De Niro V Pacino: Just Who Is The Best?

[HollywoodBabylon]

(I've done a quick search for this topic and found nothing specific. So please lock if it's been discussed before).


Two great actors, of similar age, with careers that roughly run the same parallel course. But who in your opinion is the best? Both can lay claim to being the finest of their generation (though Gerard Depardieu may have something to say about that - and with some justification). But for range and versatility, choice of roles, the quality of films each has appeared in, plus any other factors you may think revelant, who at the end of the day comes out as your No.1?


Though there's hardly a hair's breath between them, I'd just give the edge to De Niro purely because I think he has a better comedic touch than Pacino.
But only just.

[AtomicHyperbole]

I'm better than both. Undiscovered genius, me.

My acting in the 1992 comedy Robin Hood brought tears to audiences eyes.

[unikrunk]

Pacino does not act anymore; he just does his scent of a woman schtick.

De Niro - 100
'Woo-Haa' - 0


Case Closed

[AtomicHyperbole]

How about not?

[AtomicHyperbole]

Heheheh. I was just being facaetious.

Er... spelling... er...

*coff*

No "neither"?

[unikrunk]

Pacin o does not act anymore; he just does his scent of a woman schtick.

De Niro - 100
'Woo-Haa' - 0


Case Closed

De Niro doesn't act anymore either. He just does crappy Ben Stiller comedies....


EDIT - How about a poll?

Is there a different kind of Stiller comedy?

Seriously though, Bobby can still act, he has range. Pacino is just fucking annoying, and IMHO has not acted, really acted, since Dog Day Afternoon.

/Fuck Scarface, it’s over rated, and all he does is talk with a stupid accent.

[AtomicHyperbole]

I love you.

Wait, did I just type that?

[TheBaxter]

they're both parodies of themselves nowadays. i don't really know that i could say one is "better" than the other, but my favourite of the two is deniro. taxi driver alone is enough to get my vote.

i'm actually planning to watch a giant deniro/scorsese marathon this weekend... taxi driver, raging bull, goodfellas, and casino

[unikrunk]

and IMHO has not acted, really acted, since Dog Day Afternoon.

you must be forgetting "Carlito's Way" and most importantly, "Glengarry Glen Ross".
i was about to call bullshit, until i realized that it was simply an oversight on your part.

Well, thanks Brock. But it wasn't oversight. I will concede that he did some acting in Glengarry Glen Ross, but it would be hard not to when surrounded by so much talent.

Carlito’s Way was just Donnie Brasco was just God Father 3 was just…well, you get my point.

[Brocktune]

and IMHO has not acted, really acted, since Dog Day Afternoon.

you must be forgetting "Carlito's Way" and most importantly, "Glengarry Glen Ross".
i was about to call bullshit, until i realized that it was simply an oversight on your part.

[TonyWilson]

Pshaw, Hackman kicks both their arses.

[Samuel L. Jackson]

ME!!!!! Muthafuckas!!!!!

[AtomicHyperbole]

I just found a clip someone cut for an intro to The Office by way of Battlestar Galactica. It's pretty brilliant.

Check it out HERE.

AH: Whoa. Déjà vu.
[Everyone freezes right in their tracks]
AB: What did you just say?
AH: Nothing. Just had a little déjà vu.
AB: What did you see?
JL: What happened?
AH: A read a post on another thread, and then another that looked just like it.
AB: How much like it? Was it the same post?
AH: It might have been. I'm not sure.
JL: Nacho! Coolaid!
AB: What is it?
AH: A déjà vu is usually a glitch in Master Whedon. It happens when he changes his visor.

[Brocktune]

Carlito’s Way was just Donnie Brasco was just God Father 3 was just…well, you get my point.

well, i dont know if i totally agree with that.
but if i did, i might start to think that pacino was trained at the hannah-barbera school of acting.

[Ribbons]

DeNiro could definitely take Pacino. He's bigger, I think, he's probably had a lot of boxing experience thanks to Raging Bull. Yeah Pacino's got that intensity, but I think he'd hit the canvas within three minutes. That's my prediction.

[The Vicar]

I had to vote neither, based on the recent work by both gentlemen.
How can you say that?

Deniro - Rocky & Bullwinkle, Hide & Seek & Godsend
Pacino - eating more scenery than a plague of army ants, these days.

Does that erase the memory of Raging Bull, And Justice for All etc etc etc?
Nope.
But judging by their recent efforts, they were once The Best.
Now?
Not so much.

[DennisMM]

We'll always have Godfather II and Taxi Driver. Good times. Good times.

Pshaw, Hackman kicks both their arses.

Agreed.

Cue up Night Moves, will ya Tony?

