Al Pacino: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. Michael Corleone - The Godfather Trilogy

What else was going to be number one?! You might ask why the trilogy when the third is a poor relation of the golden-plated first two parts? Well, even in the series closer, Pacino's work is still immense and through all three films he gives us one of the longest, most detailed characterisations we're yet to see in cinema. The fall of Michael Corleone (as the film might be called) is an incredible piece of acting work to watch. As he goes from fresh-faced war veteran to cold-hearted mob boss, the life and colour drains from his eyes to the point where, at the defining moment of his life, the punishment of his brother Fredo, they are mere black shells. Surrounded by one of the best ensemble casts ever assembled for a series of films (Pacino, De Niro, Brando, Caan, Keaton, Duvall, Shire, Cazale) it is Michael who begins as the heart of the piece before he greys and ages into the sad, cardigan wearing old man who can't escape his past. Pacino almost says more in his silences than any lines of dialogue but, again, it is the relationship which Fredo which 'breaks out heart' and Michael, looking out of the boat house window is as haunting an image as we're ever going to see. A five-star performance in a five-star classic. Now on to the sucked...