World Al Pacino Day :) Tomorrow is the 74th b’day of Alfredo James Pacino popularly known as Al Pacino who was born on April 25, 1940 in New York. One might doubt with regard to its name that he is an Italian origin. He is a sicilian to be quite accurate. Pacino’s childhood was marked by the tragedies and hardships which is typical of the condition of an immigrant. He lived years without friends and companions. At home, he used to engage in the imitation of famous actors and carried the dreams of becoming like one of the many stars of the big screen. After participation in several theatrical productions Pacino finally joined the Actors Studio where he shared the bench with 2 future superstars like him- Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. When Pacino came out of the Actors Studio, he was all determined to conquer the world. During the sixties Al Pacino worked in theatre, participating in performances of various kinds and in the first half of the seventies, with an extraordinary series of films, from The Panic in Needle Park ( 1971) to the Godfather (1972) , Serpico (1973) and dog Day afternoon (1975) , he started building the reputation as one of the best players in the world. The first film I saw of his was ‘The Godfather’. Though it was an out and out Marlon Brando stunner as Vito Corleone it was Pacino who surprised me as Michael Corleone the youngest son who becomes the successor of his dad in the Sicilian Mafia family. Pacino was brilliant with a calculated and alarming restraint. My fav Al Pacino character is Tony Montana in ‘Scarface’ in which he was a Cuban Mobster. He brought life and used every ounce of his incredible charisma to make it a jaw dripping performance in his career. I believe many of the later made gangster characters had shades of Montana in them. It was Scarface which cemented his cult status in the crime and gangster film genre. Pacino has also been shown to be at ease even as a brilliant actor in comedies like ‘Author Author (1982)’ and ‘ Frankie and Johnny ‘ (1991 ) or even caricatured role as that of gangster ‘Big Boy Caprice in Dick Tracy (1990)’ . He won the long overdue Oscar in Martin Brests sentimental masterful and towering masterpiece ‘Scent of a Woman’ in 1992 . As a blind , bitter and short-tempered ex- colonel Frank Slade not only do we see a great blend of fascinating material, but we also see a large amount of versatility in Pacino. We could see him being both bold and sensitive , angry and supportive during different occasions. Pacino showed a little of his former drama experience in this film and his acting in its climax is widely regarded as one of the best performance in his entire career. Later on, ‘Heat(1995)’ was an important film for Pacino with a dream cast where he acted alongside his Actor Studio batchmate Robert De Niro. Heat was a classic hip thriller with some powerful, gritting and intense performances from both the legends. Post 2000, it was the psychological thriller ‘Insomnia(2002)’ directed by Christopher Nolan which was a notable film with an excellent subtle performance from Pacino as Will Dormer, the aging detective. Like any hardworking actor Al Pacino is seen at his best when he is subsequently marginalizing and expressing the wilderness, which makes it even harder for his contemporaries to match his level. He had some low period in his career during which his sheer willingness to recuperate is something all actors should learn from him. He is one rare breed who has massive style quotient and unfathomable versatility. No wonder Javier Bardem once said ‘ I don’t believe in God, I believe in Al Pacino ‘. Some interesting facts about Pacino ~~~He turned down the role of Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now, which was then passed to Martin Sheen. Among the other major roles he rejected includes Han Solo in Star Wars, the protagonists of Kramer vs. Kramer and Pretty Woman. ~~~In 1994 he gave up smoking two packs of cigarettes a day to maintain voice clarity for ‘Heat’. ~~~His grandparents originate from Corleone, like how it was in The Godfather. ~~~Despite eight nominations he has won only one Oscar for ‘Scent of a Woman’ (1992). During the same year he was nominated for the best supporting Role for ‘Americans’.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Apr 2014 13:38:04 +0000