tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post7914080748292381209..comments2024-03-28T06:14:54.076-04:00Comments on And So It Begins...: Pacino vs. De Niro: An Exhaustive ShowdownAlex Withrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-54940780540669660032019-10-15T13:19:10.580-04:002019-10-15T13:19:10.580-04:00I think you know A LOT, because I agree with so mu...I think you know A LOT, because I agree with so much of what you're saying. Love the mention of Monty Clift, may favorite actor of all time when I'm asked. I also think Davis was an absolute stunner, and what she <i>did</i> in Baby Jane deserves endless praise. Now all I want to do is watch A Place in the Sun and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-37295398871165259902019-10-05T02:38:51.489-04:002019-10-05T02:38:51.489-04:00Actually, as a huge fan of movies, I get the compa...Actually, as a huge fan of movies, I get the comparison thing....i truly do think DeNiro is probably the better actor, but I prefer Pacino, because I don't care for the way Deniro acts "off screen," if that makes any sense. <br />I definitely think there's a few high caliber actors out there, standouts may be the better way to say it, and I would put both of these guys in that group. But,i would also put Monty Clift, Christian Bale, Robert Duvall, and Gene Hackman in that group as well, so I'm kind of all over the board.<br />I'm beginning to really appreciate Ben Foster too.<br />I can watch a mediocre movie if there's a great character being portrayed in it, whether that character is good or evil. I LOVE good acting, period. An added bonus for me is when I see an actor who I don't necessarily think is what I would classify as exceptional, get a role tailored made for them and give a performance that just blows your mind. An example would be....i like Anthony Hopkins as an actor, but he wouldn't be in my top ten. However, I'm not sure I've ever seen a more mesmerizing performance than him as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. EVER. That was just sheer brilliance! That's not to say I like him as Lector in Red Dragon or Hannibal, because I didn't. But his first performance as Lector was absolutely spellbinding! Now that's the kind of acting I love seeing. And though I wouldn't put it anywhere near in the same league, I also enjoyed Tom Hardy in that little gem of a movie, The Drop. Again, just a great character played to perfection by an actor who I would consider good, but certainly not great. <br />Which kind of leads me back to where I began. It's all subjective...i mean, I'm probably the only person alive who thinks Bette Davis blows Meryl Streep out of the water all day, every day. So given that, what the he'll do I know? lol.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394344178412137947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-18120081323953867782019-10-03T11:26:30.779-04:002019-10-03T11:26:30.779-04:00Yeah, I'm with you here. I don't think I&#...Yeah, I'm with you here. I don't think I'd write this post today, but it was fun at the time, you know? Comparison isn't really beneficial, just a fun exercise to dive into. And I agree, DDL could not only <i>out</i>play them, he could <i>play</i> them as well.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-63447330075947476722019-10-03T01:27:49.901-04:002019-10-03T01:27:49.901-04:00It's all so subjective. DeNiro? Pacino? Deni...It's all so subjective. DeNiro? Pacino? Deniro? Pacino? Deniro is probably the better actor, but I can't picture him as Michael Corleone....and we could continue going on and on, and back and forth in this vein forever. Having said that, Daniel Day Lewis could probably play Pacino, De Niro, Nicholson, Hopkins and even Brando. It might be safe to say not all of them can play Daniel Day Lewis. That's my take on it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394344178412137947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-25257322697297260002018-11-26T15:09:16.068-05:002018-11-26T15:09:16.068-05:00Thanks Mary! I enjoyed Pacino in Paterno as well. ...Thanks Mary! I enjoyed Pacino in Paterno as well. He really captured the inner emotional turmoil of Paterno so well. Pacino seems to have a great working relationship with HBO, and I hope he keeps it up. Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-47821695342089555722018-11-26T15:08:10.777-05:002018-11-26T15:08:10.777-05:00So sorry I missed your comments! Thanks so much fo...So sorry I missed your comments! Thanks so much for offering your thoughts. The debate lives on!Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-14959733465611984652018-10-26T17:13:24.756-04:002018-10-26T17:13:24.756-04:00I've loved reading all of these!! I'm Team...I've loved reading all of these!! I'm Team DeNiro all the way (after the usual Scorsese classics, Jackknife, Midnight Run, and Ronin are some of my favorite movies)... but have you seen Paterno, the HBO movie?? Good god, Pacino is fantastic in it. And you know I never really knew about his theater background, but Paterno is truly Shakespearean in its tragedy.... he plays it that way too. It's so good.