Head-to-Head: Jack Nicholson vs Al Pacino vs Robert de Niro

(bold = have seen)

70s:



Nicholson

Easy Rider (technically 1969, but oh well)
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
The Rebel Rousers
Bunny
Five Easy Pieces
Carnal Knowledge
A Safe Place
Drive, He Said (directing only)
The King of Marvin Gardens
The Last Detail
Chinatown
The Passenger
The Fortune
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Tommy
The Missouri Breaks
The Last Tycoon
Goin' South

The thing about Jack Nicholson is that among these three acting greats, he was the one who established
his particular 'style' the soonest; Easy Rider in the late 1960s. The best example of this can be found in
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which is truly one of the greatest examples of screen presence
utilization, and just one of the greatest performances. Nicholson is absolutely dynamic every second
onscreen with his portrayal of Randle McMurphy that, like Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank
Redemption, you don't care that he's so far removed from the book's depiction of the character. The film
 is a perfect showcase for his showboating talents, but I'd say he's also quite impressive in more intimate
, subtle character-driven work in stuff like The Last Detail and Chinatown, particularly iconic in how
he handles the role of the private eye in the latter. Five Easy Pieces presents a particularly raw and
unhinged Nicholson as a former piano prodigy turned drifter, it's a rather solid film and Jack is great in
it. As for the other films i've seen him in, he's okay in Carnal Knowledge and The King of Marvin
Gardens, but I'd say he's nothing that special in either. He's charismatic and dynamic enough, but
there's just not that spark which can be found in some of his great performances.

Pacino

The Panic in Needle Park
The Godfather 
Serpico 
Scarecrow
The Godfather Part II 
Dog Day Afternoon 
Bobby Deerfield
...And Justice for All



Nicholson gave one indelible, iconic and all-time great performance that dominated his film marvellously, and really set in stone the 'Jack Nicholson' screen persona for years to come, that very deservedly won the Best Actor statuette. Only reason I wouldn't give him the win for the year (and he's in my top 20 of all-time) is because in the same year, Al Pacino blew the world's mind with his simply untouchable portrayal of Sonny Wortzik, the inexperienced, fast-talking mess of emotions who tries to hold up a bank with his pal Sal (John Cazale). The film really is perfect on every level, and Pacino's performance is my favourite of the 70s. I'd need multiple articles to talk about everything I love about his portrayal of Sonny, and I've already covered his Godfather performances, so what else is there to be said? Pacino's run of films in the 70s was incredible; kicking it off with his harrowing portrayal of a drug addict in The Panic in Needle Park where he first showed his specific brand of understated acting, he then transitioned to the Godfather and his extremely powerful portrayal of a 'good' cop with the odds stacked against him in Serpico, where he gives a 'louder' performance that works tremendously well; and Scarecrow where he refuses to be overshadowed by Gene Hackman in top form, and has fantastic chemistry as an amiable drifter, so humorous but also so unnerving in his later scenes as a broken-down man. I haven't seen the latter two works of the decade by him but based on what I've seen alone, it really is an exceptional run by an exceptional actor.

De Niro

Bloody Mama
Hi, Mom!
Jennifer on My Mind
Born to Win
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight
Bang the Drum Slowly
Mean Streets
The Godfather Part II
Taxi Driver
1900
The Last Tycoon
New York, New York
The Deer Hunter

This is a tough one. De Niro took a little longer than the other two to transition to a leading man; the earliest performance of his I've seen, Bang the Drum Slowly, has him in very much a supportive, quiet role that does add a lot to the film, and his first collaboration with Scorsese in Mean Streets is fantastic as the nutcase Johnny Boy, which then segued beautifully into Taxi Driver and Travis Bickle; the film has become somewhat polarizing in retrospect, but I personally still admire it a great deal and De Niro is great in it. He lends terrific support as a young Don Corleone in The Godfather Part II and leads his section as well as Pacino, and his last performance of the 1970s, The Deer Hunter, is like Nicholson's McMurphy and Pacino's Sonny, one of the all-time great performances (again, I'll be talking more about that in the future). It's a quiet, pent-up performance that's so close to the chest it's sometimes unbearable to watch, one of the most naturalistic performances of all-time, and one of the most vivid portrayals of PTSD of all-time.

Verdict: I'll have to give it to Pacino here, since he reaches the highest heights of all these incredible heights, and also completely dominated each and every one of his films. 

