‘The Local Stigmatic’: The 52-minute movie that Al Pacino considers one of his best
Few would argue with the opinion that the American movie icon Al Pacino is one of the best actors of the 20th century. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, James Caan and Marlon Brando in some of the greatest movies of all time, Pacino climbed the ranks of the industry, going from being an up-and-coming star in such indie flicks as The Panic in Needle Park to a regular collaborator with some of the industry’s greatest minds.
Rising to popularity in the early 1970s, Pacino would be given a considerable hand on his way to success by Francis Ford Coppola, who cast the young actor in a lead role in his 1972 masterpiece The Godfather. This sparked a remarkable decade of success for Pacino, starring in the Sidney Lumet movies Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, as well as a Godfather sequel, all before the ‘70s were up.
Success very much continued for the star, however, appearing in Brian De Palma’s celebrated adaptation of Scarface, James Foley’s crime drama Glengarry Glen Ross and Martin Brest’s Scent of a Woman, for which he would earn himself a long-awaited Oscar win. Even decades after his initial success, he was keeping the momentum of his career going, getting increasingly adventurous with each new decade.
After the 1970s, which were a time of considerable growth for the actor, it was the 1990s that proved to be the most fruitful, with the decade playing host to one of his most unlikely favourites from his career, 1990s’ The Local Stigmatic.
Naming the movie as one of his all-time personal favourites, The Local Stigmatic is based on Heathcote Williams’ play of the same name. A short film directed by David Wheeler and co-produced by Pacino, the movie tells the story of two working-class Englishmen whose constant bickering culminates in a violent altercation. Premiering at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in March 1990, the short never actually released a theatrical release.
“The other thing would be The Local Stigmatic, which is really a 52-minute film that, err… it’s not for everybody, but it was personal,” Pacino stated about the film, “They said if I were to think about it – and I’d have to really think about it – if I’m a good enough actor, I can just sit here and think. And maybe I would hold everybody’s attention”. Admitting that the film isn’t for everyone, such is appropriate, considering that most people will have never seen the movie.
Yet, thanks to the power of the World Wide Web, you can now catch the whole of The Local Stigmatic in its entirety on YouTube. Watch the short film below.
