I know both of them have pumped out some films that are less than stellar, but the gems far outweight the duds.

I do agree they do play the exact same character in every film, but that's not a bad thing. Your list wasn't "The top 10 most versatile actors".

The fact is, these two guys have made some of the most memorable films out there.

It's hardly brave to call Robert DeNiro a hack; it's virtually become accepted opinion. I don't want to say his best days are behind him, but with every new film they become more and more distant memories. It's been that way for years now.

Neither of them is doing much good work these days. DeNiro did some tremendous work once. Pacino has been consitently overrated his entire career. Many people appear to think and intense, unblinking stare amounts to great acting.

The problem seems to be when you become iconic it is very easy to cross over into self-parody, or at least to recapitulate that iconic image over and over again.

The Devil's Advocate was a bad movie? That's news to me. I don't know whether it was good acting or not, but I found Pacino rather entertaining (it certainly wasn't Keanu Reeves who carried that movie).

Most great actors become bored with their craft and essentially play the same role over and over again. Examples: Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman. Most of the actors on the Top-10 list are still relatively young and new to the business, having acted in about 25 percent the number of films as the actors listed above. I have ALWAYS though Pacino was overrated (Scent of a Woman, Scarface?!). But compare De Niro in "The Deer Hunter" and "Awakenings" to get a good idea of his depth and variety. By the way, "Heat" is an overrated film too...fun to look at, but emotionally bankrupt (pun intended).....

De Niro is one of the finest actors of our time nobody has ever commented about his performance in RONIN one of the brilliantly directed, casted, acted
film by John Frankenheimer. I have sen this film more than a hundred times...thaknk you

Watch Al Pacino's scenes with Kevin Sapcey in "Looking for Richard" and you can see just how over-rated Pacino is. Spacey can convey more with a look than Pacino can with all of his acting methods. (Except when he's playing an Italian gangster, then he's good)

Pacino and Deniro are two of the best actors ever. That's the answer to your question. I don't care if they haven't made anything noteworthy in a while. If those two are not great actors, then Nicholson and Brando are crap. I have never seen the greatness in Brando but that's just my opinion. Another person that is overrated is Sean Penn. Just because he is broody and violent and always against establishment does not make him the greatest actor of his generation. He is a great actor and that's about it. Again, these things are subjective:) They do make for good debates though...

I agree with Chris Wilson and John Campea here, both are overrated in my opinion. If they are great actors, so is Harvey Keitel! For once I have something to agree with Sandra about, On The Waterfront doesn't excuse Brando from the crap he's put out since then. Definately overrated as well. That doesn't mean there aren't many enjoyable films with these actors, just that they are not in the top 10 actors living today.

Hi Mr. P & Mr. D,

Your both totally talented actors,
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Would be honored to meet and have you
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have heard and thank you for your
acknowledgements. It's unpublished,
but my heart is in the movies. This
is my email above just fishing for
someone to work with who is accomplished. Please keep me in mind
I'm serious about this being on film.
So either email Ricciduk@aol.com, my cous who has pushed me DSparacino and my sister who has guided me collypaws@optionel.net know my book.
I am in Florida currently and can be
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Al Pacino truely is an amzing actor, can't say enough good things about him. I've always thought Pacino should be higher rated than de niro, as alot of people i've talked to are like 'whos pacino?' dman that annoys me grrrrrr. PACINO FOREVER!

UR out of you fucking mind!!!!!!!!
if annything they are underated actors! u should be shot for saying that! Al pacino and deniro were born to act! They should be remembered till the end off time for there great acting! without them there would be no gangstar genre! but then again i cnt blame you for thinking what you think? after all, some people didn't even apraciate picasso?

I agree with the last guy. You people know nothing about acting. The idiot who actually mentioned Robin Williams as a superior actor takes the fucking cake. First of all, Williams has the tics and gestures of a retart with tourettes syndrome, which would be fine if he was playing a mental patient. But for other roles, he comes off as a weird, spastic, somewhat gay, misfire of nature.

You mention a stinker given by Pacino in the Devil`s Advocate.
I can´t imagine how a person who says that can be a film critic.
¡¡ You really need to get your priorities right man!!

