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Al Pacino is considered one of the greatest actors of all time. So, what exactly does Al Pacino do to deliver great acting performance after great acting performance? Does he completely immerse himself into the role of the character he is portraying? You bet he does. Does Al Pacino give a perfect delivery of the dialogue in each of his movies? Without a doubt. Pacino is one of the best actors I have ever seen at delivering believable dialogue.
Not surprisingly, Al Pacino has been nominated a staggering eight times to win an Oscar at the Academy Awards, but what is very surprising is he has only won the award just once for his amazing performance in “Scent of a Woman”. The fact that he studied under the tutelage of the superb acting coach Lee Strasburg is probably the reason for Al Pacino‘s finely tuned acting skills. Pacino has made himself into one of the most influential actors of our time. As proof of this, just listen to the speech he gave at the school in “Scent of a Woman”, which is possibly the most memorable monologue in film history. What makes Pacino an even better actor is, he is a consummate team player who has no problem sharing the top billing and accolades with far less talented actors as he did with Chris O’Donnell in “Scent of a Woman” and Kiano Reeves in “The Devil’s Advocate”. Here is a list of Al Pacino‘s 5 Best Movies.
The Godfather and The Godfather Part II (Michael Corleone)
My top two choices for the best 5 Al Pacino movies are first two films of The Godfather trilogy. They also happen to be the best original film and sequel ever made with Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back a distant second. Al Pacino’s perfect acting performance as Michael Corleone, a war hero turned mob boss is the main reason these movies were so successful. The development of Michael Corleone is without parallel when it comes to the flawless evolution of a peaceful, law abiding man into a ruthless killer. The Godfather’s Michael Corleone has been called the greatest character of all-time by a multitude of film critics and who can argue against it. Along with Pacino’s flawless performances in the two movies, The prominent performances by the entire cast including the great Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, and the rest was outstanding, but Al Pacino’s acting is what made The Godfather saga so great.
Scent of a Woman (Lt. Colonel Frank Slade)
Al Pacino’s believable portrayal of a blind, bitter and depressed ex-military officer was so good that even my thirteen year old grandson who won‘t watch anything unless it is crammed with eye-popping special effects watches Scent of a Woman when ever it is on cable TV, which is quite often. The fact that Scent of a Woman gave Al Pacino his very first Academy Award is justice and well earned. The fact that Scent of a Woman is Pacino’s only Oscar is a travesty. The anguish and internal pain that made Lt. Colonel Frank Slade want to kill himself felt real in the hotel scene where he is struggling with Chris O’Donnell’s character and Pacino say’s “I’m in the dark here, I’m in the dark!” But, it was his climatic monologue at the school that gave me the chills and probably won him his first and long overdue Oscar for Best Actor. This film is easily one of Al Pacino’s best movies. Hoo-ah!
Serpico (Frank Serpico)
As crime dramas go, there are very few which can stand up to Al Pacino‘s portrayal of real life New York City cop Frank Serpico. It was a very young Al Pacino who gave such a wonderful performance as an honest policeman who found himself in a police force full of corruption. His only crime is he wanted to make detective while remaining honest but they wouldn‘t let him. Al Pacino’s marvelous acting had me rooting for Serpico all of the way as he is helplessly used as a pawn to change a corrupt system that only a few want to change. Only after Serpico is set up by his fellow police officers and shot point blank in the face is he given the detectives gold shield he so desperately longed for. Al Pacino’s brilliant acting is the sole reason this film was such a box office success and the reason it is one of Al Pacino’s best movies.
Dog Day Afternoon (Sonny Wortzik)
When Al Pacino portrayed the gay bank robber, Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon, it was at a time when gay bashing was excepted, but Pacino did such a wonderful acting job, a great many of those “gay haters” actually found themselves sympathizing with Pacino’s gay character. In Dog Day Afternoon Al Pacino plays Sonny Wortzik who robs a bank in order to get his partner money for a sex change operation. His portrayal of the former Vietnam veteran turned bank robber transcended the periods opinions on gay rights and turned our attention to humanity and right and wrong. Dog Day Afternoon was yet another winning performance by Pacino that was wrongly given to another actor. I felt like screaming “Attica! Attica!” when they denied Pacino the Oscar yet again. I put Dog Day Afternoon among Al Pacino’s best movies of all time because of the awesome acting job he did with such a sensitive subject.
There are several other of his movies that belong here as well but, alas, I could only put 5 so here are a few of Al Pacino’s best movies of all time that I would like to give an Honorable Mention to:
Scarface (Tony Montana)
And Justice For All (Arthur Kirkland)
The Devil’s Advocate (John Milton)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Neil Gerstein is an expert author who writes about multiple topics. You can read some of his articles here:
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