Di Caprio is a great actor, but I wouldn't put him in the same line as someone like De Niro or Al.. De Niro has played all sorts of characters and he is superb at all of them. from God Father II to Taxi Driver, from the Deer Hunter to Heat, from Ronnin to Casino and from Untouchables to Analyze This! I think bobby is the finest actor Hollywood has ever had.
i've seen may be half a dozen movies from Deniro...and just about in all of them you see the macho role. i know Deniro was Di caprio's teacher but IMO di caprio is more well rounded. may i dont know enough but can you name a couple good movies from de niro where he does not play a mobster, macho role.
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Every great actor has 3 maybe 4 movies in which they were great and for which they will always be remembered. Think of the greatest of them all and they were in lots of films but only a handful is what you can call classic.
Everyone has their likes and dislikes, the modern sci fi stuff with special effects is simply not my cup of tea.
Everyone has their likes and dislikes, the modern sci fi stuff with special effects is simply not my cup of tea.
I agree with Paccino, but NOT De Niro!
De Niro has done all kinds of rolls...from mafia rolls (Good Fellas, Casino, etc.) to Horror movies (Hide & Seek or Godsend) to Comedy (Meet the Parrent, Analyse This)...to movies where he plays a wimp (Mad Dog & Glory) to movies like Heat (where he out acted Paccino) to movies like Wag the Dog, Ronin, etc. etc.
De Niro is on a differnt planet comapred to Paccino (in my opnion ofcourse)
Plus I would rate Christian Bale higher than Di Caprio
American Psycho, The Machinist, Prestige, Batman Begins were all fantastic...
De Niro has done all kinds of rolls...from mafia rolls (Good Fellas, Casino, etc.) to Horror movies (Hide & Seek or Godsend) to Comedy (Meet the Parrent, Analyse This)...to movies where he plays a wimp (Mad Dog & Glory) to movies like Heat (where he out acted Paccino) to movies like Wag the Dog, Ronin, etc. etc.
De Niro is on a differnt planet comapred to Paccino (in my opnion ofcourse)
Plus I would rate Christian Bale higher than Di Caprio
American Psycho, The Machinist, Prestige, Batman Begins were all fantastic...
In terms of an actor's ability to play a wide range of roles, few actors come close to Jack Nicholson.
As Entertainment Weekly pointed out when they selected him as one of the top 100 entertainers of 20th century: Nicholson is the only one who could have convincingly played the opposite roles of Felix or Oscar in "The odd couple"... and who can forget "a few good men"...
As Entertainment Weekly pointed out when they selected him as one of the top 100 entertainers of 20th century: Nicholson is the only one who could have convincingly played the opposite roles of Felix or Oscar in "The odd couple"... and who can forget "a few good men"...
Range?!? LOL
Jack Nicholson plays Jack Nicholson in every role. From the Joker to Departed to the Shining. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy Jack Nicholson, but he has NO range...
De Niro was my #1 for a very long time. Daniel Day Lewis is right there, if not higher. As for actors under 50, Edward Norton is easily the best...
I am not a DiCaprio fan at all. Hes ruined movies like Gangs of New York, and has never really impressed me until Body of Lies, which was excellent.
The fact that I loved Inception, while not caring for DiCaprio much, shows just how amazing Nolan is...
Jack Nicholson plays Jack Nicholson in every role. From the Joker to Departed to the Shining. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy Jack Nicholson, but he has NO range...
De Niro was my #1 for a very long time. Daniel Day Lewis is right there, if not higher. As for actors under 50, Edward Norton is easily the best...
I am not a DiCaprio fan at all. Hes ruined movies like Gangs of New York, and has never really impressed me until Body of Lies, which was excellent.
The fact that I loved Inception, while not caring for DiCaprio much, shows just how amazing Nolan is...
Well, many examples were brought up here by the others but as another example, you can take a look at "Awakenings" (Deniro was nominated for an oscar there, I don't think he won it though). and why not "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" in which he plays a completely different role.
I don't think DiCaprio comes even close to Deniro when it comes to playing different type of roles.
I don't think DiCaprio comes even close to Deniro when it comes to playing different type of roles.
Sure, Jack Nicholson injects his own persona into every role; So does De Niro. However those roles varies widely. You can imagine Nicholson (or De Niro) as a General, a billionaire, a homeless man, a slob, an aristocrat with fine taste, a lover or a super villain. He has played all these roles convincingly. On the other hand try to imagine Clint Eastwood or Brad Pitt in any role other than what they typically played 
If you want actors who not only play but also morph into different roles that they are playing, I think Daniel Day Lewis and Kevin Spacey are among the best Hollywood can offer. And the double Oscars each has won testifies to the fact.
I also like Johnny Depp, not comparable in the artistic sense with Spacey or Day Lewis, but as a really hardworking actor who has played many roles (even though less convincingly than Nicholson or De Niro).
If you want actors who not only play but also morph into different roles that they are playing, I think Daniel Day Lewis and Kevin Spacey are among the best Hollywood can offer. And the double Oscars each has won testifies to the fact.
I also like Johnny Depp, not comparable in the artistic sense with Spacey or Day Lewis, but as a really hardworking actor who has played many roles (even though less convincingly than Nicholson or De Niro).