Chris Wilson sounds jealous of the success and critical acclaim that DeNiro and Pacino have received. If you were truly in as you say 25 percent of these movies, please fess up today with your specific credits or stop. The fact is that great actors don't have an endless reserve of emotions. Look what happened to Marlon Brando, it drove him half mad. Jack Nicholson has a quality not unlike a modern day Bogart. He's comfortable in his skin, and can create characters which are interesting variations of his actual personality. Billy Bob Thorton has a lot of capacity to dominate scenes unlike most modern actors. For too long we have seen American cinema dominated by blandness of The Toms (Cruise & Hanks), the over reaching of Sean Penn, and the foi cool pretty boys like Brad Pitt and Leonardo D.

As much as I love DeNiro and Pacino, I do have to agree w/ a little of you're argument about Robin Williams. The lines get blurred between Lead actors and Character actors, but each type is great in there own way. Deniro and Pacino are clearly two of the greatest lead actors of all-time. Actors like Robin Williams , along with one of my favorite character actors, Johnny Depp, are great character actors. They have the ability to morph into certain types of characters and make you forget(or not recognize) the actor themselves, no matter how famous and recognizable). A most recent example being johnny Depp's performance in Pirates of the Carribean- a terrible movie by critical standards, but Depp's complete involvement in Jack Sparrow creates an unforgettable character. Deniro or Pacino don't have the chops for that sort of work. But I doubt that Depp or Williams have the chops for Jake Lamotta(sp?) or Serpico. Depp playing the latter would probably come off as a reprise of 21 Jump street and Williams in the former would just be plain gay. For these two distinct differences I still go w/ the oft cliche'd Marlon Brando as my pick for greatest ever. His body of great performances may not be wide - hell, he's not even close to my favorite- but he WAS Staley Kowalski and he WAS The Godfather, and He was (insert character from Streetcar's name). Even less heralded roles, like Last Tango in Paris, must be given there due. He was a unique genius b/c he masterd his craft as both a lead actor and as a character actor. He essentially took Stanislavsky's method and made it his own...and he was the very first.

Email Mattsironlung@cs.com if you have something intellectual to offer on this or any other movie/acting subject.

Matt you bring up some good points on Johnny Depp, he's a uniquely talented actor with an uncanny ability to disappear into his character. However he lacks a certain physicality and toughness, this was evident in Donnie Brasco. While he did a very commendable job, he was the wrong physical type for the role of the FBI agent. Brasco was a big, tough strapping, swarthy looking fellow. While a 40 year old De Niro would have fucking nailed that role, Depp was okay.

I'm still laughing at a the thought of Robin Williams as Jake Lamotta, that is funny:). He would come across very gay, just the idea of him wearing a wife beater shirt would look so queer,that a troop of boyscouts would relocate to another city.

SO how's at the top of the list then?

Pacino, Pacino, the greatest actor in the world.My favourite actor in the world.

When I hear of a movie having either of these two actors, I figure the movie not to be very interesting, EXCEPT that De Niro did have a part in Brazil, which was a great movie, and he didn't drag the movie down too much.

Hey, I'm a Chinese girl who just started to love Al tow weeks ago. Ironically, I came to know his name through sitcom Friends - some scene in season one in which Joey thought it was a big shot to be Al Pacino's butt double. And I thought that this Al Pacino must be a huge star. But not until recently did I really know him in The Godfather. At first, I didn't know he was in it. All I know was Marlon Brando starred in this movie. But when I was seeing it, I kept wondering who is that Michael guy. Those eyes, I will never forget. And I think on some level, this young man stole Brando's thunder.
After googled him, I knew it was Al Pacino. No wonder he is so famous, he deserves it. Now I've seen his Godfather II&III, scent of a woman, sea of love, Donnie Brasco, devil's advocate, Heat, Angels in America in less than TWO weeks(that's all the movies I can reach in China). I know I'm crazy, but he's SO GREAT!
I admit that some of his movies suck; still he stands out with his talented acting and those sharp eyes. Sure he's played many cops and gangsters, but they have different characters. And he makes those roles. I doubt that Robbin Williams will make an unforgettable Michael in GF2.
I think every great actor has a role type he's best at, and the greatness is to make that role unreplaceable (you just can't imagine other actors could ever manage that acting). I know Al Pacino can do that. So, he's one of my favorite actors. He is a BORN actor. Defininatly not overrated!

Patroit your an idiot. What a fucking moron

cok begendim bana mail adresime yeni
robet deniro ile ilgili resimleri yazıları sunarsanız cok sevinirim..

