It goes without saying that Al Pacino is one of the best film actors to come along in the last half century. With every role he throws himself into the character. From sad-eyed, heroin addict Bobby in The Panic In Needle Park (which helped catapult him to stardom in his next film, The Godfather), to hard-lined, vengeful Tony Montana in Scarface (yes, I had to go there), he compels the viewer to sympathize with him and ultimately, root for him. He's always up against something-- there's always a struggle (existential or external)-- amidst a backdrop of the human condition: famiglia, drugs, identity, love, what matters.
My favorites (in somewhat chronological order):
The Panic in Needle Park (1971, breakout role)
Pacino's first role was Bobby, a young drug dealer living at 72nd and Broadway in New York. That intersection, officially called Sherman Square, was known colloquially as 'Needle Park', where all the drug addicts congregated. Bobby meets a young girl named Helen, who dated a fellow user before they got together. He exposes her to the drug world, which to her was fascinating, and for him was just a way of life. He rises to the level of drug king, meanwhile Helen sinks into a seedy underworld, using, abusing, hooking and being an accomplice to Bobby's illegal ways. Although Bobby harbors genuine feelings and intentions for Helen, his character is inherently flawed and so addicted that he can't help but fall into one trap after the next. Pacino plays it so well it's hard to hate him. Quite the opposite, he evokes sympathy and we fall for him like Helen does.
The Godfather (1972, dir. by Francis Ford Coppola, Oscar nom)
The Godfather: Part II (1975, dir. by Francis Ford Coppola, Oscar nom)
Michael Corleone was his plum role. He starts off as a kind-hearted ex-Military man who shuns the family 'business', date Diane Keaton and lives in New York. When the attempted hit comes on his father (played by Marlon Brando), his character starts to turn. He becomes the ruthless, vindictive, hard-core Pacino that we really love. Although his trademark loud outbursts have yet to originate here, this role starts him on a trajectory that is nothing short of stellar. A role of a lifetime.
Favorite quotes: "It's nothing personal, Sonny. It's strictly business."
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."
Serpico (1973, dir. by Sidney Lumet, Oscar nom)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975, dir. by Sidney Lumet, Oscar nom)
In this Sidney Lumet film, based on the true story of a robbery that happened in Brooklyn in 1973, Pacino plays Sonny, a lovesick anti-hero that attempts to rob a bank to secure cash for his boyfriend to have a sex change. (That part isn't even revealed until later, when Chris Sarandon, who plays his 'wife', comes into the film in a ridiculously amazing supporting role.) He's low-key, subtle, and sensitive when dealing with the hostages in the bank. But when interacting with the cops, and soon after the FBI, he starts his trademark outbursts: "Attica! Attica! Attica!" he yells, referencing the Attica jail riots where the cops tried to suppress the inmates and all hell broke loose. The scenes have a heavy backdrop of 1970s liberal anti-establishment sentiment, which resonates even today. A great piece of history cemented in film: it captures a single day, a single moment, a single story. Beautiful.
**I'm not putting Scarface in here, I think its glorification undermines his other performances (feel free to disagree)***
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, dir. by James Foley, Oscar nom)
Scent Of A Woman (1993, dir. by Martin Brest, Oscar win)
"Hoo-Ah!" This movie was interesting. I like the theme of innocent schoolboy vs. curmudgeonly old cynic, but the score, in my opinion, is too sentimental and weepy. The movie is great for one reason only: Pacino. His tone and cadence is what sets him apart. Chris O'Donnell holds his own, but Lt. Col. Frank Slade runs it. Not only playing a blind man, he plays a cynical, jaded, retired colonel with a penchant for women, cigars, "John Daniels" on the rocks, and .45's. It's very, very, different from Dog Day Afternoon or Serpico (or any of his 1970s films), where there were strong political and social undertones. The reason why he won an Oscar was because it was a simple movie, with few characters, and even fewer layers. It's all about him.
Favorite quote: "When in doubt, fuck."
Carlito's Way (1993, dir. by Brian De Palma)
Pacino stars as Carlito Brigante in a second installment of Brian De Palma-does-Latino drug lords-movie. I thought this was an excellent, sharp film, with an amazing(!) Sean Penn playing Carlito's lawyer, David Kleinfeld. Pacino does it right, with those verbal inflections he's been known for the last 2 decades (where was that in the 70s? Did he pick it up after Scent of A Woman?). The movie is very slick, and he plays the drug-cartel-leader-gone-soft version of Tony Montana in New York, complete with voiceovers and narratives about how he's overcome his issues and is trying to run it straight. Rest assured that mindset gets derailed over the course of the 2.5 run time. Slick!
Favorite quote: "You think you're big time? You gonna fucking die-big time."
Heat (1995, dir. by Michael Mann)
Overall, Heat is a thrilling spectacle. Michael Mann does a great job of putting the incendiary dialogue and heart-pounding action into this film, with guns blowing off left and right, and murder, intrigue, and existential themes coating the lacquered surface of what appears to be any other 1990s action/drug/cop movie. Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro play two sides of the same coin, cop vs. thief, where the lines of good and evil start to blur. A great take on the duality of human nature, it plays with our perceptions of those who commit crimes and those who attempt to fight them. With twentieth century L.A. serving as the stage, portrayed as an isolating, overgrown, American city, it has its own identity crisis. Pacino is great (DeNiro also), but my heart is really with Michael Mann here, since he wrote and directed it. At almost 3 hours long, this movie is worth it.
Favorite quote: "Bon voyage, Motherfucker!"
I must also add his performance in the HBO miniseries 'Angels In America' (dir. by Mike Nichols) was phenomenal. He played Roy Cohn, a gay Jewish lawyer living with HIV in 1980s New York. Spectacular.
Scene from Dog Day Afternoon is below:
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