Who's The Better Actor: Al Pacino or Robert De Niro?

[Cena's Little Helper]

There's not a doubt in my mind that these two men are the greatest American actors that are still active within the film industry (fuck Dustin Hoffman; Jack Nicholson needs to stop doing romcoms for AARP members). But, when it comes to ranking one above the other, I've always had trouble. On one hand, you have Pacino, a passionate man whose knack for stressing all the right words gives him the ability to credibly play any role he accepts. On the other hand, there's De Niro, a man whose mannerisms and facial expressions convey so much more than what's being spoken.

If I were to rate their careers based on the films they have done, I would alternately choose one over the other, but not completely for the right reasons; while these men seemed to one-up each other with their performances throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, their pursuit of the big bucks during the 2000s resulted in them making some terrible fucking films (for lack of better words, they "one-downed" each other during this last decade).

Ultimately, I'd probably give the edge to Pacino, as, unlike De Niro, he has a better track record when it comes to studio films. Sure, these films are usually mediocre thrillers/dramas, but at least they're not shitty comedies.

 

[X]

It has to be Robert De Niro, simply because he has more range than Pacino does at the end of the day. Both are obviously masters of their craft, but Pacino struggles when he's playing a character against his normal roles, which are usually tough guys caught up in bad situations. Sometimes he's able to bring more range than that into the role like in Donnie Brasco or Angels in America, but I just don't think he can pull off a variety of rules quite like Robert De Niro can. De Niro can play anything from the tough hood (Goodfellas) to the angry, uncontrollable brute in Raging Bull to the lascivious Southern creeper in Cape Feare, De Niro really just has this wide range of emotions he can and does full off in his best roles in a way that I never though Pacino could. Don't get me wrong, Pacino is a fantastic actor, that's not even a debate, but the power of De Niro's work in films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Once Upon a Time in America among many other films just solidifies his place as probably one of if not the very best American actor of his generation.

Good thread idea TDigs. I'm contemplating adding a poll to the thread. Edit: Poll added.

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

I have to agree with EKO on this, De Niro has a hell of alot more range then Pacino does, don't get me wrong Pacino has had some powerful roles if you look into his diverse roles such as insomnia where he plaid that tortoured cop, or your gangster rappers favorite film scarface where he sort to become huge but ended up getting corrupt with his own power as a drug baron.

Deniro for me can move to any role he chooses if you look at movies like stardust, what just happened, and also the meet the parents franchise, the guy can make you laugh, he can make you terrified if you look into his rather disturbing roles such as taxi driver and cape fear, the guy has many layers to his characters and doesnt need to play the same role again and again.

The deal breaker for me was watching pacino flushi his career down the toilet if you look at his current roles, its like hes not trying anymore, you see deniro in films like what just happened and hes still on par playing characters that most people wouldnt hae imagined him playing ten years ago.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I'm going to have to go with Al Pacino. I like De Niro, but Pacino has done some very powerful roles over the years. I'm shocked nobody has mentioned Scent Of A Woman(1992). In this movie, Pacino plays a retired Army officer who is blind. Pacino does such a great job at playing this bitter old man who is all alone. He also did an awesome job at playing the devil/evil lawyer in The Devil's Advocate(1997). Also, I feel Pacino has done a better job at playing the gangster roles than De Niro. His work in Scarface, and The Godfather films is far better than what De Niro has done in Casino or Goodfellas. I love both of those films, but still, I believe Pacino does a better job when it comes to playing the bad guy.

De Niro is a great actor, but Pacino always tends to put more passion behind his characters. Pacino can play just about any type of character, while De Niro on the other hand is usually limited to being the "tough guy". Although, De Niro has done a good job at comedies such as Meet The parents, and Meet The Fockers. I thought his work as the over protective father Jack was hilarious. De Niro also did a good job in Hide and Seek(2005). It was something different for him, and he pulled it off well.

Pacino always bring so much energy to what ever character he's playing, and he also is a lot more versatile than De Niro. Pacino has played some great characters who were unique in their own way. So my vote is going to have to go to Pacino.

 

[INDYjon22]

Robert De Niro. I have always found him to have a much wider array of acting skills then Pacino. I love both actors a lot and enjoy their work but Pacino is seriously type cast as a gangster actor, not that De Niro is not, but the difference is De Niro has excelled in non gangster roles as well.

I was blown away by De Niro's performance in Everybody's Fine. He was phenomenal and I really can't think of any Pacino movies outside of Any Given Sunday where Pacino has played anything other then a gangster or a cop of some sort.

Both actors are very good but De Niro is the better of the two.