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14000098584014800409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-41606825228077235012017-11-09T11:34:11.112-05:002017-11-09T11:34:11.112-05:00De Niro gives the same expression but is very inte...De Niro gives the same expression but is very intense in his performances, Pacino is more Natural and relaxed in his performances...Post Scent of a woman has something to do with his mockery for the critics. Pacino is also constantly called a Crazy Lunatic(which I admire as an Artist myself) so I am guessing he stopped giving a fuck about his legacy as he must have been a nihilistic person, hence the yelling and go to hell attitude. De Niro has more iconic movies to Pacino's thanks to Scorsese films, but Pacino is the better Actor. Before 93 he had done 18 Full time Movies, 8 Oscar Nods, 13 Golden Globe Nods, 2 Tonies, a Bafta. Even Daniel Day Lewis doesnt have that Movies to awards Ratio. btw its true that De Niro has double the movies, 80 movies to Pacino's 35. still has only 7 Oscar nods, 0 Baftas and 8 Golden Globe nodsAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12658273942260009135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-86116327187962019982017-11-09T11:21:15.894-05:002017-11-09T11:21:15.894-05:00I understand people are more in love with De Niro,...I understand people are more in love with De Niro, But I always go with Pacino. What all you all confusing with is De Niro's more Iconic roles to Pacino's less Iconic Roles. Pacino didnt even do one film with Marty while De Niro did a dozen something . Marty is the best director living today and makes Iconic films. Pacino has two Tonies to De Niro's 0, Pacino has won Bafta for Godfather and Dog Day, while De Niro never won a Bafta. His Dog day is voted over Jake La Motta, and Godfather is voted above Travis bickle in 100 greatest Performances of all time.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12658273942260009135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-75044305077463863912017-06-20T09:26:05.721-04:002017-06-20T09:26:05.721-04:00Now that is a damn fine idea, provided The Irishma...Now that is a damn fine idea, provided The Irishman gets made!Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-974270219885985662017-06-19T19:07:24.184-04:002017-06-19T19:07:24.184-04:00You should do a sequel/continuation of this post a...You should do a sequel/continuation of this post after The Irishman (the next De Niro/Pacino collaboration) comes out.Matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00580771820153638450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-74229593968123896622016-10-24T16:32:22.166-04:002016-10-24T16:32:22.166-04:00Thanks for the comment! I still have never seen Ja...Thanks for the comment! I still have never seen Jacknife, but I really want to. That scene you mentioned in Heat... that's kind of what the movie is all about, you know? Not being able to let shit go. He should've never gone back for Eady either. He broke his own rules and paid the ultimate price.<br /><br />LOVE that scene in Donnie Brasco. Poor guy is going down.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-79500919536149919692016-10-18T22:57:49.250-04:002016-10-18T22:57:49.250-04:00Love this article. I have had discussions with a ...Love this article. I have had discussions with a friend about this topic and I side with De Niro. He in my opinion is far more versatile than Pacino. De Niro was excellent in his early films but my favorite roles of his are Rupert Pupkin (king of Comedy). He is excellent in this complex, narcissistic, and vain glory performance. He was also great as Noodles in Once upon a time in America. Also I like the scene in Midnight Run when he is confronted with the daughter he hasn't seen in such a long time. The emotions that play over his face is so telling. I liked him in Ronin. After all he put down Ned Stark in that movie. He was also good as the returning Vet in Jack Knife. I liked him in Heat, as his portrayal of Neil was reminiscent of Richard Stark's Parker character. The false note however, was his decision to go back to the hotel on a vendetta when he had gotten away safe. Parker is strictly a professional and would never have made a decision based on emotion and I doubt Neil's character would have. Another amazing role of De Niro was his portrayal of the patient in Awakenings. Although he is somewhat overshadowed by Robin Williams, I think De Niro equipped himself well in this complex role of a person trying for normalcy instead of being viewed as a lab rat.<br />Pacino is great also but he seems to play almost the same type every time. He is always angry, barely contained,never subdued. My favorite roles of Pacino is in Carlito's Way and Donnie Brasco. My favorite scene of his is in Donnie Brasco when he gets "the Call" from Sonny (Michael Madsen). You can see he realizes he wont be coming back, so he removes his watch and wedding band and leaves it where his wife can find it before going out. So I say, De Niro because he can play great against type in such a variety of roles, ie. antisocial hoodlum, Mean Streets; psychotic, Taxi Driver and Good Fellas; pompous narcissistic in King of Comedy; hustling loser type in Midnight Run and ordinary person looking for some normalcy in Awakenings. Pacino hasn't had the variety of roles to prove that he is gifted as De Niro. He does anger and he is great at that but again my vote is for De Niro.LouMkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03315375276145352199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-47786876884082466902016-06-02T20:06:14.915-04:002016-06-02T20:06:14.915-04:00Yep, I agree with you all the way here. They'r...Yep, I agree with you all the way here. They're both iconic actors, but De Niro has to win out for me.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-37430576775164195382016-05-29T12:58:20.985-04:002016-05-29T12:58:20.985-04:00He is the greatest. No other actor has given so ma...He is the greatest. No other actor has given so many memorable performances. His body of work is incredible. No actor even comes close.<br />1- 8 films in imdb top 250. Last one being ” The deer hunter” ranked 155. In all the 8 fims he is the lead or main supporting actor.<br />2- 5 films in AFI 100 greatest movies of all time. Maximum among all the actors.<br />3- Maximum no of films in Empire magazine 500 greatest movies of all time list. 4 in top 20 and 8 in top 100.