Basically there are 2 types of actors: the iconic actor (always seems to be the same guy) and the dynamic actor (flexible). One or the other doesnt make you greater

Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro are NOT The best actors of all time but are good and entertaining to watch. They lack the diversity of say a Robin Williams, but at least they have forged a strong seminal type character in our minds.
Whether it be Tony Montana or Michael Corlionne or the blind guy that goes WHOOOOA you still love the way Pacino comes across in the film - he is the undeniably central focus. Deniro makes subtle character changes i.e. in his tough guy persona in Meet the Fokkers contrasted with his determined and righteously filled bravado in the Godfather are subetly different characters- but essentially tough minded. They are good iconic type actors of our age but not like the best of all times i.e. Cary Grant, Marlon Brando, Jack Lemmon, James Laughton, Clark Gable, Peter Lorre, Peter Sellers (choose your own) or even modern dyanmic acting contemporaries like Spacey, Williams, Pitt et al.
but they still fun to watch !!

I think both Pacino and DeNiro have outstanding bodies of work but have been in steady decline over the last decade or so. This may be in part due to the difficulty of aging actors to find meaty roles (see: Harrison Ford).

I think you really have to hand it to actors like Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson for continually defying convention and re-inventing themselves. About Schmidt was an astounding transformation for Nicholson, and Eastwood seems, as an actor and director, to get steadily better and more refined with age.

Pacino and DeNiro haven't made it there yet: they're trying to be Leading Men and thus are retreading old territory. That being said, they still pulled off great films in the 90s: Goodfellas, Carlito's Way.

Ronin? A passable chase film at best.

I find it hilarious that the original poster uses the most overrated actor of all time, Robin Williams, as his example of somebody that plays diverse roles. His acting range has not changed one iota since he was on Mork and Mindy. You could splice scenes of that show into anyone of his movies and nobody would be able to tell the difference.

This is interesting, while Pacino may overract sometimes, he is undoubtley one of the 3 best actors of all time imo. Godfather I,II, Dog Day Afternoon, Carlito's Way, Scarface, Devil's Advocate and Donnie Brasco are all brillantly acted. The believeabilty factor is the most important component of acting, no versatility. Ditto Dinero. Lefty Buggerio is one of the best acted characters I've ever seen in movies, ditto John Milton and Michael Corleone.

Pacino and De Niro are undeniably great movie actors, but were fortunate to be lead actors in the seventies/early-eighties, when Hollywood was at its most intelligent, provocative, and actor-friendly. Then, quality movies like 'Deerhunter', Godfather', 'Raging Bull', ,'One Flew Over' and 'Apocalyspse Now' were also the mainstream. Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Brando, Nicholson, Beatty and others also flourished in that era, and became equally great and iconic.

Among today's great leading actor's, Russell Crowe is probably alone amongst major leads choosing mostly projects of the very highest quality (from an acting POV). Tom Hanks is great too, but sometimes suffers from appearing in pap like 'Green Mile' and 'Polar Express'.

Sean Penn is a wonderful movie actor. Watch 'Carlito's Way' and see how he acts Pacino off the screen every scene they're together. His character is the most irredeemable jerk iimaginable n that film. Then watch him in 'Sweet and Lowdown' for a perfromance of great tenderness and pathos. As a more 'muscular' kind of leading man, George Clooney has a commanding screen presence cut with some of the best delivery of deadpan humour in contemporary cinema. But in short, the quality of mainstream films offering any kind of role for lead actors, has gotten so limited that very limited pretty boys like Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt, can be proclaimed great actors, and a slapstick guy like Jim Carrey will most likely win a best actor oscar in the next five years.

There was once great hope for Ed Norton and John Cusack, but as they are essentially the same guy, and their schtick has lost its originality, that hope has now diminished.

As the mainstream has dumbed down, the margins of the industry now harbour the most wonderful jewel-like talents - guys like John Turturro, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Riley, William H. Macey and so on. As none of them are conventionally handsome guys, and in some cases quite ugly, they are more typically character actors, though they sometimes take leads.

So, what is my point? Simply that as big-budget Hollywood has 'dumbed down' - post 'Heaven's Gate' - the amount of excellent showcase projects for quality lead actors has diminished. Pacino, De Niro were at their peak in a golden age of actorly Hollywood, that has now passed, just as guys like Schwarzenneger and Stallone found their zenith in the testosterone-fuelled action movies of the eighties. It is no wonder then that De Niro and Pacino should be so iconic, as they were at the top of their games, just when the art form as actors-medium was at the top of its.