 

[jmt225]

When I really think about it, while I'm perhaps a bigger fan De Niro's filmography, I have to go with Al Pacino regardless. Jake actually at another board pointed out to me when I made a post about who was better out of De Niro and Nicholson, that every movie I mentioned for my case that De Niro was the better actor, were all Martin Scorsese movies. And looking at Xfear's post, he did the exact same thing.

Basically, what I'm getting it is that I don't think De Niro can be at his absolute best without Scorsese's direction. Sure, De Niro has been in some great films that weren't directed by Scorsese (A Bronx Tale, This Boy's Life, to name a couple); however, he's never really had a truly great performance unless he was in a Martin Scorsese picture, outside of the Russian Roulette scenes in The Deer Hunter, and Awakenings. Every other performance in that HUGE filmography range from bad to mediocre to good, but nothing great in my opinion, at least from the ones that I have seen (Once Upon a Time in America and Brazil for the two main movies I still need to see that stars him).

Al Pacino, on the other hand, doesn't matter whose directing him, in his hey day, the guy was simply incredible. X said something about his roles being limited to tough guys in trouble, and X is my main man, but I have to disagree with that completely. Pacino's range cannot be questioned if you've seen his work. All you have to do to realize this fact is watch Dick Tracy, Scent of a Woman, Dog Day Afternoon, and Scarface back-to-back-to-back-to-back to see just how versatile this man was back in the day.

 

[X]

When I really think about it, while I'm perhaps a bigger fan De Niro's filmography, I have to go with Al Pacino regardless. Jake actually at another board pointed out to me when I made a post about who was better out of De Niro and Nicholson, that every movie I mentioned for my case that De Niro was the better actor, were all Martin Scorsese movies. And looking at Xfear's post, he did the exact same thing.

I did mention Once Upon a Time in America though, which is not a Scorsese picture.

Basically, what I'm getting it is that I don't think De Niro can be at his absolute best without Scorsese's direction. Sure, De Niro has been in some great films that weren't directed by Scorsese (A Bronx Tale, This Boy's Life, to name a couple); however, he's never really had a truly great performance unless he was in a Martin Scorsese picture, outside of the Russian Roulette scenes in The Deer Hunter, and Awakenings. Every other performance in that HUGE filmography range from bad to mediocre to good, but nothing great in my opinion, at least from the ones that I have seen (Once Upon a Time in America and Brazil for the two main movies I still need to see that stars him)

Well JMT, I really, really recommend that you see the full four hour long version of Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America because his performance in that film is simply incredible, and Scorsese was not involved. He was able to convey more in that role about the motivations and troublesome problems that lead to the rise of crime/gangsters than I've seen by any other actor in any other performance in any other film. He cut right to the core. I'll stop here though because I may just go into another long-winded rant about how I believe Once Upon a Time in America is the best gangster film ever made.

Al Pacino, on the other hand, doesn't matter whose directing him, in his hey day, the guy was simply incredible. X said something about his roles being limited to tough guys in trouble, and X is my main man, but I have to disagree with that completely. Pacino's range is cannot be questioned if you've seen his work. All you have to do to realize this fact is watch Dick Tracy, Scent of a Woman, Dog Day Afternoon, and Scarface back-to-back-to-back-to-back to see just how versatile this man was back in the day.

See, this is what I'm not getting here man. I've seen every movie you just mentioned multiple times, and each role isn't a very difficult variation from the other. Dick Tracy I'll take out simply because that film was meant to be a bit of a action/comedy film, but in Scent of a Woman, Dog Day Afternoon, and Scarface he's playing the same tough guy role with a soft heart. Which, in a way, is just like what De Niro did with the Scorsese and Leone pictures, but I simply think that De Niro is the better of the two when it comes to conveying that raw emotional response from his performance than Pacino is, but this is like saying Sgt. Peppers is better than Pet Sounds, they're both still absolutely amazing in conclusion.

I'm a De Niro fan, so I'll stick to my guns on this one and stand behind my original statement that De Niro is the better of the two actors. I will however give alot of credit to Al Pacino for his role in Angels in America, as that may just be his most underrated performance to this day.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

I really can't think of any Pacino movies outside of Any Given Sunday where Pacino has played anything other then a gangster or a cop of some sort.
.

How about Two For The Money, Glenngarry Glen Ross, The Devil's Advocate, The Insider, and Simone just to name a few where he wasn't the typecast that we know him to be.

