Now, before all of you start jumping up and down on your horses, I am not talking about the acting chops of the stars in today's business. What I am talking about is the fabled rivalry between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, two of the greatest actors the industry has ever seen.
Let me start from the beginning. They both started their careers in the 70s, rose to fame, both were Italian Americans, comparisons were always going to be there and they were. They made only one movie together in the 70s and in that movie they didn't even share the screen. And unless you don't know jack about movies, you know that I am talking about The Godfather Part II. Then came the 80s, they kept rising. Then, the 90s. During the first half of 90s, both of these actors made some cinematic gems, movies that have become iconic, roles that have received unparalled acclaim (unless somebody is in doubt I am talking about movies like Goodfellas, Scent of a Woman, Glengary Glen Ross, Cape Fear).
Then, in 1995 came a little movie by the name of Heat. All the trailers boasted of the great legacy of these two maestros of the craft, how they have over the years changed how we look at acing, possibly forever. They have inspired a generation of wanna be movie stars to actual movie stars. Their dialogues have become legendary, their legend has become fact. In Heat, they finally shared screen and that only for one scene. Suffice it to say that it has become one of the greatest scenes in the history of cinema, without a doubt.
Then their careers declined, sadly, in the early noughties. They started thinking about paychecks, probably or whatever it was. They lost the killer punch. Although ruminants of their old greatness surfaced from time to time (Insomnia, The Good Shepherd, You Don't Know Jack, Everybody's Fine) they never reached the legend they had built. But it was okay, nothing could demolish or tarnish their legacy. They remain, to this day, the staple of acting in today's industry.
Now, to my real topic. No matter how much Pacino and De Niro denied that they had rivalry, it remains a fact that they were compared by the fans. There was a great deal of excitement in seeing them together and the fans waited for it for almost three decades. They have been compared throughout their lives. It is impossible to mention the one and not talk about the other. Although they reteamed for another feature in 2008, the less talked about it, the better.
My real question is: do we have such a fairy tale rivalry in our time? Do we really yearn to see two actors on screen as badly as the fans wanted Pacino and De Niro? Do we really think that today's best actors have what they had in their peak? We live in an era of franchises, the super stars are almost obsolete. Mind numbing visual effects (you can't even get what the hell is going on in Transformers movies!!), cheesy action flicks (sorry Jason Statham fans), lame rom coms (Jennifer Aniston, for you) and stupid comic book adaptations (and yes, I am including The Dark Knight in it, although I am head over heels in love with it).
So, what do you guys think, do we have that thing? A rivalry(if there was one, but it doesn't matter because the fans made one) as fierce as Pacino and De Niro? If so, then between whom?
Let me start from the beginning. They both started their careers in the 70s, rose to fame, both were Italian Americans, comparisons were always going to be there and they were. They made only one movie together in the 70s and in that movie they didn't even share the screen. And unless you don't know jack about movies, you know that I am talking about The Godfather Part II. Then came the 80s, they kept rising. Then, the 90s. During the first half of 90s, both of these actors made some cinematic gems, movies that have become iconic, roles that have received unparalled acclaim (unless somebody is in doubt I am talking about movies like Goodfellas, Scent of a Woman, Glengary Glen Ross, Cape Fear).
Then, in 1995 came a little movie by the name of Heat. All the trailers boasted of the great legacy of these two maestros of the craft, how they have over the years changed how we look at acing, possibly forever. They have inspired a generation of wanna be movie stars to actual movie stars. Their dialogues have become legendary, their legend has become fact. In Heat, they finally shared screen and that only for one scene. Suffice it to say that it has become one of the greatest scenes in the history of cinema, without a doubt.
Then their careers declined, sadly, in the early noughties. They started thinking about paychecks, probably or whatever it was. They lost the killer punch. Although ruminants of their old greatness surfaced from time to time (Insomnia, The Good Shepherd, You Don't Know Jack, Everybody's Fine) they never reached the legend they had built. But it was okay, nothing could demolish or tarnish their legacy. They remain, to this day, the staple of acting in today's industry.
Now, to my real topic. No matter how much Pacino and De Niro denied that they had rivalry, it remains a fact that they were compared by the fans. There was a great deal of excitement in seeing them together and the fans waited for it for almost three decades. They have been compared throughout their lives. It is impossible to mention the one and not talk about the other. Although they reteamed for another feature in 2008, the less talked about it, the better.
My real question is: do we have such a fairy tale rivalry in our time? Do we really yearn to see two actors on screen as badly as the fans wanted Pacino and De Niro? Do we really think that today's best actors have what they had in their peak? We live in an era of franchises, the super stars are almost obsolete. Mind numbing visual effects (you can't even get what the hell is going on in Transformers movies!!), cheesy action flicks (sorry Jason Statham fans), lame rom coms (Jennifer Aniston, for you) and stupid comic book adaptations (and yes, I am including The Dark Knight in it, although I am head over heels in love with it).
So, what do you guys think, do we have that thing? A rivalry(if there was one, but it doesn't matter because the fans made one) as fierce as Pacino and De Niro? If so, then between whom?
