Robert De Niro's 8 Best Movies, Ranked

Robert De Niro's top 8 on movie.guru, ranked by score. Four of them are Martin Scorsese movies, and the winner isn't one of them.

In number one he barely speaks English, and it's still his best work.

1. 8
   Silver Linings Playbook (2012)8.6

   His best late-career role is a dad with football superstitions.

   An 8.6 on movie.guru and $236.4 million worldwide on a reported $21 million. As Pat Solitano Sr., he treats every Eagles game like a family emergency, and he quietly breaks your heart.
2. 7
   Once Upon a Time in America (1984)8.7

   Noodles is the most patient performance he ever gave.

   Audiences rank it above 99% of notable movies, and it runs 229 minutes. As David "Noodles" Aaronson, De Niro looks back on a lifetime of bad choices, and Ennio Morricone's score does the crying.
3. 6
   The Deer Hunter (1978)9.3

   His most haunted role, and every silence in it means something.

   A 9.4 on movie.guru and a 90 on Metacritic. As Mikhail Vronsky, De Niro plays the friend who holds everyone together, then has to carry what Vietnam did to them.
4. 5
   Raging Bull (1980)9.3

   The most committed performance on this list. No contest.

   Critics rank it above 95% of notable movies. As boxer Jake LaMotta, De Niro is frightening in black and white, and the fights feel like they're happening inside his head.
5. 4
   The Irishman (2019)9.3

   His quietest gangster carries the heaviest guilt.

   A reported $159 to $250 million budget and a 94 on Metacritic. As Frank Sheeran, De Niro follows orders for decades, and the nursing home scenes land like a confession.
6. 3
   Taxi Driver (1976)9.4

   Travis Bickle is the role every young actor still copies.

   Made for a reported $1.9 million, with 1,045,659 IMDb votes. As Travis Bickle, De Niro turns loneliness into something genuinely scary, and Martin Scorsese's New York feels sticky through the screen.
7. 2
   Goodfellas (1990)9.6

   He's not the lead, and he still owns every room.

   8.7 on IMDb from 1.42 million votes, the highest IMDb rating of his Scorsese movies here. As Jimmy Conway, De Niro smiles at everyone, and that's exactly what makes him terrifying.
8. 1
   The Godfather Part II (1974)9.7

   Taxi Driver fans, sit down. Young Vito is the one.

   A 9.7 on movie.guru and 9.0 on IMDb from 1.52 million votes. As young Vito Corleone, he speaks mostly Sicilian and still says more than anyone in the movie.

$40.79 says you shrug like De Niro at the next person who asks you a question.

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