Al Pacino’s top five performances –

5. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

This adaptation of the award-winning play of the same name is so full of brilliant acting from an unparalleled ensemble that it is obviously difficult to pinpoint “only” one performance, one interpretation of the role. However, it must be said that Pacino’s arrogance and his unfailing intensity in the role of the real estate agent Ricky Roma stand out among all the great performances in this wonderful gem of a film.

4. Serpico (1973)

In the early 1970s, Pacino was a veritable hurricane of presence, intensity and vulnerability. His on-screen persona was as nakedly raw and stripped down as few actors are today, and like De Niro in Taxi Driver in particular, it was early roles early in his career that defined Pacino’s acting and his incredible abilities. Pacino’s character played New York police officer Frank Serpico in Sydney Lumet’s iconic thriller and stumbled upon corruption that had found its way to the top of the police force, driving him to action, and most of this film is a pure performance by the lead actor.

3. Smell of a Woman (1992)

The way Pacino was convincing in the role of the blind ex-military lieutenant Frank Slade in this classic earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and even though the film itself feels a bit dated 30 years later, it is still the case that Pacino dominates every frame in which he appears. The way he almost frenetically controls the pace and dynamics of the dialogues is still as mesmerizing today as it was at its premiere.

2. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

The duo of Sydney Lumet & Al Pacino was as successful and creatively astute in the 1970s as Pacino and Coppola were with The Godfather films, which is evident if only in the somewhat overlooked Dog Day Afternoon, which still impresses. As bank robber Sonny Wortzik, Pacino plays manic and mentally broken in such a convincing and gripping way that it is almost hard to believe that the man in the picture is not like this in real life. Pacino is captivating here in a way he has rarely been since.

1. The godfather, part II

The way Pacino portrays Michael Corleone with razor-sharp perfection in Coppola’s masterful sequel should, of course, be rewarded with first place on his own list. Anything else would be a disservice, if you ask me. Because there is such amazing depth in this interpretation that everything else he has done pales in comparison. Corleone goes from the young man whose identity oscillates between a reluctant criminal capable of remorse and forgiveness, with a functioning conscience, to that ruthless mob boss whose conscience barely exists. He does it so tightly and with so few resources that his later film bursts of waving arms and roaring voice seem like another man, another human being.