[keatonisthebestbatman]

Would he be remembered for his great prime and work from 1973 till 1997, or will people remember him for all the pay check roles and pretty much average performances for over a decade now as a one time great actor who completely lost it and became lazy

[D]

A legendary collaboration with Martin Scorsese, mostly excellent performances in the 70's, 80's and most of the 90's. Hit and miss for all of the 2000's and who knows how much longer this lasts.

[Sr Prentes]

Simply put, one of the greatest screen actors to ever live. And the guy who owns a really good restaurant. And whatever his family and friends think of him. His most memorable will be the Scorsese films.

[Spengo]

The former.

[Orlok]

His legacy is already made.
No amount of Focker sequels (#3 on the way) can destroy it.
I mean, come on. Were talking about Robert "Taxi Driver" De Niro.

[Poetic Graffiti]

We bad only become footnotes at best for the greats.

[Gigantopithecus]

He along with Sean Penn will only be remembered for We're No Angels.

[Hello Heino]

Years from now DeNiro's name will still be mentioned in the same breath as Brando's, another towering figure whose largely squandered later career did not do much to diminish his overall impact and legacy. Unlike Brando however, DeNiro may still have a great role left in his wrinkly, big Irish head years, although the prospect seems sketchy given his ability to play only riffy variations on his cemented persona.

Brando, even while meandering and kibbitzing, still displayed the corpulent ghost of the chameleon he once was. It is harder to say of even his later roles, "Oh, that is just Brando working the ol' Brando." DeNiro has retreated into his actor's bag of tricks, what with all of the mugging and the grimacing and the staring dead-eyed in the now patented DeNiro menacing manner. It would be interesting to see if DeNiro could overcome himself and find a role as committed and singular as something like Travis Bickle.

[ApeSlammer]

I think Frankie Machine will be the movie that helps people to remember that DeNiro made movies before 1997.

[kavorca]

His legacy is secure, but it is becoming more and more tarnished with each crapfest movie he puts out there.

[Cowboy]

He is a living legend.

[rocknblues81]

He doesn't have anything left to prove. He proved himself for over 20 years. That's good enough for me. Any movie he makes now that is good is icing on the cake.

[The Bastard]

In 100 years, people will still watch Godfather Pt. 2, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter and Raging Bull. No one will be watching Godsend.

[Oaktown]

Originally Posted by The Bastard

In 100 years, people will still watch Godfather Pt. 2, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter and Raging Bull. No one will be watching Godsend.

Pretty much. He has been in some bad movies lately but he has had some good roles mixed in.

[Zachary P.]

History as a way of rewarding the greats by remembering only the good stuff. We all revere Brando and Bogart and Stewart and Peck and Newman, etc... bc we remember the good stuff, not the films that didn't work. Among his generation, DeNiro's legacy is as secure as it gets. If the script selection doesn't improved from here, he may be best off retiring, but as some have said, his peak is unparalleled. In 20 years the "classics" section in your local video store will have at least 10 titles w/ DeNiro.

[EMPY]

I hope to Christ that Mann makes Frankie Machine with him.

[keatonisthebestbatman]

I havent included Pacino in this because Pacino has done some very great and interesting work, such as Angels in America, Merchant of Venice, and The Insider. De Niro is my favorite actor ever, so I get a bit frustrated with his choices recently, I hate seeing him waste his talent (which is incredible) on these films. I dont ever expect him to give a performance like Travis Bickle again, but is it so much to ask for atleast a 'good' performance or something interesting

[keatonisthebestbatman]

bump

[kavorca]

I don't know if DeNiro can afford to retire. I heard he was having money troubles because he has been sinking a lot of into TriBeCa film fest and some failed business ventures.

[zpt4x]

Surely he will be remembered for co starring with future star Dakota Fanning in the horror classic, Hide and Go Seek.

[pugman]

Walken, DeNiro, Pacino, etc., have all done some crappy movies. So what? Some seek a paycheck and who can blame them.

If they held out and waited for "the" script to come along before they did another movie, who knows when that would ever come? So they do movies that keeps their lifestyle going. Big deal. They act, and at times, we enjoy.

To me, their legacies are intact.

[Nice Guy Ed]

Originally Posted by Zachary P.

In 20 years the "classics" section in your local video store will have at least 10 titles w/ DeNiro.

Agreed. Although it might be a leap of faith to assume that "video stores" will still exist 20 years from now...

[Plainview 9]

Taxi Driver
Raging Bull
The Deer Hunter
The Godfather Part II

[Nick Naylor]

His iconic films and performances regardless of the current paycheck roles. He's not the only one who did crap later on. Hell, Marlon Brando's resume a few years before The Godfather was mostly forgettable.

As far as film roles go:

Godfather II
Taxi Driver
Raging Bull
Awakenings

[Crime]

[Crime]

how did I forget this...

[Scrumptious]

He'll be remembered as one of the greats. "You talkin to me?"

[Landshark]

He won't be remembered in the long run for the films he did this decade. Even if he makes the worst film of all time, his legacy is secure.

[Trevor-Neurosis.]

He had a nice little streak in the mid-90's with Casino, Heat and Jackie Brown. Shame he hasn't really done anything really worth watching since then.

And yeah, he has like a dozen or so really great performances/films to his name. He's pretty much the most accomplished/acclaimed/celebrated actor of his generation.

[Trevor-Neurosis.]

He had a nice little streak in the mid-90's with Casino, Heat and Jackie Brown. Shame he hasn't really done anything really worth watching since then.

And yeah, he has like a dozen or so really great performances/films to his name. He's pretty much the most accomplished/acclaimed/celebrated actor of his generation.