Interesting thoughts Finkty, and I agree to an extent. But I do think that Depp and Cusack are clearly in the "excellent" actor category. Both take on quirky, risky, meaningful roles (Chocolat, Max) as well as well-chosen commercial films (Pirates of the Caribbean, High Fidelity).

In any event, both have been in some of my favorite movies over the last 15 years.

Could you think of any other actor to play the lead role in Awakenings Come on. Seriously. If anyone doubts whether De Niro is the 'greatest' then check out the Russian Roulette scene in 'The Deer Hunter' Mind blowing
Is 'meet the parents the funniest film of the last ten years' I think so Finally, Raging Bull was the greatest lead performance in the history of cinema. Would anyone agree

You know Mark, I posted something a while back on DeNiro and to be truthful, you have to look at his careerin two parts.

You have one of the most gifted actors ever from Mean Streets to Goodfellas (and maybe, separately, Cape Fear). This includes (to name a few): Deer Hunter, The King of Comedy, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets.

Soon after Goodfellas to the present, you have an actor (who does not need the money), who is selling his soul left and right to make really bad movies.

Please no more Meet the Fockers sequels and absolutely no more "in-jokes" to his earlier serious mob roles.

And commercials? Please stop!

I think the drop off did occur just after Goodfellas (which is just about my favorite movie, period, by the way).

De Niro directed A Bronx Tale in 1993. I wonder if there's any possibility that he started lowering his standards for taking parts (versus raking in money) around that time to pull together cash to direct prestige projects. I'm sure other people have theorized on this much more than I.

By the way: Meet the Parents is very, very far from the best comedy of the last 10 years.

I do like Meet the Fockers as well, for a comedy. I just do not think it can be ranked with his other "best" films. He should get back to the intense, ORIGINAL roles that made his movies so provoking.

Sean Penn has picked up the gauntlet so to speak with these type of roles.

Richard -- I had just the same thought when I saw Scarface for the first time (amazingly, I had somehow missed it) a few weeks ago. I was so surprised by how "inside" his role Pacino was as compared to his work over the last 15 or so years. I still like to see anything he's in, but now I can see how the accusations of overplaying or playing the same character have some basis.

I do not think Pacino and DeNiro forgot how to act at some point in their career. I think they just found it more and more difficult to find interesting scripts and roles. Look at the movies rolled out each year. These are not the only two (great) actors who churn out bad movies.

Chazz Palmientari did not know how "The Usual Suspects" ended until he saw it months after he shot his scenes. Films undergo significant changes from the time a script is written to the time it hits the screen.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say regarding Palmientari. Most films are shot out of order, and it's difficult to tell if any are going to be good until the very late stages of post-production.

I think you can make a case for a decline in the careers of De Niro and Pacino based upon their work over the last 15 years. Part of it may have to do with quality scripts, but that's also true for any actor. Part of it may have to do with the difficulty to find roles for late middle age and older, and there may be more argument to be made there.

By the way, I'm thinking at this moment that Carlito's Way may have been the point after which Pacino started to decline. As someone else pointed out, Penn was great in the movie, but so was Pacino. I love that movie -- what a great rush and heartbreak of a story.

Eric

That was indeed the wall for him, it was downhill (whatever speed you prefer) from there.

There are great movies turned out, but it just so happens they are not in them. Here is a few over the years: Mystic River, Magnolia, Memento, The Cooler (really good), 21 grams.

I am sure somewhere DeNiro felt it wasn;t a good idea to do Bullwinkle, Jackie Brown (really bad and I love Tarantino),Wag the Dog, Godsend and Flawless (phew). No clue that they might be bad?

I actually thought that Jackie Brown was a very interesting, very good but definitely not great film. And De Niro was good in it because he got to play a menacing, burned out side character. The build up to his violent, spontaneous murder of Bridget Fonda (who was just about begging to be shot at that point) was a jarring moment that let the rest of the story unfold.

But I honestly don't understand people who are in love with movies like Ronin or Meet the Parents. Passable films for the plane at best.

Really??? Maybe I will give it another look. DeNiro reminded me with his laid back, emotionless attitude of the DeNiro you see during TV interviews; rather stoic and not really giving during the interviews and the host usually has to pull teeth to get a few words out of him.

Eric

And one more thing: compare/match-up the career highs and lows of DeNiro with Director Martin Scorsese. You may see a trend.

But this does not mean I wish to see a Taxi Driver 2, which I read somewhere.

