Gangsters: a VERY difficult choice
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Topic: Gangsters: a VERY difficult choice
Posted By: maani
Subject: Gangsters: a VERY difficult choice
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 09:22
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Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro both largely made their initial "names" playing gangsters.
Pacino, of course, gave us Michael Corleone (The Godfather series) and Scarface. But he also gave us Carlito Brigante (Carlito's Way) and the fabulous and funny Big Boy Caprice (Dick Tracy).
DeNiro gave us Vito Corleone (Godfather II) and the brilliant Jimmy Conway (Goodfellas). But he also gave us "Noodles" Aaronson (Once Upon A Time in America), Al Capone (The Untouchables), "Ace" Rothstein (Casino) and the fabulous and funny Paul Vitti (Analyze This).
So...
Whose gangsters do you prefer? Not which would win in a fight (that's for another thread). I'm simply interested in whose gangsters are "better" in your opinion. And, of course, why?
I could not bring myself to decide, so I straddled the fence and waffled and voted "both equally."
Peace.
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Replies:
Posted By: WaywardSon
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 09:30
| Al Pacino. The guy just has such an intensity as an actor. |
Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 09:48
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Robert DeNiro for me,although it's a close call.
For all Pacino is a fine actor I have become increasingly disenchanted with his "if in doubt,shout" style that has pervaded his performances increasingly throughout his career. I love De Niros performance as Jimmy in Goodfellas,particularly the way he moves from genial psycho to paranoid psycho 
His performance as the young Vito Corleone is beautifully understated contrast that performance with Pacino's portrayal of Tony Montana in Scarface and you'll see what I mean. |
Posted By: maani
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 11:32
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Tony:
I gotta agree re Goodfellas; DeNiro gives an understated, tour-de-force performance. And you are equally right about his Vito Corleone: a truly brilliant, even elegant performance.
Peace.
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Posted By: GoldenSpiral
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 11:39
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Pacino without question. It's all summed up in the scene in the first Godfather movie where he sits at the restaurant table looking intense before he shoots Solazo and the police chief. amazing scene. go pacino. ------------- http://www.myspace.com/altaic" rel="nofollow - http://www.myspace.com/altaic ALTAIC "Oceans Down You'll Lie" coming soon |
Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 11:44
you mean this look? 
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GoldenSpiral wrote:Posted By: WaywardSon
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 12:29
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^^^
I actually have that same look on my face right now after reading the latest review for "Made in Japan" where it gets one star!
 |
Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 18:46
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Pacino for me...
And Ace Rothstein isn't a gangster in Casino,he works for a bunch of gangsters. -------------  |
Posted By: AtLossForWords
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 18:58
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De Niro, because I prefer Martin's films to Frank's. -------------  
"Mastodon sucks giant monkey balls." |
Posted By: Mikerinos
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 21:03
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I'm not a movie enthusiast at all, but I like them both equally. But this is only judging from Pacino's performance in Scarface to DeNiro's in Goodfellas (I haven't seen any of those others except Godfather a long time ago and Analyze This, which I don't remember at all...)
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Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 22:07
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I thought Scarface was overrated, so I'll choose DeNiro. The man has greater acting skills beyond gangsters as well. ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 23:32
So does Pacino. Just watch Serpico,Dog Day Afternoon,And Justice for All or Scent of a Woman ------------- |
Posted By: AtLossForWords
Date Posted: August 06 2006 at 23:44
True enough Jody, all of those are excellent films. Pacino and De Niro are both talented actors.
I loved Heat which featured both of them.
Here's another name that should be in the pol: Joe Pesci
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"Mastodon sucks giant monkey balls." |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: August 07 2006 at 03:09
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Outside their Gangster roles, I cannot seem to differentiate this poll from the rest of their roles and their career alltogether
I'll go with DeNiro because Pacino bugs me incredibly ! He alwaus overplays his characters and they are always first degrees.
DeNiro is an all-around better and funnier/subtler actor ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: August 07 2006 at 03:57
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Jeez, Maani - how are you supposed to choose here? Vito vs Michael Corleone? These are two of the greatest portrayals of gangsters in modern cinema.
However, if I have to choose, I'd have to go for DeNiro - for Jimmy Conway, Ace Rothstein (maybe not a gangster per se, but you don't run with wolves without tasting some blood occasionally) & Al Capone. Pacino is superb in most of his movies, but I have to say, I found Scarface to be a tad over-acted... sorry. ------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: August 07 2006 at 04:09
You talking to me? |
Posted By: maani
Date Posted: August 07 2006 at 09:42
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Jody:
How could you forget The Devil's Advocate? The last 20 minutes alone is worth the price of admission!
Peace.
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Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: August 07 2006 at 20:39
You're right Maani,I ought to be ashamed of myself!!!!!!!! My wife(who loves Keanu Reeves...go figure),said exactly the same thing!!!!! ------------- |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: August 08 2006 at 03:29
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The Devil's Advocate is great entertainment, but hardly a gangster movie... mind you, is Satan the ultimate gangster? -------------
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Rust
Date Posted: August 13 2006 at 06:45
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Robert DeNiro, the cool, sophisticated gangster. ------------- We got to pump the stuff to make us tough from the heart Its astart What we need is awareness we cant get careless Mental self defensive fitness Make everybody see in order to fight the powers that be |
Posted By: xtopher
Date Posted: August 14 2006 at 01:15
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Pacino. His performance in Godfather Pt. 2 scares the HELL out of me.
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Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: November 20 2006 at 09:44
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Neither. David Jason of "Only Fools And Horses" fame played mafia capo in one episode and he was excellent  ------------- |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: November 20 2006 at 10:09
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I have to go with both, they are equally good actors IMO.
------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
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Posted By: tardis
Date Posted: November 20 2006 at 18:58
| DeNiro |
Posted By: progadicto
Date Posted: November 30 2006 at 09:02
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Both are great!!!
And don't forget the first movie which made possible the first face to face between these two movie monsters HEAT... Of course here DeNiro was the thief and Pacino the cop...
 http://k-punk.abstractdynamics.org/archives/heatdeniropacino.jpg - ------------- ... E N E L B U N K E R... |
Posted By: Jared
Date Posted: November 30 2006 at 09:07
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Both are great...
...but one of Pacino's finest Gangster performances came in 'Donnie Brasco' where he was absolutely superb... ------------- Music has always been a matter of energy to me. On some nights I believe that a car with the needle on empty can run 50 more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. Hunter S Thompson |