De Niro vs. Pacino P&C

In honor of the new film The Righteous Kill, I thought it would be fitting to look at two of America’s most influential actors. While most people may be more concerned with the Kanye West arrest at LAX yesterday morning, the fans of true entertainment will be more concerned with the opening of this movie. So now is the time to look at the storied careers of two famous actors.

Robert De Niro
Highest IMDB ranking: #15 Goodfellas (1990)
Number of IMDB Acting Creditis: 77
Academy Awards: 2 (Best Actor in a Leading Role for: Raging Bull (1980)) & (Best Actor in a Supporting Role for: The Godfather: Part II (1974))

Al Pacino
Highest IMDB ranking: #2 The Godfather (1972)
Number of IMDB Acting Creditis: 45
Academy Awards: 1 (Best Actor in a Leading Role for: Scent of a Woman (1992))

But what fun would this be if only their praises were sung? There has to be low points in each of their careers…. Right? Correct! Here is where the fun begins.

Robert De Niro
Childhood Nickname: Bobby Milk (As manly as it gets right?)
Role to Forget: Det. Mitch Preston (Showtime (2002)) (Nominated for a Razzie)He starred in a buddy cop film with Eddie Murphy (On Murphy’s Decline).

It was about a reality TV show, wow. Sometimes even the brightest stars have a lapse of judgment and star with Eddie. At least he hasn’t been typecast…. Oh, wait for it… he did. Either a Detective/ Agent of some type, or a head of an organized crime group.

Al Pacino
Real Name: Alfredo (Like the pasta dish)
Role to Forget: Some guy in Gigli (Nominated for a Razzie)

Good Lord, I’d forgotten he was in Gigli. Gigli is widely considered the worst movie ever. The Godfather is widely considered the best movie ever. I guess he is the bookends of the cinematic world. He is also considered slightly crazy in some of his roles. Hoooah!

The two of them have also been in 3 movies together now; The Godfather Part II (1974), Heat (1995), and The Righteous Kill (2008). The first two were in my opinion great movies and should be considered two of the best of all time. They are #4 and #141 on IMDB’s top 250 list respectively. In my opinion Heat should be ranked significantly higher on the list. Maybe Val Kilmer’s presence in the movie brought it down. As the facts show, when you put these two actors together, greatness usually follows like a FBI tail.