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Al Pacino is undoubtedly one of the finest actors produced by Hollywood. His range and talent are unmatched, and his charisma and charm are unparalleled to this day. He has the talent to play a calm and collected guy in one film and an exploding maniac in another, and both will be released in the same year.
His career has spanned over 50 years, and in those years, he has played them all: A mob boss, a lawyer, a devil (literally), and a cop. One thing that has been common in all of them is that they are loud as hell.
Disclaimer: The ranking is subjective.
15 best Al Pacino performances ranked worst to best
It was hard to comb through Pacino's illustrious career and find only 15 of his best and worst performances, but as the great Audrey Hepburn once said, nothing is impossible. So here are the 15 most chaotic, electric, dramatic, and funniest performances by the legend himself. So, without further ado, say hello to my little list.
15. Jack and Jill
There are some movies that actors do for passion, and then there are movies like Jack and Jill that are done to keep the kitchen running. This is not a critique of the movie. This is exactly what Pacino said. The only reason he did the critically panned movie was because his accountant was in prison and he needed the money.
14. Ocean's Thirteen
In the final film of the Ocean's series, Al Pacino walks in as the ruthless Vegas tycoon, Willy Banks, who bamboozles Reuben Tishkoff out of his stake in his casino, which tosses him straight onto a hospital bed. So Danny plans revenge, and that's the whole story. The story has little depth, but Soderbergh's direction and Pacino's cooler-than-a-martini acting make it a joyride.
13. The Godfather: Part III
The Godfather: Part III might not be on many people's favourite list, but it is on this one. No matter how the movie turned out, Pacino played his part perfectly. Watching an ageing mob boss trying to redeem himself and realize his past will never let him forget the monster he has become is chilling and heartbreaking to watch.
12. ...And Justice For All
It is a film that gave fans the famous line "You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order!" and also brought Pacino his second Oscar nod. He played a young lawyer forced to defend a guilty judge and unable to help innocent clients due to technicalities.
11. Carlito's Way
If Pacino's dialogue "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in" can be used in any of his movies, it is this one. He plays Carlito Brigante, a former convict, who wants to get out of the crime business and lead a normal life. But his old contacts go, "No way, Jose." It was directed by Brian De Palma, the same guy who directed Scarface.
Carlito's character was like a sophisticated version of Tony Montana, and Pacino played him charmingly enough for you to root for his success right till the end.
10. Insomnia
Insomnia movie or the actual sleep disorder have one thing in common: they won't let you sleep. Watching Al Pacino trying his best to solve a murder and sleep while losing marginally at both tasks is hard to watch. You will need a stress ball if you are planning to watch this movie.
9. The Insider
In this thriller, Al Pacino reunited with his Heat director, but instead of chasing banks, he is seen chasing the truth. In the movie, he decides to wage a war against cigarettes, which might upset Tony Montana. He plays Lowell Bergman, a 60 Minutes producer who fights with the CBS network to get Jeffery Wigand (Russell Crowe) an interview to reveal Big Tobacco's secret ingredient, evil.
Al Pacino played his part with perfection, as always. And the movie had more smoke than any Chainsmokers' lungs.
8. Heat
Heat will always remain a special film for all De Niro and Pacino fans because it was the first time the two titans finally shared a screen. Al Pacino played Lt. Vincent Hanna, an unstable detective always high on caffeine. Whereas, Robert De Niro played a cool and charming thief. The movie could have easily been titled A Song of Fire and Ice.
7. The Irishman
At an age when many senior actors decide to hang up their shoes, Al Pacino is a force that keeps on going. At 79 years of age, which is way past the retirement age in any profession, he managed to do something that even the young actors fail to do, i.e., deliver an impeccable performance as a Teamster with alleged connections to organized crime.
You are bound to give an exceptional performance when you have been playing the role since your 20s. At this point, mobster roles have become Pacino. In The Irishman, he plays Jimmy Hoffa, a union boss who loves eating ice cream and yelling at people. The role got him an Oscar nod.
6. Scent of a Woman
Only one word can justify how fans feel about this movie: "Hoo-ah!" Also, since the movie's release, this word has been used at least 50 million times. Al Pacino's blind ex-soldier Frank Slade is a cantankerous, whiskey-swilling, and unbothered man who teaches Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell) how to live life. The role got Pacino his first Oscar win and the adoration of millions of fans.
5. Serpico
Nothing is hotter than Al Pacino in a beard. And Serpico is bearded Pacino at his best. In this drama, he plays Frank Serpico, a real-life whistleblower cop who worked tirelessly to expose police corruption in the NYPD and the eventual establishment of the Knapp Commission.
Frank Serpico refused to play along and become a part of the corrupt system, and watching Pacino bring that to life on screen is like watching someone clear the ocean alone. It's righteous, entertaining, and utterly nail-biting.
4. Dog Day Afternoon
Al Pacino is talented at making a real-life bank robbery look like a Shakespearean epic. In Dog Day Afternoon, he plays Sonny Wortzik, a desperate man who attempts to rob a bank to pay for his lover's surgery. But things don't go as planned. His angry yet tender demeanor throughout the movie, coupled with his bromance with actor John Cazale, proved to be the heart of the film.
Whether it was his heartbreaking journey or his "Attica! Attica!" screams, it became an anthem for rebellion, and a great example of how a well-planned idea can become a disaster in minutes.
3. The Godfather: Part I
The Godfather Part I is not a movie; it's an institution, and every character in the film is a teacher in themself. From Vito Corleone to Fredo Corleone, every character is well-crafted and visually pleasing. Michael Corleone's gradual transformation from a sweet war hero who wanted to have a respectable career and spend his life with the love of his life, to a stone-cold mafia boss, was executed seamlessly.
It was so smooth that viewers watching it for the first time almost wouldn't notice it happened. That's obviously until he orders a rain of hits at his nephew's christening without breaking a sweat. Every dialogue and every expression is delivered perfectly.
2. Scarface
There are two types of Gangsters, the quiet ones like Michael Corleone and the loud ones like Tony Montana. Luckily for fans, Al Pacino has played both and done a splendid job at it. Playing two completely different characters shows the extent of Pacino's range and talent.
Pacino's Tony Montana is if Michael Corleone were born in Florida and was on bath salts. The guy snorts drugs by the snowdrift, owns a tiger for fun, and always comes up with the best one-liners. It's safe to say no one portrays the American dream gone wrong on screen better than Al Pacino.
1. The Godfather: Part II
Whenever Al Pacino is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is his performance as the ruthless mobster Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II. Part I, Michael was a heartthrob, and in Part II, Michael was chilling. Pacino's cold descent into becoming a sociopathic mobster is a masterclass in minimalism.
He doesn't shout to assert dominance or rage to assert control. He simply iced over, which is naturally scarier than any hooligan with a machine gun. His empty stare in the last scene could easily freeze hell itself. So, that's why it deserves the top spot.
There is only one Al Pacino, and there will never be another again. Whether he is staying collected while planning a hit or solving a cold case, he will give his 200%. His performances, no matter how eccentric, are nothing short of brilliance.
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In the words of his The Irishman director, Martin Scorsese, his performances are "Absolute Cinema."
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