The Robert De Niro movie Al Pacino called a “monumental inspiration”
There are a handful of names within the bright and famous realms of American cinema that truly embody its overall excellence. One cannot think of the best works of Hollywood without conjuring up the image of both Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, two of the undoubtedly greatest performers of all time.
The duo’s achievements speak for themselves, with De Niro’s best movies including Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Godfather Part II and Casino, while Pacino’s filmography is equally impressive with the likes of Scent of a Woman, The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon and Scarface proving his brilliance.
The pair also hold magnificent respect for one another and possess a deep friendship, and Pacino once told his fellow actor just how highly he thought of one of his most famous performances. Sending De Niro a personal handwritten note, Pacino waxed lyrical about De Niro’s portrayal of the former middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese’s 1980 sports drama biopic Raging Bull.
The note read, “Hi Bobby, I just gotta tell you – I saw your Raging Bull for the first time Saturday. I’m still high from it… It is a monumental piece of art, an inspiration to me.” Indeed, Raging Bull was a truly tremendous performance by De Niro and is widely considered to be some of his best work.
Pacino’s note continued, “I never do this as you know simply because, if I start now everything you do, if I don’t write a note you’ll think I don’t like it,” Pacino signed off his note. “That’s not true of course, but I just had to do this. Sorry if I’ve embarrassed you – ‘out of this world Bobby’ Love, Al.”
Raging Bull saw Martin Scorsese explore the darkest depths of masculinity, violence and self-destruction through a portrayal of the famous boxer Jake LaMotta. De Niro gave a masterful performance with a genuine intensity by diving headfirst into the inner demons of his character.
The film is also championed for his incredible boxing sequences, which look about as real as is artistically possible. But it’s the character study of LaMotta himself, a man with a deeply volatile and dangerous nature that makes him an excellent boxer but an awful husband and father, that provides the quality of the film, and De Niro’s portrayal rightly won the Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’.
In an interview with GQ, Pacino again spoke of his impression of Raging Bull when asked about De Niro’s best performance. “I mean, there’s just so much,” she said. “I just saw Casino the other night, and it was just staggering and beautiful, but I guess that greatest, probably one of the greatest performances in film history, is his Raging Bull. It’s beyond belief. Pretty much everything Bob does is.”