He has a stoic creepy quality in Jackie Brown that makes him interesting to watch. That he's in a relatively small number of scenes is a plus for him in this case.

Oh, Richard - how could you not love Flawless? DeNiro took his tough-guy iconic role to a whole new dimension in this film. Hoffman was wonderful as DeNiro's drag-queen singing tutor, but Bobbie shone as the crippled strong man, forced to re-evaluate his standards.

This movie made me reconsider my own opinion of DeNiro as (mostly) a one-note actor.

??? Well DrPat, I am glad you can appreciate Flawless, but I recommend that you go rent The King of Comedy and then come back and tell me if you feel the same way.

And another thing. They're too short.

So is Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. Most of the "big" stars, actually.

Oh, man, don't even get me started on Cruise.

The guy is certainly outta his mind.Pacino
and De Niro are the best actors the world has ever seen.Robbie Williams is a good actor but Pacino & De Niro are GOD!

I agree! This guy is totally insane!!! You shouldn't be allowed to be a critic if you think Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro are overrated! And if you thought Devil's Advocate was a bad movie then you are totally out of your fucking mind! And as far as Gigli goes, Al Pacino only made a frickin cameo appearance in that movie! It's not his fault it sucked...blame Benifer for that! If anything he made it a little less painful to watch for the ten minutes he was on screen! But as far as Pacino and DeNiro's acting goes, they have both given such incredible performances over the years that anyone should be able to overlook a few bad ones here and there. No actor/actress has a perfect filmography.

pacino_lover: take a breath! Now another...

The reviewer didn't say these two weren't good actors. He just said he felt others were better. He gave lots of reasons. If you disagree with those reasons, you're welcome to say WHY - but just calling the writer insane because he disagrees with you is rude and childish.

MY argument with John's choice would have more to do with DeNiro's role in Flawless or Pacino's in S1m0ne.

You miserable little shit!! How dare you insult Denero and Pacino they are the best actors ever, everyone knows that; other than you asshole!! Oh and to answer your question for this piece of shit website, no, I do not think that Al Pacino and Robert Denero are overrated actors but I do think that you are a shithead!!! Don't ever talk about them again, they can kick your ass you little faget!!*

What makes them great is their believAIBLTY. Watch those bad ones agin. Maybe the movies are bad, but they are int he roesl, they are the characdters, they bring themeselves to the characters and circ umstances, in different ways, but they bring themselves. And anyone who says they are the same character in evey movie is overlooking the early stuff. Godfather- is that hootin and hollerin' pacino? no, one of the most subltle performances in film histroy- dog day afternoon- totally different, serpcio? come on, watch serpico and tell me he's the same in every movie. Watch footage of the real serpico, then look at the pacino version, then tell me he's not a good character actor.. What about raging bull?

WAT U CHATTIN SON, SCARFACE,GODFARTHER 1 2 N PART 3 CASINO GOODFELLAS, TAXI DRIVER DESE ARE WAT MADE THAT FILM CATOGORY WAT IT IS 2DAY, WIV OUT THEM UD BE SAT WATCHIN TH LIKES OF MRS DOUBTFIRE ALL DAY (SUACIDE NOTE NEEDED) R U FUKIN SERIOUS ROBBIN WILLIAMS TH GUYS LIKE A HUMAN CARTOON N DATS NOT A GOOD THING, CAN YOU AMAGIN WILLIAMS ON TH MONTANA THROWN TAKIN BULLETS...GET REAL BOY U DONT NO WAT U TALKIN BOWT....P.P PLZ DONT COMMENT ON TH SPELLIN I REALY CUD NOT BE BOVAD ABOUT MY VOCAB TALKIN 2 Y

I'm sorry but a lot of you treat these actors like gods because theyve got O at the end of their name & overact to an absurd degree. Their are and where many far superior actors to Pacino & co but you have become slaves to conventional wisdom and can't think for yourselves. Example, Robert mitchum was menacing in cape fear, deniro was like a cartoon character with a foul mouth in the abysmal remake. They are the same kind of nasty little characters in every film, maybe this reflects on American society.I confess to being english and maybe I dont get your national institutions. We have an actor called David suchett who could beat the socks of all the afforementioned. His versatility is superb, he plays poirot & for example the villain in executive decission with = aplomb

Kudos to you on this great analysis. I couldn't have said better myself ..

