|
Post by wallsofjericho on Apr 10, 2020 13:25:45 GMT
With Brian De Palma, Al Pacino found a filmmaker more like himself than any other - complicated, idiosyncratic, and not for all tastes. De Palma found an actor who he could film while in motion the way he visually saw movies anyway - in both their films together he shoots Pacino like he never shot another actor - like a prowling cat - always active, dangerous or in danger. Carlito's Way (1993) evokes older movies much more than their actual remake of an old movie (Scarface) did - and it has Pacino at his most Bogart too - right down to the old style narration and iconography. Today's recommended film: Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way (1993):The last 20 minutes of that movie always has me on the edge of my seat no matter how many times I've seen it. Always preferred it to Scarface.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 11, 2020 9:32:13 GMT
He did a lot of theater but also a lot of theater on film so let's celebrate his birthday month - THIS is the best thread ever! - probably in the way that would make him most happy.
Today's movie - Looking For Richard (1996) - part documentary, part performance of Richard III and with one of my favorite line readings (below) suggesting he would have made a great Joker at one time too. Hmmmmmmm:
|
|
|
Post by Viced on Apr 12, 2020 4:57:48 GMT
I didn't come off no banana boat.5. Scarface (1983)For as long as I've been discussing movies on the internet with strangers, snobs have always gone out of their way to trash Scarface (and sometimes Pacino's performance) while praising Carlito's Way. Of course it's inevitable that they're going to be compared... but the unnecessary snobbery has always pissed me off since they're both great. Both flawed too... but more importantly, very different. Scarface definitely has some iffy moments... the goofy stuff with Tony seeing red when his sister is with a guy is a low point of De Palma's career. I wish the whole sister character was cut outside of her first scene with the mother (then just have Manny go wit-pro or something in the end, lol). But let's get back to that scene with the mother........ because it's Pacino's best scene in the movie. How quickly he goes from cocky and loving to defeated... but not really defeated. And before Tony becomes a kingpin, he might be the funniest character Pacino's ever played. And for a performance known for "say hello to my leel fren," Al's really only OTT for like 10% of the movie at the most. Not one of his finest performances, but still great work and another great character transformation (nuts to batshit... lol).
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 12, 2020 10:40:57 GMT
5. Scarface (1983)Not one of his finest performances, but still great work and another great character transformation (nuts to batshit... lol). I usually rank it in the top 15 range and it's really great - it's just that he goes so deep with those great performance totals over so many years that some more recent things have over taken it for me. This has a lot of "firsts" for him though, the biggest being is that there had never been a fictional character remotely like that in American film prior - the film is insanely current and reflecting of a culture most didn't know or want to know about. For him: A convincing change in ethnicity for the first time - which immediately separated him from all the great 60s/70s actors........convincing (or not) go for broke accent work where before he'd only done slight voice modulations......huge performance but very specific too showing that full spectrum range of acting styles which is usually found only in non-US actors especially in 1983 (Mastroianni, Finney, Depardieu etc.)........very much "his own creation" not the role on the page........and also the first time he had ever used his body or body language as overtly in his acting (very De Niro-ish). It's also where his legend started in a whole new way now - in the sense that the actor is now more important than the part - no actor gets reassessed and reconsidered more than Pacino and while it started a little before (Cruising) it is defined here - where you didn't know what to make of it or the actor maybe. Some of my favorite touches are clicking the pipe over his head when buying the car to get Pfeiffer's attention/flirt, and the way he winks at the special agent while being dragged out of the room in the opening scene. This is one of the great "introduction" of a character scenes of all-time - and De Palma's camera is just amazing all swooping, penetrating, obscuring, revealing. The actor and the director have just a thrilling level of collaboration in their movies - totally on the same page and connected.