As for my favorite out of the two, I would say De Niro. His performance as young Vito Corleone in GF2 was just amazing and probably my favorite of his to date. I also loved his performances in This Boy's Life and Men Of Honor two of films which I think are very underrated movies, I dont ever recall anyone really talking about these movies. I have to say this was a very hard choice to choose between the two of them both are great actors and are even better when they are together.

 

[Save Me Y2J]

It has to be Robert De Niro, simply because he has more range than Pacino does at the end of the day. Both are obviously masters of their craft, but Pacino struggles when he's playing a character against his normal roles, which are usually tough guys caught up in bad situations. Sometimes he's able to bring more range than that into the role like in Donnie Brasco or Angels in America, but I just don't think he can pull off a variety of rules quite like Robert De Niro can. De Niro can play anything from the tough hood (Goodfellas) to the angry, uncontrollable brute in Raging Bull to the lascivious Southern creeper in Cape Feare, De Niro really just has this wide range of emotions he can and does full off in his best roles in a way that I never though Pacino could. Don't get me wrong, Pacino is a fantastic actor, that's not even a debate, but the power of De Niro's work in films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Once Upon a Time in America among many other films just solidifies his place as probably one of if not the very best American actor of his generation.

Good thread idea TDigs. I'm contemplating adding a poll to the thread. Edit: Poll added.

Well most respectfully i would like to disagree with you on Pacino not having less range than Deniro... De Niro is considered to be one of the greatest actors of HIS time...while Pacino is considered to be one of the greatest of ALL time...

well for one Pacino has won 2 Tony Awards...Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for Broadway...Deniro = 0..that makes Pacino 1 Deniro 0

I think you mentioned in another of your reply something about raw emotions that pacino cant show... well let me point out couple of his scenes...

1. The ending of Dog Day Afternoon...Considered By many as the best showing of raw emotions...you could just feel the emotions flowing through his eyes....

2. The court scene in The Merchant Of Venice... If you havent scene it...you havent scene the best of Pacino...

3. The scenes where he is all helpless in SERPICO...

and many more ...

Al Pacino - Won Oscar. Another 27 wins & 37 nominations (excluding the Tony Awards)

Robert De Niro- Won 2 Oscars. Another 27 wins & 34 nominations

Al Pacino has 1 award win above and 3 nominations more than Robert De Niro...while Al Pacino has nearly as half movies as Robert De Niro....

Another factor working against De Niro is that only one director has been able to bring out the best out of him..Discount Martin Scorcese Out of his Filmography,you lose

1. Taxi Driver
2. New York,New York
3. Raging Bull
4. The King Of Comedy
5. GoodFellas
6. Cape Fear
7. Casino

Remove them, how would you like to remember your deniro then ???

I would remember him for The Deer Hunter...Godfather 2 and awakenings...nothing else stands out to me...about De Niro except Scorcese Movies....

Now Al Pacino has played from A drug addict in A Panic in a Needle Park...to Michael Corleone in the Godfather...Roles like in Serpico,Dog Day Afternoon,etc...

Now you would argue about versatality... both are equally versatile... but Pacino is not as rigid as De Niro... if you watch Heat...you can clearly see in the movie that De Niro does not give as much facial expressions as Pacino...in any movie...

Have you watched Two Bits ,The Insider, Chinese Coffe, The Local Stigmatic, Looking for Richard, there are many more but are these good enough for showing you the versatality and range ??

I'd be hoping for a reply from you

 

[Ice Cold]

Wow, talk about getting down to the nitty gritty. Am I inside the actors studio? Where is James Lipton? Or rather Will Ferrell playing James Lipton? Either way, this is such a tough choice I don't know which way to go, I love both these actors, to me they are cultural heroes/icons as well, how can I pick one over the other?

Everyone has basically said the same things are true and false about whoever they are defending. You say Deniro can emode better, the other guy says no Pacino emodes better, back and fourth, my facts are better than your fact, blah blah blah, his movies are better than his movies, Martin Scorsese is God, on and on.

My solution is to take a movie staring both of them and grade them side by side, scene by scene (metaphorically speaking). Watch "Righteous Kill". What better way to see who is better than to watch them in the same movie, especially at this juncture in their careers, without Martin Scorsese. Whoever steals the show wins! I've seen it and have my opinion on the matter but I will let you chew on that a bit.

 

[TheAnimal]

I think De Niro, he has more versatility and is more believable because he is pretty rugged when he wants to be. I always got this annoying aura that Pacino thought he was too cool. Its not the most insightful post but i think that when they are playing certain characters, they have to have human aspects that Pacino doesn't always pull off.
In response to Ice Cold - De Niro won, Pacino kind of did what i said above about being overly cool. Did anyone see 88 minutes? I thought that was shit.