Actor Discussion #6: Robert De Niro

[samuelrichardscott]

Thoughts? Best? Worst?

[addicted2dvd]

Always an entertaining actor. I have a nice selection of his movies... several of which I never seen before. I have...

Titles in BOLD is in my unwatched pile
- 100 Years of Horror: Segments Frankenstein's Friends & Demons
- 15 Minutes
- Analyze That
- Analyze This
- Angel Hearts
- Awakenings
- City by the Sea
- Godsend
- The Good Shepherd
- The GoodFellas
- Guilty by Suspicion
- Hide and Seek
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
- Meet the Fockers
- Meet the Parents
- Men of Honor
- Raging Bull
- Righteous Kill
- Ronin
- Showtime

Is there any in my unseen collection I should be sure to watch soon?

While you may not immediately think of him for them... I seem to always enjoy comedies with him in them the most. Movies like Meet the Parents and Showtime. Though I have always enjoyed him no matter what I have seen him in so far.

[samuelrichardscott]

I'll write full thoughts later, but you should place Ronin and GoodFellas into your 'view immediately' pile!

[Jon]

Exactly my thoughts! 

In terms of best performance, I'm always stuck between Godfather Part 2 and Taxi Driver. Raging Bull is up there too. And it isn't a well known film, but I thought he was incredible in The King Of Comedy, another Scorcese film that makes an interesting companion piece to Taxi Driver.

Honestly, I'm not sure he has ever given a bad performance, but he has appeared in a lot of crap. Pete's right that I don't necessarily associate him with comedy, but maybe we should because he's been happy to sleepwalk his way through that genre for a while now. Midnight Run is one of my favourite films, but no matter how entertaining these are, we're talking about one of the greatest actors of his generation and more. He is capable of so much more than those films demand. His last truly great performance was Heat in 1995 and the last time he made any noticeable impact would be 1997 with Copland and Jackie Brown. After that? Nothing but prat falls. I thought he was great in Machete, but again, hardly a stretch. I just hope it means he's picking more interesting roles again though.

[KinkyCyborg]

DeNiro was epic in Taxi Driver but was also very very good in Awakenings, Goodfellas, Bang The Drum Slowly, Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter & The Mission. A few he should have passed on were Godsend, Showtime and Rocky & Bullwinkle. Mad Dog & Glory, Cape Fear and Flawless are all guilty pleasures of mine.  The Godfather II, 1900, Jackie Brown and Machete I haven't seen yet among others. I have 62 movies in total with DeNiro...

What I find now is that DeNiro is rarely the central character anymore... more so on the periphery as supporting cast. He needs a film maker from his glory days like Scorsese to cast him in a movie that is tailor made for his skill set to see if he can still cut the mustard and quite frankly he might not. DeNiro has evolved quite a bit, especially over the last 10-15 years where his outings don't require method acting and the emotional investment required to produce truly great performances and that might just be a byproduct of getting older. You could hardly blame him for cashing in on his name as he enters his golden years with easy roles that require little effort. If anyone deserves it, DeNiro does but it sure makes us long for another of his masterful performances.

What say you Bickle??!! You got another in you? That's right... I'm talkin' to you.   

 

[Achim]

Most of De Niro's best was done together with Scorcese. And then there is The Godfather II.

I also enjoyed Midnight Run a lot and hope that it will come to Blu-ray sooner than later. Heat is great too. Some of his other great stuff happened in cameo roles, like Louis Cypher in Angel Heart.

It pains me to see him in stupid roles, or just films that I'd rather turn off than keep watching (Meet the Fockers III, Rocky & Bullwinkle).

His glory days are clearly over, but I agree that his performances are still solid (most of the time). But then, the same is true for Pacino.

[Dragonfire]

I haven't seen anywhere near all of his movies.  I've liked some of them.  He needs to stop with the Meet the Parents sequels though. 

[samuelrichardscott]

Most of De Niro's best was done together with Scorcese. And then there is The Godfather II.

I also enjoyed Midnight Run a lot and hope that it will come to Blu-ray sooner than later. Heat is great too. Some of his other great stuff happened in cameo roles, like Louis Cypher in Angel Heart.