|
|
|
Post by Viced on Apr 12, 2020 14:34:59 GMT
A convincing change in ethnicity for the first time - which immediately separated him from all the great 60s/70s actors........convincing (or not) go for broke accent work where before he'd only done slight voice modulations......huge performance but very specific too showing that full spectrum range of acting styles which is usually found only in non-US actors especially in 1983 (Mastroianni, Finney, Depardieu etc.)........very much "his own creation" not the role on the page........and also the first time he had ever used his body or body language as overtly in his acting (very De Niro-ish). Damn right, mang. And is there another actor whose top two most iconic performances (Michael Corleone/Tony Montana) are both similar and 99% different? Army/Military veterans becoming powerful crime figures in decade-defining crime epics... but 0% similarities when it comes to the actual character or performance.
|
|
|
Post by Sharbs on Apr 12, 2020 15:25:48 GMT
double featured Sea of Love and Two for the Money the other night, both were first time watches. Sea of Love is a pretty solid twisty detective story held together by a great Pacino performance full with his trademark rage howling and snarky comebacks, especially in the opening scene. And since this is Alpreciation month, I'll hold off saying too much about his performance in Two for the Money. It's not bad, but pretty handily the worst thing I've seen from him.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 12, 2020 15:35:46 GMT
Following up on Sharbs post that is actually my recommendation for today too (we'll run out of month before I run out of stuff!). So let's talk about SEX ba-by......let's talk about......... safe sex......or maybe other actors just playing it "safe". What American male film star ever played gay/bisexual characters more times (or in a more complex way) than Al Pacino? Who's even close to him? How many actors don't even address sexuality anyway - gay or straight - in their character creation? Rarely is sexuality something actors act - not sex appeal - but sexuality in their characters as a part of them overall. Today's recommended movie ........ he was bringing sexyback.......and her too: Sea of Love (1989) -
|
|
|
Post by therealcomicman117 on Apr 12, 2020 15:50:26 GMT
Following up on Sharbs post that is actually my recommendation for today too (we'll run out of month before I run out of stuff!). So let's talk about SEX ba-by......let's talk about......... safe sex......or maybe other actors just playing it "safe". What American male film star ever played gay/bisexual characters more times (or in a more complex way) than Al Pacino? Who's even close to him? How many actors don't even address sexuality anyway - gay or straight - in their character creation? Rarely is sexuality something actors act - not sex appeal - but sexuality in their characters as a part of them overall. Today's recommended movie ........ he was bringing sexyback.......and her too: Sea of Love (1989) - Solid thriller too, possibly the most provocative and straight forward one Pacino ever starred in. Easy to forget now, but its success was an important stepping stone in him rejuvenating his film career at the time.
|
|
|
Post by cheesecake on Apr 12, 2020 19:24:47 GMT
I'm taking some time to finally catch up on the Pacinos I've missed. The next few I don't have high expectations for, but I'd always wanted to see Bobby Deerfield and it now leaves me with just one more Pollack to seek out. This one was rather lackluster, but the acting is good. Nice chemistry between Pacino and Keller and by the end it earned the melancholy. The scenery was also beautiful and brought back memories of my European holiday last summer. Pacino was also suuuuuuper good looking here and I loved his Mae West impression.
2½/5
|
|
|
Post by cheesecake on Apr 12, 2020 20:38:26 GMT
Hangman was next. Felt straight out of 1998. Pacino’s accent was a blast. Clunky, illogical and real dumb. The Snowman of 2017. Oh wait. 1/5
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 12, 2020 20:59:33 GMT
Hangman was next. Felt straight out of 1998. Pacino’s accent was a blast. [laugh] Clunky, illogical and real dumb. The Snowman of 2017. Oh wait. 1/5 Worst movie he was ever in and ..............he was in 88 Minutes and Misconduct.
|
|
|
Post by cheesecake on Apr 12, 2020 22:06:17 GMT
Hangman was next. Felt straight out of 1998. Pacino’s accent was a blast. [laugh] Clunky, illogical and real dumb. The Snowman of 2017. Oh wait. 1/5 Worst movie he was ever in and ..............he was in 88 Minutes and Misconduct. I can get behind that, though Misconduct is on my Pacino watchlist...
|
|
|
Post by TerryMontana on Apr 13, 2020 6:36:52 GMT
Misconduct is an awful movie with Pacino and Hopkins. So it's not the worst he's ever been in...
