On the heels of Stand Up Guys, it’s important to know where Pacino started. We need to be reminded that Jack and Jill was not the apex, but a manifestation of boredom, a break from playing Shylock or Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a (hopefully) momentary nadir in the filmography of a great American Actor. Stand Up Guys might not have been nearly as poor as an Adam Sandler flick, but it still encourages us to watch some of Pacino’s greater performances.
5. Dick Tracy: Based on a comic strip, this Warren Beatty-directed, live-action adaptation is highlighted by Pacino’s memorable performance as Big Boy Caprice. The set design and star-stacked cast are thoroughly enjoyable, but Pacino’s hunched shoulders, pursed protruded lips, and infatuation with walnuts gives depth to an otherwise one-dimensional villain. This role earned Pacino one of his eight Oscar nominations.
4. Glengarry Glen Ross: It’s difficult to pick out only one performance from the film, and if I had to choose the best, it would belong to Lemmon, but Pacino’s turn as Ricky Roma, the slick, experienced born-to-sell salesman illustrates the marriage between charm, charisma and capitalism. In what might be the better performance, this one earned Pacino a nomination the same that he was nominated – and ultimately won — for Scent of a Woman. While Frank Slade has some iconic lines, Roma’s drink in a bar with a man so wanting to be romanced by success far surpasses any speech about bows breaking and cradles falling at Baird.
3. Serpico: The histrionics surrounding Frank Serpico and his exposing of corruption and graft in the 1970’s incarnation of the NYPD might be more alluring than the overall film, but Pacino’s performance as the one good cop unafraid of repercussions resonates with most audiences. Our look at Pacino is post-Godfather, but is the initial pairing of Pacino and Lumet – one revisited only a few years later in Dog Day Afternoon.
2. Godfather II: Sure, he’s great in part one, but who isn’t? And, it’s hard to put him above Brando’s iconic portrayal of the family-oriented don. But it’s Part II that really develops Michael’s character. He is at once trying to emulate his father while functioning in the complicated calculus that is American capitalism at the turn of the century. I’ve seen The Godfather II dozens of times, and with each viewing I feel more and more sympathy for Michael, despite his decent into villainy. Despite his vow that the Corleone family is on its way to the straight and narrow, he exemplifies the difficulties and secludes himself in the compound that portends security.
1. Dog Day Afternoon: It may not be his most famous, but this is my favorite Pacino role and film. The combination of Pacino and Cazele on film produces an energy unmatched in other gritty-New York City-based films. The Godfather II is certainly the most famous example of Pacino-as-nefarious character, but the hit comes pretty bluntly. In contrast, Dog Day Afternoon needs to be viewed a few times before realizing how narcissistic and selfish Sonny Wortzik really is. The final scene in the film might resonate because of its out-of-left-field feeling, but the result is inevitable given the way that Wortzik manipulates both the media and the police force.