Both men are over 60 now, dont expect dem to act like they were 30-40, the thing is Pacino and De Niro can do one thing, but nobody else can do it like them exepct for Joe Pesci, they are cold blooded mafia actors. They should be on the TOP 10 list

you're absolutely right although i LOVED deniro in taxi driver (not much else), LOVED pacino in frankie and johnny (yeah!! he's great!!), and brando in films he actually tried in because he was a genius hands down. sean penn was actually good in dead man walking and fast times and that's about it. everything else he's a hammy over the top joke. it's also established that meryl streep (at least among theater actors) that she's a vain caricaturist actress who has to take over the screen and plays caricatures, NOT characters. but movie audiences are gullible and think that that is acting--being almost cartoonish. it isn't. the great character actors like will patton, edward hermann, john lithgow, jeff daniels, paul muni, brando...etc..etc...you probably cannot place their face BECAUSE they are great character actors and their real self never comes through and you don't remember them because they look completely different in each character.

Deniro has to work on those low quality movies because he needs the money to keep the Tribeca Film Festival afloat.
Also, I imagine it's pretty difficult to turn down several million for a few weeks of work.
He just moved into a new apartment at The Langham on the Upper Westside, and he has several people who depend on him financially (including his children,wife and ex-wife).
I do think he should look at higher caliber scripts, and dig a little deeper like he used to.
I have a completed script about an aging movie star that is so funny. Not Meet the Parents funny, but really hilariously funny.

I respectfully disagree that both Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro are overrated actors. Based on their past performances, in my view, they are well within the top 5 actors in the past 50 years. I agree that they both have not done anything that can be considered as stimulating or acadamy award winning, but one has to recognize they have been working their craft for well over 30 years -one may ask his or herself, "How am I going to perform after doing the same thing for for over 30 years! Pacino's performance as Tony Montana in "Scarface", simply brilliant -the academy voted against him simply because of the language in the movie. DeNiro's role,as the hostile convict in Cape Fear -simply fantastic, but to this day has not been recognized for his performance in that movie. Deaner's top ten actors: Pacino, DeNiro, Spacey, Norton, Dean, Eastwood, McQueen, Newman, Hackman, Keitel.
Sorry folks, Marlon Brando good actor, but way overrated in my view.

I totally agree with your view that they are overrated. I've thought the same for many, many years. YES, they are good, just overrated. Deal with it people. And by the way Rolden, re-read this sentence carefully, you'll see your mistake.

"Most of the actors on the Top-10 list are still relatively young and new to the business, having acted in about 25 percent the number of films as the actors listed above."

See your error? Chris never said he was an actor.

Nuff Said...

Christian Bale is an example of an underrated actor.

I think the reason DeNero is making comedies is for two reasons: Looking for ways to act with his buddies and doing comedies for a giggle because he has done so many dramas. I do not believe he is doing comedies for the money. I mean he was in a terrible role in Rocky and Bullwinkle, but that was just for a laugh I think. He just wants people to see his lighter side i think 'cos people think he is oh so serious looking at his previous work.

De Nero is the greatest actor alive. Look at the scene in Goodfellas when he's in the bar with the glass of whisky in his hand when 'Sunshine of Your Love' by Cream Kicks in.
The bit when you know he's thinking about killing the old fat guy with the beard. You know this and there is no reference to killing the guy untill after the scene. He does this without uttering a word or making a violent reference. That my friend is acting at it's very best and while Robin Williams is very versatile and can do many characters with all the bells and whistles, I doubt that he can pull off acting of that calibre. The closest he got to that kind of mechanics of acting was in Good Will Hunting when he was going 'It's not your fault'. That said Robin Williams is one of the best actors out there but he has a bit to go to take the DeNero crown. As for Pacino, he's just Pacino aint he, loves his shouty stuff, if you want shouty stuff call him. And i disagree that Apocolypse Now is one of the best films ever made. It goes on...and on... and on... "I kept thinking about this guy and i can't imagine him from the listening to him here" (you know what I mean), constantly talking and talking about the Marlon Brando character. War is hell etc. Yes we know. I think it's a good film but it's well overrated.

Serpico was a piece of shit movie about "A STORY THAT HAD TO BE TOLD". Just a collection of scenes of Pacino going "I'm not takin' the money i don't care what they say...I'm not takin' the money" put together in different ways with not much else happening. THE FILM IS CRAP. I watched it expecting to be blown away and i couldn't wait for it to end.

It seems to me that if there is no swearing in a roll, Pacino, De Niro, or Nickleson will not take the part.