I'd say Hangman is the one.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 13, 2020 9:51:27 GMT
How many actors get parts actually written for them? Well not many - but Pacino has somehow had at least 3 or 4 film parts and a Broadway play written for him in just the last ~7 years. Today's recommendation is one of those - or at least was written with him in mind: Danny Collins (2015) - With a strong cast in able support, Pacino got yet another Golden Globe nomination (Best Actor in A Comedy) and a role that was both a change of pace and a comfortable fit too.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 14, 2020 11:34:33 GMT
Only Tom Hanks, Willem Dafoe and Gary Oldman have played real life characters comparably to the amount and success of Al Pacino. Today's recommended movie: one of those 9 (!) real life portrayals - among his very best work - funny and heartbreaking, another of his beautiful losers: Donnie Brasco (1997):
|
|
|
Post by cheesecake on Apr 15, 2020 3:35:57 GMT
I watched Me, Natalie (1969) and it turns out Al Pacino is only in this for a one-minute scene in which he dances with lead Patty Duke. He asks her if she puts out and when she doesn’t give him a satisfactory answer, he leaves in a huff and dances with the next nearest woman. Solid coming-of-age story though, and Duke won a Globe for it against seven other women(!).
|
|
|
Post by TerryMontana on Apr 15, 2020 9:27:20 GMT
Rewatched the Panic in Needle Park yesterday, after 10-15 years. Some scenes were shocking, Pacino shined in his first leading role but Kitty Winn was the real tour de force here. It's a shame she didn't get more juicy parts and retired early. She could have had a great career.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 15, 2020 10:26:53 GMT
Rewatched the Panic in Needle Park yesterday, after 10-15 years. Some scenes were shocking, Pacino shined in his first leading role but Kitty Winn was the real tour de force here. It's a shame she didn't get more juicy parts and retired early. She could have had a great career.A lot of people feel this way about Winn.........and I really never understood it tbh. To me it's like people who say Vicky Krieps is the best performance in Phantom Thread (A LOT of people say that about Krieps too). Don't get me wrong, I love Phantom Thread (my #2 of that year) and Krieps too (and Winn too) ............ but those female performances are based entirely on the far better male performances that are coming at them. Opposite lesser performances..........they'd seem lesser (and they already seem lesser imo). Winn won at Cannes so maybe that's part of it but every time I watch Panic in Needle Park she looks like she's just acting the script and what's opposite her is a something quite different and complex and kinetic. I'm not sure what a great career Kitty Winn would have had tbh ..............but it is definitely one of the great "what ifs" in the modern movies that's for sure.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 15, 2020 12:33:01 GMT
Today, April 15th, 1977 - The Basic Training Of Pavlo Hummel starts on Broadway - his 2nd Tony award.
This is the absolute peak of his 1970s legend in the making. Another Tony award and 6 indisputably great film performances in a row ........after this he has to deal with failure and the ups and downs of a career (Bobby Deerfield is coming up!) but in mid-1977 he's just unfnckwithable here............ and just look at that hair:
|
|
|
Post by TerryMontana on Apr 15, 2020 13:38:12 GMT
Rewatched the Panic in Needle Park yesterday, after 10-15 years. Some scenes were shocking, Pacino shined in his first leading role but Kitty Winn was the real tour de force here. It's a shame she didn't get more juicy parts and retired early. She could have had a great career.A lot of people feel this way about Winn.........and I really never understood it tbh. To me it's like people who say Vicky Krieps is the best performance in Phantom Thread (A LOT of people say that about Krieps too). Don't get me wrong, I love Phantom Thread (my #2 of that year) and Krieps too (and Winn too) ............ but those female performances are based entirely on the far better male performances that are coming at them. Opposite lesser performances..........they'd seem lesser (and they already seem lesser imo). Winn won at Cannes so maybe that's part of it but every time I watch Panic in Needle Park she looks like she's just acting the script and what's opposite her is a something quite different and complex and kinetic. I'm not sure what a great career Kitty Winn would have had tbh ..............but it is definitely one of the great "what ifs" in the modern movies that's for sure. Pacino gave an energetic/kinetic performance but Winn's was a totally emotional performance. Of course we all know Al's acting now (although back then nobody knew) but almost no one knew Winn. So maybe that was why most people talk about her. She was unknown and remains unknown, most people have only seen her in Panic. Pacino, we already knew what he could do when we first saw this film and also what he had already done in his career after that. I hope my point is clear, my English is not great, sorry.