[Seppuku]

I'm afraid I'm gonna have to give my money to the loud blind guy. You say De Niro's Mr. Method, Mr. Lizard Skin; he can shed himself and become whatever he wants, but that's just not the case. From Once Upon a Time in America to Raging Bull to The Deer Hunter (man that's an annoying flick), he's always gotta be that humour-free, glassy-eyed cipher, and Scorsese even used this to his advantage in The King of Comedy (and, though I hate to admit to knowing his name, Jay Roach did the same thing in that Fockers flick).

Sure, his career had the better turns, but as far as his acting's concerned- do you think he could go from being Panic in Needle Park's dog-killin' junkie to being the warm, ethical lawyer (you read that right) of ...And Justice For All?

They've both resorted to shticks and facial ticks, but De Niro will forever be the cold Parker character, while Pacino's career's just on the ropes...he could either get KO'd by bad scripts like Gigli, or he could get back up again and slug it out. I think he's set for the Rififi remake, and though that film really shouldn't be remade, it could be good. And the same goes for Infernal Affairs (though the HK original was too slick for my tastes). What's De Niro got on the run at the moment? Not much. They're both sold men, but I think Pacino's got the best shot at getting back in touch with what made him great.

EDIT: I just checked Al's IMDB and it looks like he's passed on the Infernals Affairs flick (which is gonna be called The Departed) and Jack Nicholson's taken his place...but it doesn't change a DAMN thing as far as this post's concerned!

[TonyWilson]

We'll always have Godfather II and Taxi Driver. Good times. Good times.

Pshaw, Hackman kicks both their arses.

Agreed.

Cue up Night Moves, will ya Tony?

I have it on my Amazon wishlist, can't wait till payday.

But yeh I seriously think Hackman could play most of Pacino's roles and De Niro's roles just as well as they did, exceptions being Travis Bickle, Serpico, Sonny and La Motta.


A good way to look at Pacino and De Niro is to see how they would play the same role, in which case I submit Angel Heart and Devil's Advocate not great films really, but the two interpretations of Satan speak volumes about the differences of these two actors.

[HollywoodBabylon]

Pshaw, Hackman kicks both their arses.

I was actually thinking of including Hackman in a three way battle with Al and Bob but decided instead to put him up against Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson in another thread which I was going to post in a few days time. Maybe I should've had just one poll with all five of them competing for the top honour - now that would be difficult to pick from.......

[colonel_lugz]

Im going with Deniro on this one he has had more consistently good performances than Pacino over the years. Pacino is great no doubt, but over recent years I see him just re-hashing similar roles and shouting more and more. Deniro has learned to adapt, to a point, keeping what he does a bit fresher than Pacino. Plus Deniro has been in more of my favourite films than Pacino has.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

But yeh I seriously think Hackman could play most of Pacino's roles and De Niro's roles just as well as they did, exceptions being Travis Bickle, Serpico, Sonny and La Motta.

I'd have to add Carlito Brigante to that list, but on principle I agree - Pacino and De Niro get a little too much respect for my liking - frankly, I think that Keitel has been a more consistent perfomer over the last 20 years than either of those two

[John-Locke]

Pshaw, Hackman kicks both their arses.

I was going to say the same thing but you got there first.

Hackman is the man, he's no hack, man.

I'm not voting for either of these clowns, Pacino hasn't done anything good since Insomnia and De Niro since Jackie Brown and even then they were both already on the decline with a 50/50 hit ratio or so.

But damn it, they have both done some fine work over the course of their careers, I still can't choose though.

[TonyWilson]

But yeh I seriously think Hackman could play most of Pacino's roles and De Niro's roles just as well as they did, exceptions being Travis Bickle, Serpico, Sonny and La Motta.

I'd have to add Carlito Brigante to that list, but on principle I agree - Pacino and De Niro get a little too much respect for my liking - frankly, I think that Keitel has been a more consistent perfomer over the last 20 years than either of those two

Yeh, Brigante is one I missed. I was going to put Micheal Corleone, but aside from the non italian thing I think Hackman could have done it brilliantly, very differently but still very very good.

[HollywoodBabylon]

But yeh I seriously think Hackman could play most of Pacino's roles and De Niro's roles just as well as they did, exceptions being Travis Bickle, Serpico, Sonny and La Motta.

I'd have to add Carlito Brigante to that list, but on principle I agree - Pacino and De Niro get a little too much respect for my liking - frankly, I think that Keitel has been a more consistent perfomer over the last 20 years than either of those two

Add to that Rupert Pupkin from 'The King Of Comedy'. De Niro was fantastic in that - truly his most underrated performance and one that ranks with Peter Sellers in 'Being There' as so off-the-wall and left-field that I don't think either Hackman or Pacino would have equalled it.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

D'oh, who could forget P-U-P-K-I-N? Awesome performance....

[TheButcher]