Robert De Niro at 70

doubledown

The great Robert De Niro turns 70 today (17th August). I have been a massive fan of his work ever since I saw Goodfellas in the Adelphi cinema on Abbey Street in 1990 and then bought a VHS of Taxi Driver in Golden Discs afterwards. Seeing those two films in one day had a great impact on me and I then proceeded to read all I could about the man and his method and get my hands on as many of his movies as I could (which was tough in those days - no Amazon, no Netflix and not much of a back catalogue of films available on VHS). I had to rely on a cousin of mine who was lucky enough to have Sky Movies Gold. I would keep an eye on the listings and give him a blank tape any time an early De Niro movie was on.

Okay, his output hasn't been the best for the last 15 years or so but does it matter? Has he tarnished his legacy by churning out comedy sequels and appearing in below-par action flicks and thrillers? Or will his early work continue to stand to him? He was undoubtedly the best actor working in the 70s and early 80s.

I find it very difficult to choose one role or film over another but The Deer Hunter is a standout for me. And needless to say the eight films he has made with Scorsese are terrific. Midnight Run showed he had great comedic ability long before Analyze This or Meet the Parents came along. And to appear in both Casino AND Heat in the same year (1995) is one hell of an achievement. Silver Linings Playbook showed that there is still life in the old dog yet. He's no slouch as a director either, as he proved with A Bronx Tale and The Good Shepherd.

So, what is your favourite De Niro film or role? Is there a particular moment that stands out for you? Is his best work behind him? And has anyone ever actually MET the man himself?

Below is a great photo my Dad took of De Niro in New York in the early nineties. He was shooting a film nearby (Night and the City, I believe) and a crew member called him over to a pay phone to take a call (no mobile phones around then). My Dad managed to get a quick snap before he was moved on...

krudler

I think he has tarnished his legacy somewhat, he's been phoning it in for years. But then you go back and watch Raging Bull or Goodfellas and remember what phenomenal actor he is/was. Heat was probably the last great film he made tbh.

SVG

What a cool photo doubledown!

I think he's done enough that it will be easy to forget about the recent dreck. He has been on a fairly terrible streak for the past while though (my sympathies to anyone else who's sat through Righteous Kill). He just seems to be on autopilot.

I did like him in Silver Linings Playbook- not the most demanding role but it was good to at least see him in a decent film. They seem to be few and far between for him these days. And I'm glad to see he's going to be in David O. Russell's next film too. It's a step up from the no-name directors he seems to favour lately.

That said, looking at his imdb I'm not too hopeful for any creative upswing with stuff like the upcoming Last Vegas which has the following description:

"three sixty-something friends take a break from their day-to-day lives to throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single pal":(

I really want to see that great old man performance from him but he seems comfortable and I kind of doubt he'll do anything challenging again. I hope I'm wrong though and perhaps we'll see that greatness in Grudge Match; a comedy where he's playing a boxer who comes out of retirement to fight his old rival, Sylvester Stallone.:P

krudler

Any excuse to post this, probably De Niro's coolest moment in film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QufdEIThuW8

pixelburp

I dunno, while no one can take away those great performances in the past, I look at DeNiro as a bit of a lost cause by now. While you can blame his agent for the garbage he's taking paycheques for, DeNiro still has to agree to them, so presumably he's happy to turn up on set, take the money & run.

It's odd because while it's not uncommon for actors to take 'multiplex' work in exchange for the freedom to do more meaningful, personal projects, De Niro seems content to just slum it the whole time & play to type; and it's not like he wouldn't be receiving offers for better work on a regular basis. I guess at 70 he feels he doesn't have to challenge himself anymore, which is a shame. That said, he hasn't truly hit the depths Al Pacino currently occupies

Honestly though? When I see DeNiro on the billing it has become something of a red flag to me; my immediate response is to think "hmmm ok, this can't be good", and unfortunately it tends to be true.