|
|
|
Post by Viced on Apr 16, 2020 3:35:54 GMT
Do you see a criminal? Do you see a murderer?6. You Don't Know Jack (2010)Can't believe that next week marks ten years since this aired... and more importantly, I can't believe that it aired and didn't get a theatrical release. Colin Firth in The King's Speech can kiss my ass. I'm in the middle of an Angels in America re-watch so I can't say what I want to say for sure... so I'll just say that You Don't Know Jack is at the very worst Pacino's second best performance of this century. The man has played many complex eccentrics brilliantly over the years... but they've usually not been the most intelligent guys (bad bank robber, bad drug dealer, drifter... etc.). Here he plays a brilliant (well I guess that's debatable...), very well known figure who seems to say everything that's on his mind... while still somehow being an enigma. Hilarious at times... heartbreaking at times... An underrated physical performance too, with a rock solid Michigan accent, and whoever cast this is a genius because Brenda Vaccaro (robbed of an Emmy), John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Danny Huston were all perfect scene partners for Al.
|
|
|
Post by Tommen_Saperstein on Apr 16, 2020 4:48:35 GMT
just popping in to reiterate that The Irishman is his best performance since the Glengarry Glen Ross and he shouldda won. He might never get the opportunity to be that great again.
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 16, 2020 6:29:31 GMT
Do you see a criminal? Do you see a murderer?6. You Don't Know Jack (2010)Can't believe that next week marks ten years since this aired... and more importantly, I can't believe that it aired and didn't get a theatrical release. Colin Firth in The King's Speech can kiss my ass. I'm in the middle of an Angels in America re-watch so I can't say what I want to say for sure... so I'll just say that You Don't Know Jack is at the very worst Pacino's second best performance of this century. The man has played many complex eccentrics brilliantly over the years... but they've usually not been the most intelligent guys (bad bank robber, bad drug dealer, drifter... etc.). Here he plays a brilliant (well I guess that's debatable...), very well known figure who seems to say everything that's on his mind... while still somehow being an enigma. Hilarious at times... heartbreaking at times... An underrated physical performance too, with a rock solid Michigan accent, and whoever cast this is a genius because Brenda Vaccaro (robbed of an Emmy), John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Danny Huston were all perfect scene partners for Al. It's his best performance of the decade to me - among the best of anyone - and his 2nd best of the century after AiA......... and what really knocks me out is how convincing he is as a Dr. there like you said - it's a meticulous performance ......he is particularly unbelievable in his "Crucible"/My name" jailhouse scene which is a career highlight reel moment for him.
|
|
|
Post by TerryMontana on Apr 16, 2020 10:21:58 GMT
he is particularly unbelievable in his "Crucible"/My name" jailhouse scene which is a career highlight reel moment for him. Best scene of the movie by miles!!!
|
|
|
Post by pacinoyes on Apr 16, 2020 16:07:44 GMT
Marlon Brando & Al Pacino -
GWAT (Greatest Wigs All Time), they have similar streaks, careers and some of the same attributes. One of those is that they were maybe the best "listening actors" ever - acting while they listened, then reacting in a way that's interesting, either verbally or in expression (as in the clip below).
Today's movie: ...And Justice For All (1979) - Oscar nomination #5 in the 1970s, a record he shares with Brando in the 1950s
|
|