It pains me to see him in stupid roles, or just films that I'd rather turn off than keep watching (Meet the Fockers III, Rocky & Bullwinkle).

His glory days are clearly over, but I agree that his performances are still solid (most of the time). But then, the same is true for Pacino.

I come back to thi thread as I finally have time to write my opinion when I see Achim hits my opinion perfectly, though I haven't seen the third Meet the Parents.

[Dragonfire]

I come back to thi thread as I finally have time to write my opinion when I see Achim hits my opinion perfectly, though I haven't seen the third Meet the Parents.

You haven't missed a thing.  That is truly one of the worst movies I have ever seen.  Not just for the year it came out...EVER.

[Antares]

In terms of best performance, I'm always stuck between Godfather Part 2 and Taxi Driver. Raging Bull is up there too. And it isn't a well known film, but I thought he was incredible in The King Of Comedy, another Scorcese film that makes an interesting companion piece to Taxi Driver.

It will always be Godfather Part II, he and John Cazale are the only reason that film was a hit. Don't forget Mean Streets, he steals that film. And you're right about The King of Comedy, one of the handful of films by Scorsese that I like.

Honestly, I'm not sure he has ever given a bad performance, but he has appeared in a lot of crap.

Cape Fear...way, way over the top. He ruined the film. I've always wondered what Robert Mitchum must have been thinking watching him. Mitchum could play menacing with very little effort or histrionics.

[Achim]

I come back to thi thread as I finally have time to write my opinion when I see Achim hits my opinion perfectly, though I haven't seen the third Meet the Parents.

You haven't missed a thing.  That is truly one of the worst movies I have ever seen.  Not just for the year it came out...EVER.

I haven't seen it either, I just went by the little I knew from the trailer and the reviews I have read/heard. It sound like a degrading experience as far as De Niro is concerned...

[Jon]

In terms of best performance, I'm always stuck between Godfather Part 2 and Taxi Driver. Raging Bull is up there too. And it isn't a well known film, but I thought he was incredible in The King Of Comedy, another Scorcese film that makes an interesting companion piece to Taxi Driver.

It will always be Godfather Part II, he and John Cazale are the only reason that film was a hit.

  You are a Master of the back-handed compliment! The Godfather Part II is bigger than any of the performances, but to shut out Pacino as you seem to be doing is absurd. Not to mention that it's the writing, cinematography and music that come together to create a masterpiece. It would have been a considerably lesser film without De Niro, but still superb.

Honestly, I'm not sure he has ever given a bad performance, but he has appeared in a lot of crap.

Cape Fear...way, way over the top. He ruined the film. I've always wondered what Robert Mitchum must have been thinking watching him. Mitchum could play menacing with very little effort or histrionics.

I always found Cape Fear too over the top in general, so I never marked him out in particular. The story goes that Scorcese inherited the film from Spielberg, a swap for Schindler's List, and I think you can still see the DNA of a more Hollywood thriller script, despite a great many changes, and I don't think Scorcese was particularly adept at handling a film intended for a blockbuster audience. I think he was actively pursuing the style to try and break a run of problems of his films causing controversy.

[Antares]

but to shut out Pacino as you seem to be doing is absurd.

Pacino was excellent in the first film, but in the second, his histrionics, which would become his stock and trade for the next three decades, comes to the forefront. The betrayal scene in particular. I find now, that I fast forward through all of his scenes, unless Cazale is in the scene. I've always wondered how Cazale would have played the betrayal scene if he had been given the role of Michael, which he should have gotten in the first place. I thought the screenplay for the young Vito portion was brilliant, and I've said on many occasions, that Coppola should have made the entire film about him. The Michael Corleone segment was pretty much a rehash of the first film, especially the finale.

[Eric]

I'm probably not objective since it was shot in Montreal but I think he was good in The Score too.  And seeing him playing with Brando in what turned out to be his last performance in a movie adds to the interest.

[Jimmy]

I'm probably not objective since it was shot in Montreal[...]

Le sens de l'humour was shot in part at Petit-Saguenay (my birthplace) and you won't never catch me watching this film