Robert De Niro: An Appreciation

Based on the respective movies I've seen by them, I'd personally favour Pacino over DeNiro in terms of consistency. That's not to say that DeNiro is a slouch, he's an amazing actor who has been involved in some amazing films. If I was doing a quick top-ten of favourite roles I'd have to go;

1. Raging Bull - This is probably one of my favourite all time performances by any actor, it's like watching an exposed, gangrenous nerve for two hours and it's both fascinating and repulsive.
2. 1900 - I'm a sucker for this film, absolutely love it and I feel like DeNiro really helped to grant a lot of cohesion to a film that could have slipped away.
3. Taxi Driver - As you said, this is an iconic role. What's impressive is that despite the iconic elements to the performance there's still a lot of depth and lot of layers. Bickle is a fascinating, pitiable, protagonist and DeNiro really sells how torn he is at certain points.
4. Jackie Brown - I love how unvain this performance is. Just sleazy and pathetic and completely un-iconic.
5. Casino - Casino is a lesser film than Goodfellas, but I think that DeNiro does some amazing work in creating a sympathetic character in the midst of a cast of vile people.
6. Angel Heart - Completely over the top, but I kind of like DeNiro when he goes broad like this. It's kind of fascinating watching DeNiro as the devil in this and Pacino's take on the devil and seeing how these really broad performances sort of speak to the strengths and weaknesses of both actors.
7. The Deer Hunter - I think Cazale and Walken are probably the more interesting bits in this film, but I think DeNiro does great work as a kind of everyman thrown into an impossible situation.
8. The Mission - Kind of a lesser film, but I think DeNiro moves the film to an entire new level.
9. The Untouchables - Like Angel Heart I love this because it's fun to see DeNiro let his hair down, so to speak, with a performance.
10. Once Upon A Time in America - I actually think the kids are the standout of this film, but I think DeNiro is an interesting focus. He actually doesn't feel like he has that much to do, but he really sells the anguish of his situtation.

I've always been distracted by De Niro's inability to generate chemistry with his female co-stars, particularly in romantic dramas (FALLING IN LOVE, STANLEY & IRIS). He always seems more at home beating women than loving them. Pacino does not have this problem.

I'm probably most impressed by the performances in THE KING OF COMEDY, AWAKENINGS, and JACKIE BROWN. And De Niro's Devil is quite frightening (admirably subtle with obvious material).

Well, one of DeNiro's trademarks is dysfunctional sexuality, so I'd say it's less of a distraction than the whole point, most of the time. Obviously in the rare Stanley & Iris role there's a large degree of baggage that carries over from Travis Bickle or Rupert Pupkin, but when he's playing romantic it's usually a shy, injured romantic, like in Mad Dog & Glory

I think a big part of why DeNiro has connected so much as a movie star, especially with men, is he's able to find the universality of pathetic failure in romance and yet at the same time, maintain his masculinity. It's why Philip Seymour Hoffman seems so much creepier, even though he never plays Max Cady types.

Goodfellas is my favorite movie with DeNiro, but not my favorite DeNiro movie.

Most underrated DeNiro has got to be This Boy's Life. That performance is easy to write off as hammy, but I think it's a incredibly honest portrayal of that dude.

ETA: My 5,000th post! 

Seeing threads like this makes me sad.  Looking back on IMDB the last good leading role was Ronin in 98.  Way too long for him.  Other depressing thing about IMDB was Robert Pattinson came up first when tying the first name.

Also funny with this being pre Heat and pre Copland.  DeNiro and Pacino nailed it while Copland is almost there. 

Makes me want to but Deer Hunter though.

Hopefully Scorsese  will ditch DiCaprio for a film and get back to Bobby.

De Niro is of course much respected for how well he can play big emotional moments (i.e. his agony in the cell in "Raging Bull"), but I appreciate some of his more subtle moments most. For example, the playful way he puts on his sunglasses in the car with the pissed off cops in "Midnight Run" is one of my favourite moments in movie history. So charming.

I was watching "Goodfellas" with a friend of mine recently and she pointed out that her favourite part in the whole movie is one that most people probably miss. It's when Henry and Jimmy are sitting at a table listening to Tommy tell a story. Henry is all worried that Morrie is going to get whacked soon. Jimmy laughs heartily at Tommy's story, then his face goes completely normal as he whispers to Jimmy not to worry about Morrie. Then he immediately goes right back to "laughing" uproariously at Jimmy's story. I seriously doubt you can find a better fake laugh in any movie. Once I became aware of what was going on, it was the kind of scene I just wanted to rewind and re-watch over and over again.

I just love the way De Niro can so effortlessly go from intimidating or scary to friendly and ingratiating with a character. I also think his little scenes with Bridget Fonda were the most entertaining parts of "Jackie Brown", especially the "wanna fuck?" scene. The text about how many minutes it took was the best part, but De Niro's blasé attitude also contributed significantly to the scene's greatness. His shooting Fonda's character in the parking lot was priceless as well.

I think Tarantino makes a good point in that video above that could probably be attributed to a lot of actors in that era. There was a vitality to DeNiro's early work that vanished once the 80's came along. He was still doing great work, but he was getting far less selective. I mean, can anyone really see that DeNiro starring in Rocky and Bullwinkle?

He's still able to deliver some great nuanced performances though. Even in something like City By The Sea, which is somewhat of a lesser film, he does very good work. Often opposite an equally good Frances McDormand. 

Though I have to laugh at Tarantino saying that DeNiro and Pacino together in a film would be such a monumental moment. I looked fondly upon Heat and smiled...then I remembered Righteous Kill. 

There's a handful of times where he's doing actual work and it isn't supported by the script, the director, or the script and the director. Stone, just recently.