco, The Devil's Advocate, The Insider - in which Pacino seemed to have found his place alongside the younger stars and roles that suited him at 50+.

Edit: Yeah, Scent of a Woman is also on that particular list.
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Username checks out.
 
Gavinb33 said:
De Niro has never bettered Dog Day Afternoon imo, 70's Pacino was unbelievable.

I know his character in Heat is somewhat polarising but in my view his character is the perfect foil for De Niros coldness in the movie, Heat is probably in my all time top 10 loved that movie.
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He’s great in Heat, but one thing that never made it into the final cut was his character’s addiction to cocaine, which explains some of his sudden outbursts. It wasn’t just Pacino deciding to go apeshit for no reason.



Agree on Dog Day Afternoon, Pacino’s best performance. Need to rewatch that.

Anyway, they’re both GOAT level, can’t choose between them. And Heat is my favorite film of all time.
 
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Has The Mission even been mentioned among De Niro's best performances? Because I believe that is one of those that sets him apart from even some of the very best actors ever.
 
Can’t see that Carlito’s Way has been mentioned here either, which is one of my favourite films of all time.
 
Salt Bailly said:
Username checks out.
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:D


HTG said:
Has The Mission even been mentioned among De Niro's best performances? Because I believe that is one of those that sets him apart from even some of the very best actors ever.
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I agree. I think his performance in Raging Bull was so good and he brought so much to the table for that role that several of his performances in the following years didn't get the recognition they deserved.


youngrell said:
Can’t see that Carlito’s Way has been mentioned here either, which is one of my favourite films of all time.
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De Palma’s swansong in terms of quality. After The Untouchables and Scarface, it was always going to be seen as a lesser effort. But great camera work, remarkable haircuts, nice soundtrack and a fantastic Sean Pean. Well, it's considered a classic OTT performance by Pacino by the critics at the time. Yeah, the same ones who thought Sharon Stone deserved an Oscar for Casino two years later.
 
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
:D




I agree. I think his performance in Raging Bull was so good and he brought so much to the table for that role that several of his performances in the following years didn't get the recognition they deserved.




De Palma’s swansong in terms of quality. After The Untouchables and Scarface, it was always going to be seen as a lesser effort. But great camera work, remarkable haircuts, nice soundtrack and a fantastic Sean Pean. Well, it's considered a classic OTT performance by Pacino by the critics at the time. Yeah, the same ones who thought Sharon Stone deserved an Oscar for Casino two years later.
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Penn is fantastic in it to be fair. Even more so when you see how he is later on in life because he’s so far removed from that smarmy lawyer character.
 
Carlito’s Way in my headcanon is the alternate reality sequel to Scarface where Tony survives, gets busted and gets back on the street. Gail is basically Elvira to me.
 
This is gonna sound mental to all the film buffs on here, but how do you tell a good actor from a great one? I understand why he’d stick out from the shit you’d see on hollyoaks or something, but what makes Pacino a ”elite” actor? It’s not like he’s played a wide range of roles.

I get I’m in the minority here, but to me all actors are basically the same and I struggle to see what sets them apart. Don’t you just suspend disbelief with all of them, and as long as they don’t take you out of the film with how shit they are then happy days?
 
2 man midfield said:
This is gonna sound mental to all the film buffs on here, but how do you tell a good actor from a great one? I understand why he’d stick out from the shit you’d see on hollyoaks or something, but what makes Pacino a ”elite” actor? It’s not like he’s played a wide range of roles.

I get I’m in the minority here, but to me all actors are basically the same and I struggle to see what sets them apart. Don’t you just suspend disbelief with all of them, and as long as they don’t take you out of the film with how shit they are then happy days?
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2 man midfield said:
This is gonna sound mental to all the film buffs on here, but how do you tell a good actor from a great one? I understand why he’d stick out from the shit you’d see on hollyoaks or something, but what makes Pacino a ”elite” actor? It’s not like he’s played a wide range of roles.

I get I’m in the minority here, but to me all actors are basically the same and I struggle to see what sets them apart. Don’t you just suspend disbelief with all of them, and as long as they don’t take you out of the film with how shit they are then happy days?
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There is definitely a difference between actors who are type cast like De Niro and Pacino kinda have been (though especially Pacino I think has show a bit more range over his career) - and those who seem to truly morph into whatever character is thrown at them via method acting (like a Daniel Day Lewis or Leonardo DiCaprio).

Still, I think it would be unfair to say De Niro and Pacino are not capable method actors at all, movies like Scarface and Taxi Driver I think show they definitely are capable of it -but they generally have more of a niche than actors like the other two I mentioned.

I presume most people tend to gravitate more to think of method acting when they think of great actors. Whether that is justified or not I do not really have an opinion on. There are plenty of actors who fail terribly to find a niche and keep finding roles to do that well time and again (action "hero" actors have plenty of examples of that), and there are actors who attempt a wide breath of character types and are mediocre at it with the occasional high (like imho..a Michael Fassbender or and yes some of you Michael fans will hate me for that ;) )
 
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