Pinkman

He's made a lot of crap in the past 15 years but I can't think of any major actor who has starred in as many classics as De Niro. He has more films in the IMDB top 250 than anyone and rightly so in my view. His classics in my opinion are Mean Streets, Godfather Part 2, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, The King Of Comedy, Once Upon A Time In America, The Untouchables, Midnight Run, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, Heat, Jackie Brown. And a lot of very good films as well such as New York, New York, True Confessions, Brazil, The Mission, Angel Heart, Awakenings, Backdraft, A Bronx Tale, , This Boy's Life, Sleepers, Cop Land, Wag The Dog, Ronin, Analyze This. There have even been a few good flicks since 2000 such as The Score, 15 Minutes, What Just Happened, Everybody's Fine, Silver Linings and the first Meet The Parents wasn't bad. Why he insists on doing so many films each year is beyond me. At best one in every five films he does these days has any hope of being good. It's not like he needs the money as he must be one of the richest actors on the planet.

Hopefully when he finally reunites with Scosese for 'The Irishman' co starings Pacino and Pesci, he can add another classic to the list as it is long overdue at this stage.

mike65

Last film performance worth a damn was made when 1995? Casino? Heat?

Zeek12

True, most of the output for the last 15 years has been woeful.
But one look at this masterpiece and all is forgiven as far as I'm concerned!!

And that's before I even begin to think about Taxi Driver, Godfather II, Goodfellas...etc.

Mocha Joe

The King Of Comedy is one of my favourite films of all time. He's amazing in that.

Watched Being Flynn last year. Best performance he's given in a long time but the film is only decent.

Aidric

Firstly Happy Birthday Mr De Niro.

I might be in the minority of those who enjoyed the prosaically paced 'The Good Shepherd' but let's leave his directorial efforts aside for a minute.

He remains my favourite actor of all time. Whilst saddened by his more recent choices I don't consider them capable of besmirching his outstanding contribution to cinema. His collaborations with Scorsese stand up there among the highest of benchmarks. He is every inch the measured actor and performances in such movies as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas & Casino established him as a leading actor of his generation.

Cienciano

Great cameo role in Stardust. And his character in Jackie Brown is brilliant too.

Tipsy McSwagger

Legend. He has made a lot of duds in the last 10-15 years but at least he hasn't become a sell out asshole like Bruce Willis.

Tipsy McSwagger

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Legend. He has made a lot of duds in the last 10-15 years but at least he hasn't become a sell out asshole like Bruce Willis.

I don't see any difference between De Niro and Willis's choices in recent years. Both have shown time and again that at this stage in their career all they care about is a pay cheque. I had the displeasure of watching De Niro's last film and far as I'm concerned it is one of the worst films that I have ever seen. No one comes out of it with any dignity intact and it's hard to believe that the same De Niro who starred in the film gave such monumental performances in films such as Taxi Driver, Casino, etc.

kryogen

krudler wrote: »

I think he has tarnished his legacy somewhat, he's been phoning it in for years. But then you go back and watch Raging Bull or Goodfellas and remember what phenomenal actor he is/was. Heat was probably the last great film he made tbh.

Tarnished his legacy? I don't think so really, when people think back in the future they will remember The Deer Hunter, Casino, Goodfellas, Heat, Taxi Driver etc, not Meet the Fockers or whatever it was called, and he was pretty funny in that tbf, also his gay pirate thing was amusing in the other film....name escapes me sorry.

I did see him in something recently that he gave a performance in, Silver Linings Playbook, he acted a bit in that, was a nice reminder of what he used to do

A toss up between himself and Pacino for my personal favourite actor, Depp is certainly tarnishing his legacy for me to rule him out of the running these days! When I look back on the careers of De Niro and Pacino it will be the defining films they made that will stand out. The rest will just be a haze

Frank Bullitt

My favourite DeNiro film ever is Midnight Run, pure poetry and great comic relief!

RoverZT

krudler wrote: »

I think he has tarnished his legacy somewhat, he's been phoning it in for years. But then you go back and watch Raging Bull or Goodfellas and remember what phenomenal actor he is/was. Heat was probably the last great film he made tbh.

He was great in Sliver Linings.

Don't know what people expect of him.

He is having his fun now.

He can't play the characters of Heat/Raging bull anymore, those characters are always going to be young men.

Duggy747

Ronin was his last fully enjoyable film for me, after that it got real sketchy in quality.

Still, I think it's time for a DeNiro marathon soon

wilddarts

Ronin for me was the last performance I liked, as for ruining his reputation? Not yet, at least. Although he hasn't done done any Sky Digital ads yet, a la Mr Pacino.

