Who is a better actor: Al Pacino or Robert DeNiro

[GoldenTV]

I think we all agree that these two actors are probably among the two of the best actors in cinema. And both had iconic roles in films such as Pacino in Godfather, Scarface, and DeNiro in Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

So now question is in your opinion who is a better actor. Its kind of hard, but I choose DeNiro based on his acting in the movie King Of Comedy. In that film DeNiro portrait a delusional stand-up comedians increasingly obsessed with a famous comedy icon on TV (Jerry Lewis). A very hard act to follow.

[Bonniegirl]

Gosh! Very hard to decide. Really hard, I almost didn't vote, but I went with Pachino. So now they both have a vote.

[Dude111]

Al Pacino!! (And justice for all)

[GoldenTV]

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

Gosh! Very hard to decide. Really hard, I almost didn't vote, but I went with Pachino. So now they both have a vote.

Both actors have quite bit of iconic roles on their resume, and as you said it might be hard to choose between one of them. Pacino seem to have preferred more explosive and 'in your face" roles, while DeNiro method of acting tend to be laid back with more depth.

[GoldenTV]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Al Pacino!! (And justice for all)

Pacino reaction in the scene where Jack Warden flying a helicopter on gas fume and then crashing it is simply marvelous. First rate acting.

[Dude111]

Yes indeed so!!

[Babalu]

As far as I'm concerned it's DeNiro by a mile. I think he's one of the best actors in movie history. There are certain movies that Pacino is great in, but I think for the most part he's a massive overactor. The goal for an actor is to be believable, which is sometimes ordinary. Pacino is often over the top. I think some of the best actors of my movie watching lifetime are Gene Hackman, George C. Scott, Robert Duvall, Jeff Goldblum, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, Sean Penn. I wouldn't put Pacino up there with any of them. As a personality maybe, but not as a great actor.

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by Babalu

As far as I'm concerned it's DeNiro by a mile. I think he's one of the best actors in movie history. There are certain movies that Pacino is great in, but I think for the most part he's a massive overactor. The goal for an actor is to be believable, which is sometimes ordinary. Pacino is often over the top. I think some of the best actors of my movie watching lifetime are Gene Hackman, George C. Scott, Robert Duvall, Jeff Goldblum, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, Sean Penn. I wouldn't put Pacino up there with any of them. As a personality maybe, but not as a great actor.

How about Dustin Hoffman? He has always been one of my favorites .From around the same generation of DeNiro and Pachino.

[Bonniegirl]

Pacino , damn my cell phone ! If I'm such a fan I should know how to spell his name . My last two posts it spelled as Pachino !

[GoldenTV]

Its all good Bonniegirl. Like in that quiz TV show Match Game, the spelling doesn't count in here

Originally Posted by Babalu

As far as I'm concerned it's DeNiro by a mile. I think he's one of the best actors in movie history. There are certain movies that Pacino is great in, but I think for the most part he's a massive overactor. The goal for an actor is to be believable, which is sometimes ordinary. Pacino is often over the top.

I agree with your assessment and I made note of it in my comments above. But some of roles he played called for being over the top (or high voltage) such as in the movie Dog Day Afternoon or Scarface, and his performance was right on the money in those movies.

[Babalu]

Originally Posted by Bonniegirl

How about Dustin Hoffman? He has always been one of my favorites .From around the same generation of DeNiro and Pachino.

I like Dustin Hoffman, but I think he too occasionally falls into the overacting category, such as in Midnight Cowboy and Rain Man. During Marathon Man, he plays a scene where he was supposed to be exhausted while being chased by the bad guys. So what he did was force himself to stay up for 4 nights in a row so he'd really look exhausted. Laurence Olivier said to him, "Why don't you try acting? It's so much easier."

Originally Posted by GoldenTV

I agree with your assessment and I made note of it in my comments above. But some of roles he played called for being over the top (or high voltage) such as in the movie Dog Day Afternoon or Scarface, and his performance was right on the money in those movies.

I agree in Dog Day Afternoon, where he's supposed to be hyper. I hated Scarface and thought he was awful in it. I thought his accent and manner of speaking was the height of overacting, but many Cubans said it was the best acting performance of a Cuban accent they'd ever seen. I was dumbfounded at that.

[Babalu]

Originally Posted by GoldenTV

I think we all agree that these two actors are probably among the two of the best actors in cinema. And both had iconic roles in films such as Pacino in Godfather, Scarface, and DeNiro in Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

So now question is in your opinion who is a better actor. Its kind of hard, but I choose DeNiro based on his acting in the movie King Of Comedy. In that film DeNiro portrait a delusional stand-up comedians increasingly obsessed with a famous comedy icon on TV (Jerry Lewis). A very hard act to follow.

I agree with DeNiro in King of Comedy. I didn't see it until a couple of years ago. Even though I wanted to see it, I kept putting it off. DeNiro was amazing in it. Another of my favorite movies of his was Midnight Run, with Charles Grodin. The two of them were fantastic together, a very entertaining movie. Also, another one of my favorite actors was in that movie, Joe Pantoliano. He can play an ordinary guy or a maniac with equal skill.

[JamesG]

It was hard for me to pick, but I wound up going with De Niro.

Here are a couple of my favorite lesser known films:



Cruising (1980)

Pacino plays an undercover NYPD officer who infiltrates the gay bars of the Meatpacking District in order to find a serial killer targeting gay men.

Directed by William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist)




Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

Said to be the most faithful screen adaption of the 1818 novel, De Niro plays Frankenstein's Monster.

The original version was not at all like Boris Karloff's famous Universal monster with the green skin who walks stiff. He mimics human behavior, learns to read, and eventually wants a wife - how the Bride of Frankenstein came about.

[GoldenTV]

Originally Posted by Babalu

I agree with DeNiro in King of Comedy. I didn't see it until a couple of years ago. Even though I wanted to see it, I kept putting it off. DeNiro was amazing in it. Another of my favorite movies of his was Midnight Run, with Charles Grodin. The two of them were fantastic together, a very entertaining movie. Also, another one of my favorite actors was in that movie, Joe Pantoliano. He can play an ordinary guy or a maniac with equal skill.

Midnight Run was a terrific movie and definitely agree with you about Joe Pantoliano performance. He stole every scene he was in, and the same thing can also be said about John Ashton who was in Beverly Hills Cop movies. Wished they would have done a sequel to Midnight Run.

[Bonniegirl]

WHOA !!! 3 to 3 . It's neck and neck now !!