1. Pacino
2. Nicholson
3. De Niro

80s

Nicholson

The Shining
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Ragtime (cameo)
Reds
The Border
Terms of Endearment
Prizzi's Honor
Heartburn
The Witches of Eastwick
Broadcast News (cameo)
Ironweed
Batman

Nicholson's career in the 80s was interesting as he somewhat transitioned into becoming, in some regards, a sort of character actor with many of his roles, like his supporting turns in Terms of Endearment, and The Witches of Eastwick but also had plenty of lead roles in prominent films, like his Oscar-nominated leading turns in the black comedy Prizzi's Honor and the hard-hitting drama Iron Weed. He's completely fine if a bit broad in both his supporting and his leading turns in most of these films, but I wouldn't say there's all that much that he brings to these roles that any other good character actor with comedic chops couldn't have managed. And he's actually really good in Ironweed but his impact is somewhat nullified by the fact I don't care that much for the film overall. Otherwise, he had a few cameos here and there, and his performance in The Shining, one I need to revisit, is certainly a memorable one. Oh, and as for his Joker, I've kind of turned an indifferent eye to it; it's no Heath Ledger but it's not Jared Leto either.



Pacino

Cruising
Author! Author!
Scarface
Revolution
Sea of Love 

In contrast to his packed and eventful 1970s, Pacino remained quite quiet on the film scene through the 80s. I've only seen two films of his through that period: his iconic portrayal of Tony Montana which I think is massively overrated but not without merit, and his decent leading turn in Sea of Love. Both are technically good performances but pale in comparison to the decade before; his other films were largely commercial and critical disappointments so I'd guess the same for them.



De Niro

Raging Bull
True Confessions
The King of Comedy
Once Upon a Time in America
Falling in Love
Brazil
The Mission
Angel Heart
The Untouchables
Midnight Run
Jacknife
We're No Angels

De Niro kicked off the 80s with his memorable portrayal of boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. It's a performance of remarkable emotional and physical investment, directed by good ol' Marty Scorsese with aplomb, I don't love the film but it certainly is a very strong one. And while he wouldn't quite reach the heights of LaMotta again in the 80s, he turned in solid leading turns for the likes of Sergio Leone and Roland Joffe in memorable, iconic films (Also managed to be part of two of the most memorable soundtracked films of the decade), some terrific supporting work in the likes of Brazil and Angel Heart and managed to be terrifying as a comedian and hilarious as a crook in The King of Comedy and Midnight Run, respectively.


Verdict: De Niro easily takes this decade.



1. De Niro
2. Nicholson
3. Pacino



90s

Nicholson

The Two Jakes
Man Trouble
A Few Good Men
Hoffa
Wolf
The Crossing Guard
Blood and Wine
The Evening Star
Mars Attacks!
As Good as It Gets


Okay, I'll admit I do get a kick out of that 'YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH' scene in A Few Good Men. It's a terrifically acted and well-written scene and one of Nicholson's career highlights. Unfortunately most of Nicholson's 90s output is of the rather self-indulgent variety. He pretty much coasts through Mars Attacks! and As Good as It Gets playing on his own screen persona without fitting it to the film, and same goes for Wolf to a slightly lesser extent as he does seem to be playing more of a 'character' there. None of these are bad performances but they're not great, either.

Pacino

The Local Stigmatic
Dick Tracy
The Godfather Part III
Frankie and Johnny 
Glengarry Glen Ross
Scent of a Woman 
Carlito's Way
Two Bits
Heat 
City Hall
Looking for Richard
Donnie Brasco
The Devil's Advocate
The Insider 
Any Given Sunday


After a quiet 80s, Pacino stormed back onto the movie scene in the 90s with a large variety of films and characters. Not all of them worked - I personally think Dick Tracy is a  terrible film and Pacino's villainous performance in it is rather awful - but when he was on point, he was very on point. His reprisal of Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III was a solid performance, though his best portrayal of a gangster in the decade was his depiction of a washed-up second-tier gangster in Donnie Brasco. He makes for quietly charismatic leading turns in Frankie and Johnny, Carlito's Way and Any Given Sunday and with his investment helps to add to these films a great deal, and delivers some brilliant supporting work in Glengarry Glen Ross where his Ricky Roma delivers one of the most devastating verbal beatdowns in all film history.

Beyond that, he of course won an Oscar along the way for Scent of a Woman (which I will defend as a good win even if my favourite out of the nominees was Stephen Rea for The Crying Game), sis hia own take on Satan himself in The Devil's Advocate, lent some admirable support to Russell Crowe in The Insider in his best film of the 1990s (a masterpiece), and shared the screen with De Niro in Heat, which I do think is in many regards an overhyped heist film, but certainly a memorable one for that scene alone.