Sure, Jack Nicholson injects his own persona into every role; So does De Niro. However those roles varies widely. You can imagine Nicholson (or De Niro) as a General, a billionaire, a homeless man, a slob, an aristocrat with fine taste, a lover or a super villain. He has played all these roles convincingly. On the other hand try to imagine Clint Eastwood or Brad Pitt in any role other than what they typically played
If you want actors who not only play but also morph into different roles that they are playing, I think Daniel Day Lewis and Kevin Spacey are among the best Hollywood can offer. And the double Oscars each has won testifies to the fact.
I also like Johnny Depp, not comparable in the artistic sense with Spacey or Day Lewis, but as a really hardworking actor who has played many roles (even though less convincingly than Nicholson or De Niro).
If you want actors who not only play but also morph into different roles that they are playing, I think Daniel Day Lewis and Kevin Spacey are among the best Hollywood can offer. And the double Oscars each has won testifies to the fact.
I also like Johnny Depp, not comparable in the artistic sense with Spacey or Day Lewis, but as a really hardworking actor who has played many roles (even though less convincingly than Nicholson or De Niro).
DDL is a mad genius. He spends years becoming a character which is so different than himself that you wonder if he is really sane. His acting in Gangs of New York was far and away the greatest piece of acting I have ever seen on film. Too bad Leo, Cameron Diaz, and Scorse's garbage ending ruined that performance...
Some actors can play any role. Some need to play a role that is similar to their own personality... DeNiro, DDL, and Ed Norton can play anything... Jack, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington are much much better playing roles that are very close to themselves...
BTW I really wish we could carry on this convo in a different thread. Its a huge injustice to one of the most amazing cinematic works I have ever seen...
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just saw the movie last night, great concept and pretty decent acting. very creative. give it 4.5/5 stars
di caprio was good, but pretty similar to his recent roles, his wife was kinda the same story as shutter island. in either case, he should stay away from tough guy / gangster roles. It just looks funny, he is too much of a pretty boy, somebody who should never go to prison
di caprio was good, but pretty similar to his recent roles, his wife was kinda the same story as shutter island. in either case, he should stay away from tough guy / gangster roles. It just looks funny, he is too much of a pretty boy, somebody who should never go to prison
Seen this film one more time (this time in IMAX), mostly to understand the part I didn't get the first time round (beginning and ending scenes in japan).
Couple of points:
1) You HAVE to see this film in Imax. It was designed by Chris Nolan and his team from the ground up for Imax 2D. Speaking of which, this film would NOT WORK in 3D (unlike something like avatar which is much better in 3d). The success of this film might let the studios chill the f out with their obsession for the 3d gimmick.
2) You have to see this film so that hollywood takes notice from the ticket sales and understands that you can make a clever, artistic blockbuster film with special effects. I want more films which are like Memento on roids. Where you have to work shit out and get rewarded massively for paying attention.
3) for all you might dislike about his ferret-like face, di caprio is one of the big boys. He can be put up on a par with the greatest actors of the last 50 years because he has a filmography which is nothing less than theirs (blood diamond, revolutionary road, departed, aviator, catch me if you can, romeo and juliet, shutter island, titanic, gilbert grape and now this - regardless of the quality of the film his performances are good, and indeed award-winning, in all of the afore-mentioned).
4) Although I agree with everything else he says here, I've got to disagree with Farbod's best film superlatives. I have to say it is possibly "the most intelligent" blockbuster I think I've ever seen, but then no hollywood blockbusters really compare with a lot of lower budget or independent films in terms of impact. I want this film to do very well and I'd be ecstatic if people did call it the best film ever because then there would be more films like this released. However I dont think the characterisation was good, and I'm quite big on that. There was a lot of deadwood personalities out there which could have actually been fleshed out better. Despite that, yes as a film it was by no means flawless but personally I would still call it one of my favourite cinema experiences of all time
Couple of points:
1) You HAVE to see this film in Imax. It was designed by Chris Nolan and his team from the ground up for Imax 2D. Speaking of which, this film would NOT WORK in 3D (unlike something like avatar which is much better in 3d). The success of this film might let the studios chill the f out with their obsession for the 3d gimmick.
2) You have to see this film so that hollywood takes notice from the ticket sales and understands that you can make a clever, artistic blockbuster film with special effects. I want more films which are like Memento on roids. Where you have to work shit out and get rewarded massively for paying attention.
3) for all you might dislike about his ferret-like face, di caprio is one of the big boys. He can be put up on a par with the greatest actors of the last 50 years because he has a filmography which is nothing less than theirs (blood diamond, revolutionary road, departed, aviator, catch me if you can, romeo and juliet, shutter island, titanic, gilbert grape and now this - regardless of the quality of the film his performances are good, and indeed award-winning, in all of the afore-mentioned).
4) Although I agree with everything else he says here, I've got to disagree with Farbod's best film superlatives. I have to say it is possibly "the most intelligent" blockbuster I think I've ever seen, but then no hollywood blockbusters really compare with a lot of lower budget or independent films in terms of impact. I want this film to do very well and I'd be ecstatic if people did call it the best film ever because then there would be more films like this released. However I dont think the characterisation was good, and I'm quite big on that. There was a lot of deadwood personalities out there which could have actually been fleshed out better. Despite that, yes as a film it was by no means flawless but personally I would still call it one of my favourite cinema experiences of all time
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