The Best and Boldest Robert DeNiro Films
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Written by: Ryan McNally
With Meet The Parents and Men Of Honor positioned near the top of the video rental charts, Robert DeNiro is as powerful a figure as ever in the Hollywood scene. During the course of his 30-plus-year career, he has constantly pushed the acting envelope, portraying characters ranging from gangsters to psychopaths to a catatonic patient. Here are Film Frat's selections for the Top 10 DeNiro films of all-time (in alphabetical order). |
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| 1. |
Awakenings
DeNiro plays a hospital patient who "awakens" from a comatose-like condition when he's administered a revolutionary new drug treatment. His transformation from a catatonic state to a full-blooded person and back again is both touching and heartbreaking. Robin Williams plays his doctor and gives a subdued, equally compelling peformance. Directed by Penny Marshall.
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| 2. |
Brazil
Experimental director Terry Gilliam (The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys) helmed this bleak, futuristic science-fiction piece, which was one of the most talked-about films of the '80s. DeNiro delivers the goods in a top-notch supporting role as renegade air-conditioner repairman Harry Tuttle.
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| 3. |
A Bronx Tale
DeNiro made his directorial debut in this underrated film about a young man torn between loyalty to his working-class Dad and a local crime boss. Casting himself against type as the father, DeNiro turns in a stellar performance. Chazz Palimentari (The Usual Suspects), who plays the gangster, also wrote the film.
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| 4. |
The Deer Hunter
This unforgettable, Oscar-winning film follows the plight of three close friends (played by DeNiro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage) who travel to Vietnam to fight in the war together. Brilliant direction by Michael Cimino culminates in a shattering climactic scene between DeNiro and Walken. Co-stars Meryl Streep and John Cazale (Fredo in the Godfather films)
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| 5. |
The Godfather Part II
DeNiro's superb performance as the young Don Vito Corleone is a key reason why this film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Al Pacino, is the greatest sequel ever made. An astounding three actors (Lee Strasberg, Michael Gazzo and DeNiro) were nominated for Best Supporting Actor from this film alone, with DeNiro coming out the victor.
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| 6. |
Goodfellas
DeNiro returns to his gangster roots and teams with director Martin Scorsese for a seventh time (they've collaborated on a total of nine films) for this poetically brutal tale of tough guys in the suburbs. Co-stars Ray Liotta and Oscar winner Joe Pesci.
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| 7. |
Once Upon A Time In America
Directed by Sergio Leone, who helmed the memorable Clint Eastwood spaghetti western trilogy (see our Top 10 Eastwood list), this epic film follows two Jewish gangsters in New York, from the period of the early 1900s through prohibition, and climaxing in their subsequent reunion in the 1960s. DeNiro and James Woods play the lead roles.
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| 8. |
Raging Bull
Shot in breathtaking black-and-white, this superb film stars DeNiro as '40s-'50s middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. Widely regarded as Scorsese's masterpiece (the American Film Institute ranked it #24 in its 100 Greatest Films List), it won DeNiro a well-deserved Best Actor Academy Award.
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| 9. |
Taxi Driver
If you're only familiar with this film from limp "You talkin' to me" imitations, prepare to be blown away. This graphic, mesmerizing film, starring DeNiro as a taxi driver on the brink of explosion, marks another riveting collaboration with Scorsese. Co-stars Cybil Shepherd, Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction) and a young Jodie Foster as a teenage prostitute.
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| 10. |
The Untouchables
Federal agent Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) assembles a personal team of mob fighters to bring Chicago crime boss Al Capone (Robert DeNiro) to justice during the mob wars of the 1920s. Directed by Brian DePalma (Carrie, Blow Out) and co-starring Sean Connery and Andy Garcia.
Honorable Mention Analyze This (DeNiro in a rare comedic turn); Bang The Drum Slowly (a classic tearjerker starring DeNiro as a dying baseball player); Cape Fear (DeNiro plays a raging psychopath out for vengeance in an Oscar-nominated turn); Heat (Pacino and DeNiro finally come face-to-face); Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino directs an all-star cast including DeNiro, Samuel L. Jackson, and Pamela Grier); Mean Streets (Scorsese's classic directorial debut, starring DeNiro and Keitel). Comments on our selections? Drop us a line and tell us which selections you agreed with, and which films you think we missed. You can pick any of these up at Amazon.com. |
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