Born in New York on 17th August 1943, Robert De Niro is one of the greatest actors ever: to prove it, here are the best movies played by the American star with Italian origin.
The World’s Greatest Actor?
Everything has been said and written about Robert De Niro, who turned 79 this August. But, even so, a movie hero who helped make the seventh art one of the highest expressions of the 20th century does not need many words. It is enough to replace them with the images of his many movies, to discover the extraordinary facial expressions, the maniacal perfectionism with which he masters his characters to convince oneself that he is the most outstanding actor in the world.
The Godfather – Part II (1974)
The movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is the sequel to The Godfather and was released two years later, in 1974. The film begins in 1901 when Vito Corleone reaches the United States; growing up, he establishes an empire based on gambling houses and prostitution. However, by 1958, the Corleone family is breaking up as business becomes increasingly difficult. Vito’s son Michael becomes the new Godfather, but power makes him a lonely man. The movie was the first sequel in film history to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
The Godfather: Part 2, dedicated to the Corleone family, triumphed at the 1975 Oscars with 11 nominations winning no less than six statuettes.
Coppola chose Robert De Niro because he had liked his audition for the part of Santino Corleone during the casting selection of the first movie. To prepare for the role before filming began, De Niro spent six months learning Sicilian in the Corleone area of Sicily. As a result, in the movie’s original version, De Niro acts in Italian with a distinct Sicilian accent. In 2007, The Godfather was listed by the American Film Institute as Number 2 on its list of the best 100 American movies of all time, while The Godfather part II came at number 32.
Taxi Driver (1976)
On February 8, 1976, Taxi Driver was released in American movie theaters. Perhaps Martin Scorsese’s absolute masterpiece has become a genre cult film today. Robert De Niro is simply incredible in the role that remains undoubtedly one of his most successful. There are many curiosities related to his performance: the first, for example, is that the actor, to learn the part better and identify with his Travis, really drove a taxi cab through the streets of New York, going as far as twelve hours a day around the city, alternating driving only with the study of manuals dedicated to mental illness. The second is that the famous phrase that Travis repeats like a mantra in front of the mirror, “You’re talking to me,” resulted from De Niro’s improvisation. The movie immediately seemed destined for success, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1976.
Casino (1995)
Casino is a 1995 film directed by Martin Scorsese and mainly watched by gambling enthusiasts. Underworld thug Remo Gaggi (Pasquale Cajano), head of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization, places excellent trust in Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Robert De Niro). After enriching the Gaggi family with his betting prowess, Ace is put in charge of running the Tangiers casino in Las Vegas.
After circumventing the law thanks to the county’s bureaucratic loopholes, Ace becomes the casino manager and quickly manages to make incredible profits with the complicity of fictitious owner Phillip Green (Kevin Pollak).
After the movie’s release, Las Vegas casinos became even more famous, increasing the visits of gambling lovers worldwide.
However, it must be said that things have changed somewhat today because, as much as Las Vegas casinos continue to be a popular destination for many, others prefer to play online on platforms that offer no deposit bonus casino because they are easy to claim (you will get your bonus instantly), they are risk-free (you won’t lost any of your own money), and you also can choose between a lot of different bonuses for any game.
Conclusion
Of course, a career of this excellence could not fail to earn good old Bob awards and accolades in all parts of the globe. He has been nominated seven times for an Oscar, winning it on two occasions, in 1975, as supporting actor, for Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather Part II and in 1981, as lead actor for Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull, two Golden Globes of which for lifetime achievement in 2011.
In short, Robert De Niro is an actual movie legend with millions of loyal fans in every part of the world.