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CibbuanoRobert De Niro: A Guide to his Films (Part 2 - the 1980s)
April 2nd 2007 20:37
Today I'll be following on from yesterday's guide to De Niro's films of the 70s with this personal tour of his 80s films. Once again, I'm keen to remind you o deligent reader that I haven't seen all his films, so this is only a guide to the ones I've managed to watch so far.
Anyway, onwards we go...
Jake La Motta (Raging Bull)
Raging Bull (1980) Directed by Martin Scorcese
Jake La Motta: This film represents the zenith of cutting edge 1970s filmmaking, Martin Scorcese's rise as a director, and De Niro's acting abilities. It often ranks near the top of many best film lists from movie critics, and I consider this - along with 'Taxi Driver' - to be one of the greatest performances ever put on film. De Niro worked long and hard to bring this film to the screen, and his perseverance and dedication paid off - for his portrayal of disgraced real-life boxer, Jake La Motta, he finally won the Best Actor Oscar. 'Raging Bull's Jake La Motta is a monster - De Niro taps into seemingly bottomless depths of rage and anger to nail this animal down to celluloid, and it's a performance entirely worthy of words like 'electric', 'intense' and 'groundbreaking'. Just as impressive (and insane) are the levels of prepartion De Niro put into this role... he trained with the real life Jake La Motta and became an amateur boxer (fighting in three actual matches) and for the film's second half, where La Motta puts on weight, De Niro himself gained 60 pounds - a record-breaking feat that brought new meaning to the phrase 'method madness'. Click here for review - 'Raging Bull'
Rupert Pupkin (The King of Comedy)
The King of Comedy (1983) Directed by Martin Scorcese
Rupert Pupkin: One of De Niro's more underrated major performances. This film saw Bob play delusional wannabe comedian Rupert Pupkin, a man whose obsession and lack of talent drives him to kidnap his hero, sour talkshow host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis, playing against type to great effect). Audiences at the time didn't really know how to take this film... is it a drama? Is it a comedy? Is it a thriller?Does it really matter? It's actually quite a good movie with some interesting things to say about the concept of celebrity, and De Niro gives a nervous, enthusiastic peformance as loser Pupkin. His scenes with Lewis are great too.
Noodles (Once Upon a Time in America)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Directed by Sergio Leone
David 'Noodles' Aaronson: De Niro's legend grows with his teaming with celebrated spaghetti western director Sergio Leone. This four-hour epic about Jewish gangsters in Brooklyn would be the director's last film, and it also marks the first time that De Niro would act opposite the sultan of sleaze, James Woods. Bob gives a pretty restrained performance as Noodles, a small-time hood with a code of honour, and the film is memorable for a highly ambiguous and controversial scene where he rapes his girlfriend. It's been a while since I last saw this movie but the one thing that sticks in my mind is the final freeze frame that shows Noodles smoking opium and grinning... it's such a sincere and joyful image, and I think it goes a long way towards my pathological liking for De Niro. Click here for review - 'Once Upon a Time in America'
Harry Tuttle (Brazil)
Brazil (1985) Directed by Terry Gilliam
Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle: This film marked the first time De Niro took a supporting role after having become a star. Here he plays terrorist handyman Harry Tuttle, an enemy of the state who comes to the rescue of the film's hero, Sam Lowry, on one or two occasions. The film itself is one of my favourites, a beautiful mix of dystopic science fiction and fantastic Gilliam imagery. De Niro plays against type in an amiable and fatherly role. His screentime is fairly small though, and in all but one scene he appears in a balaclava. Apparently De Niro originally wanted to play the role of Jack Lint, a genial torturer and friend of Sam's, but Gilliam had already promised the role to Michael Palin.
