A proposed 1994 version with Schumacher and Pitt would have modeled the subway on Dante’s circles of hell; it reportedly collapsed without an actor for Satan. — Bill Simmons
Pacino reportedly rejected the project five times, Reeves accepted reduced pay to secure him, and Theron hesitated about nudity. — Bill Simmons
A new Jimmy Conway Award for best or worst smoking is proposed; Reeves appears to smoke awkwardly by character choice despite being a smoker in real life. — Bill Simmons
Kevin’s lapse after quitting is offered as an explanation, but the performance is still criticized; Pacino handles cigarettes as naturally as an extra finger. — Bill Simmons
Warden is placed around this period, Heaven Can Wait and the years after Shampoo; a Muppets connection is rejected. — Bill Simmons
Tambor’s simultaneous sitcom activity marks an early rise, but Arrested Development or Transparent is preferred for his peak. — Bill Simmons
Lahti’s peak is assigned to her five-year Chicago Hope run. — Bill Simmons
Jewison’s alternatives are In the Heat of the Night and Moonstruck; Moonstruck’s endurance with younger viewers is praised without dismissing the former’s legendary status. — Bill Simmons
The courtroom meltdown is a strong candidate, competing with Jessup in A Few Good Men and described as possibly the most cited.
Diner is preferred for Baltimore movies, with Tin Men also mentioned.
This is proposed as Pacino’s second-best performance after The Godfather Part II, with Heat placed third; another response rejects even a top-five ranking.
Dog Day Afternoon is preferred for greater nuance, and Donnie Brasco, Heat, Any Given Sunday, The Godfather, Scarecrow, Serpico and Sea of Love are offered as competing peaks. — Sean Fennessey
Carlito’s Way is offered as a soulful alternative, and The Insider is added to the competing Pacino performances. — Wesley Morris
Dick Tracy and The Godfather Part III are added to the performance debate; this film is proposed as the moment Pacino overtook De Niro. — Sean Fennessey
The top-two or top-three defense treats Arthur as the culmination of Pacino’s early mastery: quiet and explosive passages form a coherent journey as the system breaks him. — Wesley Morris
Both Godfather performances and Dog Day Afternoon are placed definitively above Arthur in the opposing ranking; Dog Day receives admiration but is called personally exasperating. — Wesley Morris
The Godfather’s Kay scenes and marital storyline are criticized as obstacles to placing Michael in the top two; the challenge of playing Brando’s son is offered in defense.
The distinction is clarified as carrying and justifying an entire film rather than delivering a bad performance within an ensemble. — Wesley Morris
Playing Michael in the first Godfather is provocatively called comparatively easy, while Part II is considered much harder; a particular scene remains admired without being named in this exchange.
Michael’s transformation is defended as indispensable to the film; the counterargument imagines De Niro or John Cazale in the role. — Sean Fennessey
The ensemble is said to elevate Michael’s performance, and James Caan is ranked above Pacino by one participant; a suggestion that Cazale is better is retracted.
Arthur is defended as the full range of Pacino’s abilities, requiring trust in the director and editor, in contrast with Michael’s more observational role. — Wesley Morris
The Godfather ranking dispute returns: Part II is called the best male screen performance in 50 years, while the first film is framed as a young actor still discovering the role. — Bill Simmons
Raging Bull and Scarface are called damaging influences on later actors who imitate them, as an argument against accepting inherited performance rankings. — Wesley Morris
The first Godfather’s stature is argued to confer automatic greatness on Pacino, while the restaurant assassination is singled out as exceptional. — Wesley Morris
A defense enumerates Michael’s wedding exposition, revenge planning, Italian interlude and hospital protection of his father as stages of a demanding transformation. — Sean Fennessey
Michael is defended as the role that made Pacino a star and helped make The Godfather great; the opposing argument distinguishes iconic characters from great acting to defend Arthur’s high ranking.
No better sex scene is needed; the group suggests the existing Pacino intimacy was already more than necessary, though the kissing has a defender. — Bill Simmons
The late 1970s-to-early 1980s synthesizer, trumpet and jazzy soundtrack is proposed as a period feature but criticized for not fitting the action; Grusin’s later Firm score is favorably contrasted. — Bill Simmons
The failed attempt to talk an armed man down before he stands and is shot is an effective tragic trope and a crucial step in Arthur’s breakdown. — Bill Simmons
The period soundtrack’s saxophones, congas and disco elements remain enjoyable despite earlier reservations. — Bill Simmons
Strasberg reportedly urged the improvising Pacino to learn his lines, advice Pacino later appreciated. — Bill Simmons
Levinson’s Baltimore setting anticipates his later work and the systemic concerns of The Wire. — Bill Simmons
Aggie is treated with surprising sensitivity for 1979, with dignity and humanity central to Arthur’s defense rather than merely a joke.
The film questions devoting punitive institutional resources to petty offenses while more serious abuses persist. — Sean Fennessey
Early roles for Tambor, Lahti and Nelson are praised as strong discoveries, alongside Jewison’s broader filmography.
The opening follows Aggie before unexpectedly revealing Arthur in jail, establishing the institution’s indignities. — Bill Simmons
Arthur’s visits with his grandfather divide opinion: the Godfather II reunion appeals, but one visit might suffice; the dementia and missed visits underline another personal failure caused by lack of time.
Arthur and Lahti’s character moving from an argument into flirting and a Chinese-food date is nominated. — Bill Simmons
The bathroom announcement of Fleming’s rape charge is praised for the difficult, sustained hysterical laughter and the choice of setting.
The helicopter ride is a fun but tonally separate sequence, and the unexpected actual crash into the water is especially effective.
Tambor’s plate-throwing breakdown is admired for its apparently practical staging and the transformation from joking lawyer to morally overwhelmed man. — Wesley Morris
Arthur attacking the car after Aggie’s death is the defining explosive Pacino showcase, with genuine grief and a demand that lawyers care about their clients’ humanity.
The incriminating photographs supplied by Chianese’s character are nominated for Fleming’s brazen posing and the strange glimpse of the sexual gathering.
Fleming’s admission of guilt exposes casual entitlement and his certainty of impunity; pointing out the complainant in court pushes Arthur toward breaking. — Wesley Morris
The final opening statement and Arthur’s out-of-order eruption are the unanimous scene choice, including his final insistence that he has completed the statement.
The final performance carries distinct stakes for the jury, the client, the complainant, the judge and the earlier victims of the system. — Wesley Morris
Tambor tipping his wig is belatedly recalled as one of the film’s most famous images.