But then again I'm biased as I've the same birthday as him, and Sean Penn, and unfortunately Thierry 'Cheating Ba$tard' Henry.

Tipsy McSwagger

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't see any difference between De Niro and Willis's choices in recent years. Both have shown time and again that at this stage in their career all they care about is a pay cheque. I had the displeasure of watching De Niro's last film and far as I'm concerned it is one of the worst films that I have ever seen. No one comes out of it with any dignity intact and it's hard to believe that the same De Niro who starred in the film gave such monumental performances in films such as Taxi Driver, Casino, etc.

It's not about picking up massive pay cheques for any old film. It's about making sh*t sequels to the greatest action film of all time and not giving a damn about the millions of fans of that franchise. After Die Hard 5 and his demands for Expendables 3 it's quiet clear that Willis is a sell out who doesn't care about anything except a pay cheque. De Niro makes crap films now, but at least he doesn't make awful sequels to the classics he has made.

Tipsy McSwagger

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

It's not about picking up massive pay cheques for any old film. It's about making sh*t sequels to the greatest action film of all time and not giving a damn about the millions of fans of that franchise. After Die Hard 5 and his demands for Expendables 3 it's quiet clear that Willis is a sell out who doesn't care about anything except a pay cheque. De Niro makes crap films now, but at least he doesn't make awful sequels to the classics he has made.

Not like De Niro isn't trying to get sequels up and running. He's spent years trying to get a Taxi Driver 2, Midnight Run 2. He's also spoke of how he'd love to remake Taxi Driver. The only thing stopping him is the fact that his idea for Taxi Driver 2 is supposed to be terrible and the fact that Scorscese, while interested in seeing where Travis ended up won't tarnish his career with a sequel that absolutely no one bar De Niro wants.

Tipsy McSwagger

Big difference is De Niro isn't doing it for financial reasons and is the driving force behind it. Willis just picks up the pay cheque and probably doesnt even look at the script.

Tipsy McSwagger

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Big difference is De Niro isn't doing it for financial reasons and is the driving force behind it. Willis just picks up the pay cheque and probably doesnt even look at the script.

There's no real difference. De Niro is doing it for the money, he has been for years. I'd love to see him start trying to act again but he's far more interested in taking an easy pay cheque to use to invest in his restaurant than he is in doing anything of note acting wise. Bad as some of Willis's recent roles have been, De Niro's have been ten times worse. Die Hard 5 was hardly great cinema but at least it was watchable. Something that cannot be said for most of De Niro's recent out put

krudler

Deleted User wrote: »

There's no real difference. De Niro is doing it for the money, he has been for years. I'd love to see him start trying to act again but he's far more interested in taking an easy pay cheque to use to invest in his restaurant than he is in doing anything of note acting wise. Bad as some of Willis's recent roles have been, De Niro's have been ten times worse. Die Hard 5 was hardly great cinema but at least it was watchable. Something that cannot be said for most of De Niro's recent out put

Ah now Die Hard 5 is terrible, its a dtv action film with Bruce Willis in it, not an ounce of the charm of the original film. Last movies I saw De Niro in were Red Lights, which he was ok in, and Everybody's Fine, which was a nice understated performance. Willis is just himself in everything, he genuinely looked like he couldn't be bothered in GI Joe 2 or The Expendables, just the usual grouchy character he is in everything, and I used to like him, he can really act when he wants but he hasnt had a challenging role in years. You'd think actors who used to be known for action films would relish getting to do more dramatic stuff as they get older but apparently not.

krudler

krudler wrote: »

Ah now Die Hard 5 is terrible, its a dtv action film with Bruce Willis in it, not an ounce of the charm of the original film. Last movies I saw De Niro in were Red Lights, which he was ok in, and Everybody's Fine, which was a nice understated performance. Willis is just himself in everything, he genuinely looked like he couldn't be bothered in GI Joe 2 or The Expendables, just the usual grouchy character he is in everything, and I used to like him, he can really act when he wants but he hasnt had a challenging role in years. You'd think actors who used to be known for action films would relish getting to do more dramatic stuff as they get older but apparently not.

