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Post by Allenism on Sept 5, 2019 17:07:06 GMT
Two American greats. Who do you prefer?
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Post by Archie on Sept 5, 2019 17:11:19 GMT
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Post by TerryMontana on Sept 5, 2019 17:17:17 GMT
There were limited comparisons between them in their early years. And not just because of their height. I vote for Pacino (obviously) but I  l-o-v-e Dusty!!! In my top-5 favorite actors of all time. |
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Post by pacinoyes on Sept 5, 2019 17:54:56 GMT
They really are two American greats and from 1967-1988, while I give it to Al, it's a helluva battle on film (Pacino slightly edges him imo on stage because he does it more but also close). But after that Hoffman to me has the steepest drop-off of any great actor ever in American film. Hoffman will always belong to the elite class because his 67-88 was genius level work but I always give this example: Some of Pacino's most acclaimed later work - post 1999 - is playing (mostly Jewish) characters that Hoffman would have been better suited for on paper at least - The Insider, Merchant of Venice, Angels in America, Phil Spector, YDK Jack - almost all for directors he had a connection to previously. It is insane bad luck what happened to him and even kind of cruel that he got NONE of those roles while Pacino got all of them.  |
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Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Sept 5, 2019 19:03:54 GMT
Hoffman for me. Pacino had some amazing highs between '71 and '75 but he also petered out towards the end of the decade and then was in Scarface.  In terms of quality (especially in the 70s) Pacino is virtually unmatched even by Hoffman (though it was damn close in '74), but the main difference is that when I don't like Pacino, I really don't like him. And just as Nicholson tended to do so often, a lot of Pacino's roles in the 80s and 90s seemed to find him just playing larger-than-life versions of himself, and that kind of bombast got really wearisome when there wasn't a good script backing him up (which is why The Insider and Glengarry are exempt, even if they are practically the same performance). I don't think I've ever disliked a Hoffman performance. They all exist on a range of like (Kramer, Little Big Man) to really like (Straw Dogs, Marathon Man, All the President's Men, Straight Time, Rain Man, Wag the Dog) to love (Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, Tootise) and I can't say that for Pacino, even though his highs have been higher. |
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Post by countjohn on Sept 5, 2019 21:30:36 GMT
Pacino.
Hoffman does get kind of looked over in these discussions sometimes because the big three from that era (Pacino/De Niro/Jack) are so great and tower over him in terms of charisma. In other generations he'd be considered the best.
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Post by stephen on Sept 5, 2019 21:37:55 GMT
Pacino. In all honesty, aside from maybe half-a-dozen performances (one of which is a Simpsons guest-spot), I don't much care for Dustin Hoffman and find him staggeringly overrated.
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Post by hugobolso on Sept 13, 2019 18:56:11 GMT
Pacino has much more film presence. Also a much better voice, and more histrionic.
I don't know if he is a better actor, but he is much more elegant.-
Hoffman was more proletary, more kind, multificetic, but I still remember him from Meet the Fockers.
So clearly Alfonso James.-
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l-o-v-e 
