Hoooah!
With Al Pacino turning 80 today, we're looking back over Al Pacino's greatest works across his career.
His most recent movie, 'The Irishman', saw Pacino reunite with Robert DeNiro for what may be their swansong performances together. Pacino played Jimmy Hoffa, the notorious teamster boss who disappeared in the '60s following a major investigation into union dealings with the mob.
So, what are his best scenes? Well, we've got a few thoughts...
5. 'DOG DAY AFTERNOON' - "Attica! Attica!"
It's hard to know whether or not 'Dog Day Afternoon' is a comedy, a thriller or a political commentary on '70s New York. Maybe it's all three. Al Pacino plays Sonny, a down-and-out criminal who makes his first attempt at robbing a bank. Things go from bad to worse to truly bizarre as it emerges that Sonny is robbing the bank to pay for his wife's transsexual surgery. The film was a massive success, especially considering it was very much an anti-establishment film and didn't have the typical Hollywood ending.
4. 'SCENT OF A WOMAN' - "No mistakes in the Tango. Not like life."
He may not be immediately known for subtle, reigned-in performances, but when Pacino goes full tilt, he does it better than anyone. In 'Scent Of A Woman', Pacino plays a blind, retired Army Colonel who takes on a young student to shepherd him on a small trip to New York. There, Pacino's character intends to have a good time, stay in nice hotels and then, eventually, kill himself. Playing the charming but alcoholic Colonel Frank Slade, Pacino won an Oscar for his performance. In this scene, Slade smooth-talks a woman into dancing with him. It's a short scene and filled with music, but it's the lead-up to it that makes it so powerful.
3. 'SCARFACE' - "You wanna play rough? OK."
Some people may dismiss 'Scarface' as a loud, garish gangster film that goes on far too long. It's that and more. For us, that's what makes it so good. Pacino plays Tony Montana, a low-level crook who guns his way to the top of the cocaine business in '80s Miami. With a pulsating soundtrack from Giorgio Moroder and more neon and drugs than you can shake a tumbler at, 'Scarface' is tacky and brash but amazing fun. The final sequence, where Montana's mansion is being attacked by Colombian paramilitaries, results in catchphrase after catchphrase. You wanna play rough? OK. We'll play rough.
2. 'THE GODFATHER, PART II' - "You're not a friend. You're not a brother."
It could be theorised that the reason why Pacino plays such loud, shouty characters is because he pretty much wrote the book on playing a quiet, understated character. Pacino's Michael Corleone is, without a shadow of a doubt, his single greatest performance. In this scene, his brother Fredo - played by the late great John Cazale - has been found to have betrayed both Michael and the rest of the family. Michael pushes him for information and the two have a brief argument in which it's revealed that Fredo's been passed over many times by their father.
1. 'THE GODFATHER' - Meeting Sollozzo
Not only is this the best scene of Al Pacino's career, it's the best scene of director Francis Ford Coppola's too. Much like Robert DeNiro in 'Heat', this scene is all about the minute expressions on Pacino's face. You can see every cog working in his brain, so much so that you feel the tension he's going through. The sound design of the train passing, the darkened, muted colours - it all works together to create a scene that's as memorable now as when it was first shown on screen.