De Niro

Stanley & Iris
Goodfellas
Awakenings
Guilty by Suspicion
Backdraft
Cape Fear
Mistress
Night and the City
Mad Dog and Glory
This Boy's Life
A Bronx Tale
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
One Hundred and One Nights
Casino
Heat
The Fan
Sleepers
Marvin's Room
Cop Land
Jackie Brown
Wag the Dog
Great Expectations
Ronin
Analyze This
Flawless 


De Niro, as has also become the custom recently, had the most prolific 1990s output and I'd say the most impressive, in many regards. He had a few bland turns (Backdraft, Marvin's Room, Great Expectations) and god knows what he was thinking with Frankenstein, but he had a pretty good decade otherwise. Kicking off with of course Goodfellas, one of the greatest films of all-time and arguably his second-best performance, where he manages to bring such intense menace and a sense of fun to his portrayal of Jimmy 'The Gent' Conaway. Then came his Oscar-nominated turns in Awakenings and Cape Fear; I actually really enjoy the former for its emotional impact and the latter, though certainly lesser Scorsese, is fun to watch and so is De Niro. He's perfectly solid in This Boy's Life and Casino in the authoritative father role, and a sorta reprisal of his Goodfellas role, and gave solid depictions of steely criminals in Heat and Ronin. He even managed some rather atypical roles as a sympathetic, fatherly priest in Sleepers and a hilariously deadbeat stoner criminal in Jackie Brown.


Verdict: Pacino and De Niro both had large bodies of good work, so I'll hand it to the fella with the highest height, De Niro.



1. De Niro
2. Pacino
3. Nicholson



21st Century

Nicholson

The Pledge
About Schmidt
Anger Management
Something's Gotta Give
The Departed
The Bucket List
I'm Still Here (as himself)

How Do You Know


Nicholson's certainly fantastic in About Schmidt, and deservedly nommed for the Oscar for his understated, powerful portrayal of a husband repressing his grief and emotions under Alexander Payne's direction. All the other stuff I've seen from him in this period, though, has been overcooked, overdone and just not a good utilization of his talents, at all. He's terrible in The Departed and though I can see the appeal of some of his comedic turns like Anger Management, they just feel like either overly egotistic or overly mannered bits of work. His best work I've seen of his in this period would probably be The Bucket List, but I see that not so much as a good bit of acting, more that he and Morgan Freeman got along really well.



Pacino

Chinese Coffee
Insomnia
Simone
People I Know
The Recruit 
Gigli (bits of it, at least)
Angels in America
The Merchant of Venice
Two for the Money
88 Minutes
Ocean's Thirteen
Righteous Kill
You Don't Know Jack
The Son of No One
Wilde Salomé
Jack and Jill
Stand Up Guys 
Phil Spector
Manglehorn
The Humbling
Danny Collins 
Misconduct
Hangman


Pacino had a bit of an iffy period at the start of the decade where he swayed between good and bad roles. The Recruit and Gigli (what little I've seen of it) aren't great film, but he brings the right amount of energy and conviction into his roles in them, and he's a solid noir lead in Insomnia and gives a rather moving Shakesperean turn as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He's gradually been transitioning to a character actor on film, though he gives a rather entertaining and heartfelt performance as the titular ageing rock star Danny Collins, and the only performance of his I'd say is a bit lackluster is Stand Up Guys because he's a tad bit overshadowed by Christopher Walken. I haven't seen any of his television work beyond Phil Spector, which he's really, really good in, so peg me in as eager to check out some of his other stuff like Angels in America and You Don't Know Jack.



De Niro

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
Men of Honor.
Meet the Parents
15 Minutes
The Score
Showtime
City by the Sea
Analyze That
Godsend
Shark Tale
Meet the Fockers
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Hide and Seek
Arthur and the Invisibles
The Good Shepherd
Stardust
Righteous Kill
What Just Happened
Everybody's Fine

Machete
Stone
Little Fockers
The Ages of Love
Killer Elite
Limitless
New Year's Eve
Being Flynn
Red Lights
Freelancers
Silver Linings Playbook
The Big Wedding
Killing Season
The Family
Last Vegas
American Hustle
Grudge Match
The Bag Man
The Intern
Ellis Immigrant
The Audition (himself)
Heist
Joy
Dirty Grandpa
Hands of Stone
The Comedian


As you can see, De Niro's been keeping the busiest out of these three actors, and unfortauntely that has resulted in a LOT of duds. In fact, the only two performances of his I'd say I actually was impressed by him, at all, would be Stardust where I found him an absolute joy as a quirky, dandy pirate, and American Hustle where he exudes such menace and presence as a mob boss in one scene. Otherwise, he's been serviceable in supporting roles in Limitless and Silver Linings Playbook, and seems downright uninterested when doing the Meet the Fockers sequels. Last year's Joy was an example of just how dull De Niro can be when he's not interested in what he's doing, and stuff like Being Flynn and The Big Wedding are difficult to watch because of how much lack of conviction he shows onscreen. Then when he's truly placed into a thankless role like Machete, you barely even notice him onscreen, and that shouldn't be the case when you're Robert de Niro. I still like some of his stuff (he's enjoyable enough in The Intern), but he's been largely a 'no-no' sign for me in terms of his recent output - and I haven't even seen some of his alleged worst films.


Verdict: Pacino's been by far the most consistent, even though Nicholson has achieved the higher heights; De Niro has done some good stuff but some terrible films too, so he's last unfortunately.



1. Pacino
2. Nicholson
3. De Niro