Joey Magidson
After looking at Leonardo DiCaprio yesterday (here), alongside Martin Scorsese earlier in the week (here), it only makes sense to do Robert De Niro today, right? They’re all certainly having a moment right now with the release of Killers of the Flower Moon (reviewed here). Beyond that, De Niro is just simply one of the all-time greats. If one was crafting a Mount Rushmore of acting legends, it’s hardly obscene to suggest that his face would be on it. Even if some of his more recent works have been lacking at times, his heights are as high as anyone.
Below, you can see how I’d rank the best of the best, in terms of De Niro’s work. Unsurprisingly, his collaborations with Scorsese are littered throughout this list. What’s perhaps more surprising is that a few of his more modern turns have cracked my top ten. Where does Killers of the Flower Moon fall within his career? You’re about to find out…
Here now are what I believe to be the ten best performances from Robert De Niro. Take a gander:
Honorable Mention: Awakenings, Being Flynn, Cape Fear, Casino, The Deer Hunter, Mean Streets, and Wag the Dog
10. Goodfellas
9. The Irishman
8. Cop Land
7. Everybody’s Fine
6. Killers of the Flower Moon
5. The Godfather Part II
4. The King of Comedy
3. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Raging Bull
1. Taxi Driver
What are your favorite performances from Robert De Niro? Let us know!
If I remember correctly, you once declared Robert De Niro‘s portrayal of the disturbed Vietnam War vet-turned-failed-political-assassin-turned-violent-crusader Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver the best film performance ever delivered by a man, and… I mean, it’s pretty hard to argue too forcefully against that!
Catch me on the right day and it’s my number one, yes. Bare minimum, it’s top five for me.
I do rank Raging Bull lower than most would but I still don’t see anyone playing the role better it’s just not my absolute favorite of his.
1.The Deer Hunter
2.The King Of Comedy
3.Awakenings
4.Casino
5.The Untouchables
6.Cape Fear
7.The Godfather Part II
8.Taxi Driver
9.Raging Bull
10.Killers of the Flower Moon
HM Wag The Dog,Analyze This,Silver Linings Playbook,Goodfellas,( guilt pleasure but I don’t feel so guilt Meet The Fockers)
Agreed. Makes complete sense to me.
Another incredibly hard one to do…just like Leo and Marty’s movies…not too many wrong answers in the bunch. So many iconic ones, so many fun ones, even in bad movies he does his thing so well. I do agree with Joey though. The Taxi Driver performance is too hard not to put at the top. I had to go 30 deep….Also I love that both Joey and Kellie mentioned Wag the Dog! I felt like that one has been forgotten and glad to see it isn’t.
Interesting ranking!