<br /><br />I love Al Pacino. I tremble with him when Diane Keaton tells him about her abortion. But in the end he has got far less iconic roles than DeNiro.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06957505165865466966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-2689251157014548172014-11-30T16:40:45.720-05:002014-11-30T16:40:45.720-05:00He was so cut in that movie. He fought exactly how...He was so cut in that movie. He fought exactly how La Motta fought. An incredible transformation. Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-71284848255507765782014-11-30T11:13:36.244-05:002014-11-30T11:13:36.244-05:00But DeNiro also trained with LaMotta until LaMotta...But DeNiro also trained with LaMotta until LaMotta felt he was ready to box professionally.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059813680559966539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-53298587816349263692014-11-25T03:23:33.641-05:002014-11-25T03:23:33.641-05:00both are great actors...both are great actors...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01509930333430916527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-45626251313451886712014-11-21T18:03:07.125-05:002014-11-21T18:03:07.125-05:00Taxi Driver is my favorite De Niro performance as ...Taxi Driver is my favorite De Niro performance as well. I'll always love him in that movie.<br /><br />Dog Day Afternoon is my favorite Pacino performance, but The Godfather Part II is a very close second. Such a great film.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-4867716588950877402014-11-21T16:25:57.670-05:002014-11-21T16:25:57.670-05:00Robert De Niro is my favorite actor of all time. H...Robert De Niro is my favorite actor of all time. He still can be ''Robert De Niro-good''. Silver Linings Playbook, The Family, American Hustle (his cameo there, just brilliant). But when he is bad he isn't awful. He act like he is not trying. In my opinion he was the best in Taxidriver. Why? Because he worked as a taxi driver to do his best and he did it for me.<br /><br />Al Pacino...Is the best actor after De Niro. If we count just The Godfather he is masterful already. But DeNiro didn't act horibble in the 2 worst films of all time. He parodiate himself in Jack and Jill, and act awful in Gigli. He isn't as good as DeNiro, but its more patetic. "Dunkacino". Just awful! But I can see his good roles Stand Up Guys, You Don't Know Jack, Ocean's Thirteen. And he want to redeem himself: The Humbling looks good, Manglehorn sounds better, Maybe Danny Collins. Today, for me, The Godfather Part II is Pacino's greatest performance.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059813680559966539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-64622591536208829082013-06-16T11:32:31.575-04:002013-06-16T11:32:31.575-04:00Oh I love A Bronx Tale, but for the purposes of th...Oh I love A Bronx Tale, but for the purposes of this post, I was very deliberate to not discuss movies both men have directed, only starred in. Bobby D is great in Midnight Run. I need to watch that again.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment!Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-31190044862344577982013-06-16T03:03:42.265-04:002013-06-16T03:03:42.265-04:00No one mentioned A Bronx Tale where De Niro acts a...No one mentioned A Bronx Tale where De Niro acts and directs. Not one of his best performances, but a great movie that he deserves a lot of credit for! Midnight Run with Charles Grodin was when I first realized De Niro could be funny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-81550761463539077192013-04-29T19:37:17.404-04:002013-04-29T19:37:17.404-04:00Great point here... why even choose in the first p...Great point here... why even choose in the first place?<br /><br />I love what you said about De Niro fishing and Pacino cameoing. So very true. I'm still holding out for that one final, truly great Pacino performance. I think we saw De Niro's with Silver Linings Playbook. But Pacino, man. Bring it.Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-823689169245098162013-04-29T18:32:13.261-04:002013-04-29T18:32:13.261-04:00I have to say that I have always held Both actors ...I have to say that I have always held Both actors on level playing ground they are way too close to even decide. So why have to? They are both excellent at their strengths and liberal in their weaknesses so they try new shit and suck at it..they have both made enough quality and timeless copy selling films that they have that right. I think personally though deniro is kind of fishin around to stay in the light. Pacino is gonna retire on a lake somewhere while he can still enjoy life and may pop up in a cameo here and there..now thats a career.<br />kwesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238440335185684153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4784665635104956142.post-3995325770099961652013-02-01T16:45:19.978-05:002013-02-01T16:45:19.978-05:00Hey there, thanks so much for stopping by and read...Hey there, thanks so much for stopping by and reading!<br /><br />I love that Pacino gets another vote here. Like I said in the original article, picking a "favorite" among the two of them is damn near impossible. They're both just so good.<br /><br />You bring up such solid insight - some of which I hadn't even considered before. And you're right, although both of their careers have faltered as of late, there's no denying that they will remain treasures. And there's also no giving up hope. If De Niro has a Silver Lining in him, Pacino surely has some left to give.<br /><br />Thanks again for reading!Alex Withrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15887018476048271594noreply@blogger.com