Al Pacino's 8 Best Movies, Ranked

Decades of yelling, glaring and occasionally whispering. Here's Pacino's best eight, ranked by the movie.guru score. Some of you will need to sit down.

Number one and number two tie at 9.7. Somebody's family gets insulted.

1. 8
   Scent of a Woman (1992)8.0

   Pure crowd pleaser. Critics shrugged, audiences stood up and cheered.

   Audiences rank it above 97% of movies. Critics land at 51%, with a 57 on Metacritic. Pacino yells, everyone forgets the boarding school subplot exists.
2. 7
   Donnie Brasco (1997)8.1

   Pacino's saddest gangster, and maybe his most underrated role.

   88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 77 on Metacritic. Pacino plays a tired mid-level guy waiting on a promotion that never comes. Depp mostly just keeps up.
3. 6
   Scarface (1983)8.3

   Huge poster, thinner movie. The internet won't hear it.

   An 8.3 on IMDb, but critics beat just 59% of movies and Metacritic gives it a 65. Guru's Take: 6.9. It's a dorm room wall that runs long.
4. 5
   Heat (1995)8.6

   The diner scene alone outranks most crime movies, period.

   Pacino and De Niro across a diner table. An A minus CinemaScore and $187 million worldwide. Guru's Take is 9.0, docked for Pacino's volume knob.
5. 4
   The Irishman (2019)9.3

   Scorsese made a slow goodbye, and critics went all in.

   Metacritic 94, Rotten Tomatoes 95%. Reported budget of $159 to 250 million, and just $968,853 worldwide in theaters. Pacino's Hoffa storms into rooms and steals them.
6. 3
   Dog Day Afternoon (1975)9.4

   The best Pacino performance. Not the best movie, the best performance.

   Made on a reported $3.8 million, grossed $50 million domestic. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Pacino is sweaty, panicked and electric, and John Cazale barely blinks.
7. 2
   The Godfather Part II (1974)9.7

   Ties the original, and some days it's the better one.

   9.7 on movie.guru, a 9.0 on IMDb, audiences beat 99% of movies. Pacino's Michael goes ice cold. Guru's Take is 9.4, docked for the flashback whiplash.
8. 1
   The Godfather (1972)9.7

   Still the king. Part II fans, file your appeals below.

   Perfect 100 on Metacritic, $250.9 million worldwide on a reported $6 to 7 million budget. Guru's Take: 9.6. Only flaw: it takes its sweet time getting to Michael.

$458.17 says the Godfather versus Part II fight in the comments lasts longer than either movie.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it