Originally posted by MaryCas:
Let me first go on record that I think Pacino is great actor. But his body of work has not encompassed the scope of his contemporaries. I'm not here to judge why or if that is good or bad; it just hasn't. Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson have all played a much wider variety of character; comedy, villain, lover, loser, leader, psycho, macho man, etc. I don't recall Pacino doing any comedy, and if he did, not much. Was he type-cast or just not interested?
Variety doesn't equal to superiority. Pacino's GF I&II(from innocent college boy to ruthless Don), Serpico(honest cop), Dog Day Afternoon(homosexual bankrobber) and Scarface(Cuban gangster) are as good, if not better, then the top 5 list of any of the 3 u mentioned. Must I point out that each character is very DIFFERENT from the other. Not once does Pacino ever portray em' in a way that might make him look redundant. That's versatility to me. I'm surprised u mentioned Nicholsan and Hoffman, who are great actors btw, but are not as good as Pacino and most critics will agree with me on that. Jack Nicholson has been playing the same character for the past 25 years now. U see HIM in every movie. DeNiro, i agree, is a step ahead of Al.
btw, Pacino has played a lover, a psycho, villain, loser etc.
