5 Films: You Must Watch Al Pacino In

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

"I am robbing a bank because they got money here. That's why I'm robbing it." Sonny 

Pacino is painfully real as Sonny, a smart yet self-destructive ex-marine whose plan to rob the local bank to fund his male lover's sex change goes absurdly wrong. Accompanied only by his doltish accomplice, Sal, Sonny resorts to kidnapping a handful of bank employees when he realises that all the money had been removed before his arrival.

As the lengthy August day drags on, Sonny and hordes of local police, led by Sergeant Moretti make little progress, and finally Sonny's wife and lover are brought to the scene. The crowd's sympathy is immediately captured by the charismatic Sonny, whose antagonism with the police is played out before an audience of millions, leading to an inevitably tragic finish. Balancing suspense, violence, and humour, the film's depiction of a grand-scale media event craftily dives from the political to the personal, evoking a sharp portrait of a man and his devastating downward tumble as seen through the media circus that Lumet made a career of chronicling.

The Godfather I, II, III (1972, '74, '90)

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in," Michael Corleone

The more you talk about this classic, the bigger it gets every time. The Godfather is one of the biggest films in history and has inspired the generations that followed. Although Marlon Brando's Don Vito Corleone rules the day in the large part of the first film, it is Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, who demands respect that is born out of sheer fear for the power the man exudes. The tragedy of a man, who tries to keep away from the family business but keeps getting pulled back into it, is portrayed effortlessly. In fact, the performance is so moving that you almost get conditioned to picture him when the words don or Godfather are uttered in any context.

Scent Of A Woman (1992)

"There are two kinds of people in this world, Charlie -- the first group is the people who face the music; the second group are those who run for cover. Cover is better," Lt Col Frank Slade 

Charlie Simms, a young student at an exclusive prep school in New Hampshire who agrees to look after Frank, a blind retired army officer, to earn extra money over the holidays. Frank is a bad-tempered and skeptical bully who completely surprises Charlie with his plans for their weekend. 

Before Charlie realises what he has gotten into, he is accompanying the colonel around Manhattan as they begin their wild and eye-opening adventures that include a fast-paced test drive in a Ferrari and a tango with a beautiful woman. Frank's passion is women; he grows lyrically on their bodies, scent, and sensuality, and gradually Charlie becomes aware of the sentimental romantic buried deep within the lonely man's heart. Charlie and Frank's growing relationship is the core of the film; Frank teaches Charlie how to see, and Charlie teaches Frank how to feel in this heart-wrenching and heartwarming comedy. Al Pacino is simply stunning as Frank, relying on his vocal power and strong physicality to carry across a complex range of emotions. In this Academy Award winning role, he balances between being unbearable to being adorable.

Scarface (1983)

"I always tell the truth. Even when I lie," Tony Montana 

Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, whose intelligence, guts, and ambition help him skyrocket from dishwasher to the top of a criminal empire but whose eventual paranoia and incestuous desire for his kid sister prove his undoing. Oliver Stone wrote the expletive-packed screenplay, based on Howard Hawks 1932 version--which was ostensibly about Al Capone and starred Paul Muni and George Raft. 

The synth-heavy Giorgio Moroder score expertly evokes the drug-fueled decadence of 1980s Miami, and De Palma provides several of his elaborate set pieces, including a horrific showstopper in a motel room with a chain saw. Brian De Palma's blood-and-sun-drenched saga of a Cuban deportees rise to the top of Miami's cocaine business has become something of a popular classic since its release; it's been referenced in rap songs and subsequent gangster movies and quoted the world over.

And Justice For All (1979)

"You are out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They're out of order," Arthur Kirkland 

Here, Al Pacino plays Arthur Kirkland, an incorruptible attorney and a hothead who attempts to initiate reforms in the Maryland justice system. Haunted by the fates of two past clients, one of whom committed suicide in jail; the other is still alive but is locked up for being the namesake to a murderer. 

The ability of power and money to distort the pursuit of justice becomes all too clear as Kirkland finds out how deeply the rot has spread. He finally retaliates by representing a repulsive judge accused of rape. Pacino's performance are intense and powerful. The character of an angry almost helpless man, who sees what is wrong and cannot digest it, is almost second skin to Pacino. The film itself has a dark humor and bends towards social and political satire, which is considered by many as a deep comment on the times in which it was made.

Other Pacino Classics

• 88 Minutes (2007)
• The Panic In Needle Park (1971)
• Serpico (1973)
• Devil's Advocate (1997)
• Frankie and Johnny (1991)

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on August 31, 2012