I once met Robert De Niro in Qatar at the opening of the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, where he presented his new film, Stone. Since then, De Niro has not made many movies. However, with such an illustrious string of masterpieces to his name, he doesn't need to.
Such a celebrated actor deserves immortality. For anyone who loves Robert De Niro movies, here are some reminders of why he will be remembered forever.
1. Mean Streets (1973)
De Niro's breakthrough role saw him team up with the most important man he would ever encounter besides his father. The New Wave of American cinema was upon us in 1973, and De Niro was the figurehead.
2. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
With so many unable to decide which Godfather episode is the best, many fans go for De Niro's portrayal of a young immigrant Vito Corleone's rise to Mafia power during the '40s in the New York Boroughs. This movie is a cinematic ten on the Richter Scale.
3. Taxi Driver (1976)
“You talking to me?” says Travis Bickle, another of Scorsese's colorful characters in the eponymous Taxi Driver. De Niro inhabited this borderline misfit with a haunting accuracy, winning him the Academy Award that year.
4. The Deer Hunter (1978)
Michael Cimino's gloriously harsh Vietnam War drama features an ensemble cast of heavyweight acting talent. Following a group of Pennsylvanian steel workers into their post-Vietnam War despair gave us De Niro at his best. He won that year's Oscar — possibly for the Russian roulette scene alone.
5. Raging Bull (1980)
Scorsese and De Niro teamed up again for yet another Academy Award-busting masterpiece with Raging Bull. The boxing biopic still retains incredible fighting weight in the filmmaking world. De Niro beefed up like a middleweight champ and wowed us with his heavyweight depiction of flawed boxer Jake LaMotta.
6. The King of Comedy (1982)
Yes, Scorsese again. However, this is a lesser-known piece of Scorsese genius, featuring a loner who dreams of talk show stardom, kidnapping his late-night chat show hero to achieve it. A young De Niro shines as Rupert Pupkin in this underrated film.
7. Brazil (1985)
Even though De Niro only plays a small role in this dystopian Terry Gilliam gem, his character is amazing. Harry Tuttle is a skilled resistance fighter who saves the day and is a plumber.
8. Goodfellas (1990)
Scorsese and De Niro reteamed for Goodfellas, which some critics consider the benchmark of crime dramas. He played a large supporting role to Ray Liotta's Henry Hill, his cold Jimmy Conway menacing throughout the biopic.
9. Casino (1995)
Scorsese and De Niro had a strong bond, having grown up almost shoulder-to-shoulder in New York's Italian neighborhoods. Their understanding of Italian-American culture was clear again with Vegas Mafia hit Casino.
10. Heat (1995)
Recently, Michael Mann co-wrote a follow-up novel to this '90s crime epic, with the movie set to follow. The original, brooding masterpiece had De Niro finally sharing a screen with his nemesis, played by Al Pacino. This is a must-see film for any Robert De Niro fan.
11. Meet The Parents (2000)
The new millennium saw the actor move into newer pastures — partly due to hefty alimony payments. Sadly, this period is peppered with De Niro B-movies, though his performance as a retired CIA father-in-law was incredible.
12. The Irishman (2019)
Twenty-five years after Heat's fleeting screen union, De Niro and Pacino reunited in (yes, you guessed it) Martin Scorcese's biopic The Irishman. De Niro plays an aging Frank Sheeran, who recounts his relationship with Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared after his involvement with the Mob.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.