Die Hard is pretty poor but it's not altogether entertaining. At least Willis is having a little fun and the viewer can have a little too. What people seem to forget about Willis is that bar a few big hits he's had more bombs that most. He's never really been anything other than another generic DTV action star who stumbled onto a few choice roles that endeared him to a generation.

De Niro was first and foremost a great actor, the man had talent to spare which is why his decline has been so noticeable. In the past year he's starred in The Big Wedding and Freelances, two of the worst films of all time. Sure he's done some good work in the same period but those two roles undo all the good of Silver Linings and Red Lights. In the same period Willis has done a few direct to disc action films, Die Hard 5, G.I Joe 2 and Red 2 none of which will set the world on fire of make anyone sit up and take notice of him. He's faxed it in for all those performances but at the same time he was great in both Moonrise Kingdom and Looper. It's just a shame that like De Niro, the only thing that attracts Willis to a film is the number of zeros on the cheque.

DazMarz

I don't care what films he's made in the past few years. He's still one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, actors of all time. De Niro, Pacino, Nicholson, Brando, Hackman, et al. Everyone has their ups and downs. But they still are rightly held up as amongst the best ever for the simple reason that they did so much for cinema in the past.

Now nearing the end of his career, why shouldn't De Niro feather his nest for the coming winter? Fair enough, it is "compromising" himself as an artist/actor somewhat by appearing in poor films.

To compare to footballers for a second, are players like Ronaldinho, Deco, Beckham, Henry, Best, Péle, Maradona, et al. any less absolute footballing legends for the simple reason that they went into a (natural) decline with age and moved to clubs simply for money rather than for a love of the game? OK, not the most perfect analogy, but the point remains. It is hard to forget the glory years of actors, just as it is the spectacular moments of footballers that stick in the mind.

Not everyone can age like wine and at some point everyone will do something purely for the money, regardless.

I would not knock De Niro for doing the same. He has given so much brilliance to film-lovers for so many years. Yes, it is painful to watch such a decline, but for every nonsense film he releases, there will always be one of the gems of the past in our film collections to expunge the memory and remove the sour taste from our mouths.

nix

Last good movie heat?? Nobody else loved Stardust? just me??

pixelburp

This seems apt, a super-cut of DeNiro losing it:

http://vimeo.com/72387220

Cienciano

nix wrote: »

Last good movie heat?? Nobody else loved Stardust? just me??

Yeah, great film.

JP Liz V1

Happy Birthday Bobby D



I like the look of his new film The Family and I'd like to see him work with Martin Scorsese again

While he has made some turkeys the past few decades (I enjoyed his performances in Everybody's Fine, Stone, Silver Linings Playbook, Stardust and Being Flynn) his good roles out way the bad for me

He is reteaming with Meryl Streep again for a film version of Ann Leary's The Good House

Dorethy

I know it's been a while since anyone commented on this, but anyway... yes he has been in some pretty crappy films in the last few years.

However, anytime I want to remind myself why he is a legend, I just watch Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets. And it's not just Scorsese films, The Mission is another reminder.

And for something different, just watch 1900 (all 6 hours! although DePardieu (spelling?) is pretty blinding) or The Last Tycoon and see how princely Mr. de Niro can be.

Cartel Mike

He needs to take more silver linnings type roles but he's a versatile award winning iconic actor .
Personally I avoid all Ben Stiller/billy crystal/adam sandler movies and getting involved with these crass actors probably hasn't helped his reputation .


Don't know what to think of him on a personal level as the last few times he was on Norton he came across as just barely human.
I think it was Barry norman who described him as one of the most obnoxious deluded people he ever met , or something along those lines

brianregan09

How in the name of god has he tarnished his reputation ? For how long was he knocking out classic after classic , Christ its in the title of the thread he's 70 for christ sake and before people jump on my back and say will this guy this and this guy did that ..that's there choice not his

Robert is probably happy to pick up checques for movies that aren't as taxing on his any more he has to look after himself a bit more now and in fairness what does Robert De Niro have to prove to anyone ????? Really ?

jungleman

These days De Niro just walks onto random film sets and is like "I'm in this now".

crazygeryy

He hasn't made a good movie in years. I would say even he's a little depressed about it. Although maybe all he's doing it for now is the money.
I would think younger people who don't know his older work think he is a terrible actor which is sad.