DeNiro & Pacino

The scene lasts only five minutes and 23 seconds, and it couldn't be more understated: Two guys sit in a California diner and size each other up as they talk about their dreams and their jobs. In most other movies, it would be a throwaway sequence, but in 1995's "Heat," Michael Mann's epic tale of cops and robbers, it was a landmark: the first time Robert De Niro and Al Pacino shared a movie screen.




Given their explosive personalities, this quick scene (they appeared briefly together at the end of the film as well, for a climactic shoot-out) was marked by its unmistakable lack of bravado — the iconic actors divulging more with their eyes and their expressions than with words or bullets. It is the most riveting and complicated moment in "Heat" and, arguably, the last great moment of cinema in which either actor has participated. Now, 13 years later, Messrs. Pacino and De Niro are set to co-star in the forthcoming drama "Righteous Kill," which Overture Films is marketing as a historic pairing of two cinema legends — offsetting the lack of drawing power each star has retained on his own.

What happened? In the years leading up to "Heat," Mr. Pacino had found abundant success in "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Scent of a Woman"; Mr. De Niro was coming off superior performances in "A Bronx Tale" and "Casino." But in the years to follow, their paths would again diverge, with both actors sinking into career doldrums. Mr. De Niro mixed strong performances in "Cop Land" and "Wag the Dog" with dismal turns in "The Fan" and "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle," while Mr. Pacino, bolstered by such strong films as "Donnie Brasco," also descended into self-caricature in "The Devil's Advocate" and "Any Given Sunday." Both actors would go on to make bizarre decisions and stand at the center of some major financial flops. On the eve of "Righteous Kill," we take a look back at where the years have taken these two titans of cinema since "Heat."

'Casino' (1995)

When "Heat" arrived in theaters, it competed for attention against another film starring Mr. De Niro: Martin Scorsese's "Casino." In that film, Mr. De Niro delivered his last virtuoso performance as Ace, the subdued but dangerous casino manager led astray by his love for call girl Ginger (Sharon Stone). Ace is shrewd with his business, slick in the way he keeps his hands clean, and misguided in his belief that he can sustain a serious relationship. "Casino" didn't just tap Mr. De Niro's ability to intimidate, but his gift for masculine vulnerability.

'City Hall' (1996)

A year after "Heat," Mr. Pacino appeared with John Cusack in "City Hall," a political drama co-written by Paul Schrader that made only $7 million in its opening weekend. Playing a New York mayor trying to calm racial tensions after a police shooting, Mr. Pacino gave us a career politician doing his best to roll with the punches. His Mayor Pappas attempts to investigate the accidental death, reach out to the black community, confront his own bureaucracy, and keep the city from spiraling out of control. No less complicated a performance than Mr. De Niro's Ace, this is one of Mr. Pacino's most richly textured — and seldom seen — outings.

'The Fan' (1996)

It didn't take long after "Heat" to find both Messrs. De Niro and Pacino suffering from the tedium of typecasting. In 1996's "The Fan," Mr. De Niro was asked to do a second-rate impression of Travis Bickle — in other words, an impression of himself as Hollywood had come to see him. This time he fell way short of the mark. Mugging for the camera as Gil, a recently fired knife — yes, knife — salesman who becomes obsessed with a baseball star played by Wesley Snipes, Mr. De Niro flashed a lot of the menace, but none of the pathos.

'The Devil's Advocate' (1997)

'Any Given Sunday' (1999)

Like Mr. De Niro, Mr. Pacino soon found himself impersonating his own on-screen persona in "The Devil's Advocate" and "Any Given Sunday," with melodramatic monologues that seemed almost contractual. Given that he played Satan in "Advocate," it was easy to see why he might have been inclined to unleash the fire and brimstone. But fans were hoping for something a little more nuanced in "Any Given Sunday," Oliver Stone's hyper-edited football epic in which Mr. Pacino played an outmoded, grumpy coach who argues constantly with management, players, and the press — a one-note billowing train wreck.

'Meet the Parents' (2000)

Never has Mr. De Niro been move lovable yet appeared more lethargic. Capitalizing on his comedy success in "Analyze This," in which he fruitfully spun his penchant for gangsters into parodic comedy, Mr. De Niro signed on for "Meet the Parents" ($166 million at the box office) and "Meet the Fockers" ($279 million), playing the gruff straight man to Ben Stiller's idiot. Going for the easy laughs and the quick payday, "Parents" amounted to a 90-minute collage of Mr. De Niro selling out.

'The Merchant of Venice' (2004)

As "Meet the Fockers" arrived in theaters, Mr. Pacino encountered a sudden burst of ambition, tackling the dark soul of William Shakespeare's Shylock in Michael Radford's "The Merchant of Venice." As he bundled his characteristic rage and hostility to deliver a Shylock for the ages — spewing his vitriol for Antonio, and Antonio's world, straight at the audience — the film tanked at the box office and failed to garner Mr. Pacino his ninth Oscar nomination and first in 12 years.

In the end, 2004 marked an important year for both actors: Mr. De Niro went goofy and hit the blockbuster franchise jackpot, while Mr. Pacino went theatrical and substantive, and was ignored by almost everyone.

'The Score' (2001)

After the lightweight comedies and overblown thrillers ("15 Minutes"), audiences were thrilled to see Mr. De Niro return to the role of criminal-in-chief in "The Score." But the film's pedestrian formula, segueing from heist preparation to double cross to twist ending, offered a standard antihero with nothing on the line. Risking little, Mr. De Niro's veteran criminal is simply going through the motions.

'88 Minutes' (2008)

Speaking of going through the motions, Mr. Pacino found himself literally stumbling through this undercooked thriller (directed by Jon Avnet, who also helms "Righteous Kill"), a contender for the worst movie of 2008. Playing a forensic psychiatrist who becomes increasingly agitated by a mysterious caller who informs him he only has 88 minutes to live, Mr. Pacino's doctor is never told what to do or where to go to prevent his demise. The result is a film with no purpose or motivation, resting solely on the actor's ability to whip himself into the kind of frenzy that distracts audiences from a script's voluminous black holes. Mr. Pacino's fondness for overacting has helped buoy the occasional sinking production, but in "88 Minutes," he finally went down with the ship.