Rodrigo Mendoza (The Mission)
The Mission (1986) Directed by Roland Joffe
Rodrigo Mendoza: De Niro plays a Spanish slaver in 17th century South America. Early on in the film he kills his own brother in a fit of jealous anger and flees to a remote mission in the rainforest to seek penance from God. It's a good role, and De Niro's early scenes as the arrogant and righteous slavetrader are quite good too, but for the rest of the film his performance is fairly mute and too reliant on body language to make any decent impact. For a film that features such extensive religious machinations and atmospheric shots of the wilderness, it kind of needed a bigger performance from De Niro, and this would have to be one of the bigger missed opportunities for the actor. Worth checking out, but not his best work.
Al Capone (The Untouchables)
The Untouchables (1987) Directed by Brian De Palma
Al Capone: To see De Niro give an unrestrained performance you need look no further than this popular and exciting gangster flick. De Niro's Al Capone is comparable to Pacino's work in 'Scarface', in terms of it's pop-culture immediacy and the fact that it became his most recognisable role for younger mainstream audiences for the next decade. He chews the scenery and rants and raves with the best of them, at times it's very over-the-top, but it never stops being fun and quotable. Still entrenched in his method-style of acting, De Niro gained weight for the role (though nowhere near as much as he did for 'Raging Bull', he also employed padding here) and wore the exact kind of silk boxers Capone is reputed to have worn. This film is also memorable for the famous scene where Capone casually stalks around a table of associates whilst brandishing a baseball bat...
Jack Walsh (Midnight Run)
Midnight Run (1988) Directed by Martin Brest
Jack Walsh: Before De Niro got the comedy bug with Ben Stiller and Billy Crystal he had already tried his hand at a comic role with this underrated action-comedy from 'Beverly Hills Cop' director Martin Brest. De Niro plays Jack Walsh, a no-nonsense bounty hunter who captures a fugitive embezzler played by Charles Grodin. It's your typical 80s buddy-action film but the material is elevated by the two principal actors, who have an amusing chemistry between them, and the dialogue is great too. De Niro's bounty hunter is somewhat dimwitted and foulmouthed, and he wisely plays it straight for more than his fair share of unexpected laughs. Intriguingly, Bruce Willis and Robin Williams were both turned down for the role eventually played by Grodin. This film is well worth checking out if you haven't seen it yet. Click here for review - 'Midnight Run'
Jacknife Megessey (Jacknife)
Jacknife (1989) Directed by David Hugh Jones
Joseph 'Jacknife' Megessey: This is a terrible and stagey film based on a play that also co-stars Ed Harris and Kathy Baker. De Niro plays the title character, Jacknife (who got his nickname because he likes to jacknife trucks... go figure), a larger-than-life wisecracking vietnam vet who is meant to be endearing despite the annoying way he makes everything his own business. It doesn't help that the film is so bad and poorly directed, but De Niro is all wrong for the character too. It's the sort of role that needs an actor with charm and screen charisma... a Jack Nicholson or Christopher Walken. Instead we get De Niro with a mullet and an awkward twinkle in his eye. Avoid. Click here for full review - 'Jacknife'
Some other 1980s Robert De Niro films I wouldn't mind seeing but am yet to get around to...
'True Confessions' (1981) saw De Niro play a catholic priest opposite Robert Duvall for some crime-mystery shenanigans. 'Falling in Love' (1984) was De Niro's first attempt at a romantic drama, and co-stars Meryl Streep. 'Angel Heart' (1987) is a crime/horror-thriller directed by Alan Parker, and features De Niro as a character that seems to be Satan himself. 'We're No Angels' is an allegedly misfired comedy starring De Niro and Sean Penn as escaped convicts... I want to see it just for the 'how bad can it be?' factor.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of this guide.
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Comment by Lilla
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Jut a quick note to let you know how much I'm enjoying this series on De Niro. I think he is one of Hollywoods best... and prolific too...
Ha! I never realised he played Rodrigo Mendoza in The Mission... I missed that one, way to go, I learned something new today...
Going to read the rest of this excellent series...
Lilla ...
Comment by Luke
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I'm hoping to do some more guides to other actors down the track.