Happy 73rd Birthday to one of the greatest actors of all time Robert De Niro, we take a look at his greatest performances.
Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is arguably one of the greatest performances of all time. Premiere Magazine rated the character of Travis Bickle number 22 on their list of 100 greatest movie characters. Taxi Driver is one of De Niro's darkest films but one of his strongest there's a reason why this dark tale has been one of the most influential films of all time. From Tarantino to many new coming directors, Taxi Driver still gets praised today for Robert's crazy portrayal of a man slowly losing his sanity.
Raging Bull
Raging Bull is one of the many films on this list that is one of the more influential films that have ever been made. De Niro portrays boxer Jake LaMotta and again, this film makes quite a few dark turns as LaMotta slowly has his life collapsing through his eyes. De Niro gained an unreal amount of body fat for this film over 70 pounds to be correct. The famous scene where he tells his brother (played by Joe Pesci) to keep on hitting him in the face was actually done. He kept taking hits and hits and De Niro took such a toll on his body. If you haven't seen this classic by Martin Scorsese I suggest you do.
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is arguably the greatest gangster movie to ever be made and it's personally my favorite film of his on this list. I don't think it's his best performance, I mean don't get me wrong he plays a great part in this masterpiece, but in this film everyone is equally as good as De Niro including oscar snubbed Ray Liotta. Another chapter with director Martin Scorsese, these two have been considered the greatest director and actor duo in the history of film. Goodfellas is a must see and one of my favorite films of all time.
The Godfather Part 2
The Godfather Part 2 is one of the best sequels to ever be made it's a shame they could've stopped after Part 2. But The Godfather part 2 also takes us back as De Niro plays a younger Vito Corleone (who was played by the all time great Marlin Brando in Part 1) De Niro gives another great layer to a great character and ended up winning Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. The Godfather Part 2 lives up to all the acclaim it deserves.
The Deer Hunter
This film which stands at exactly 183 minutes is one extremely grim journey about how the Vietnam war affected the lives of people in a small industrial town in Pennsylvania. Everyone knows the famous russian roulette scenes which are one of the most disturbing, tense scenes to ever watch in film. But still I added this movie to this list because the film itself is so strong and De Niro and a young Christopher Walken are amazing in it. If there's a movie you missed on this list I suggest you hurry up and watch them before you miss out.
Honorable Mentions:
Casino
Cape Fear
The King of Comedy
Mean Streets
Awakenings
Silver Linings Playbook
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