“Unmasking the Icon: How Robert De Niro’s Career Journey from Mobster to Taxi Driver Redefined the Silver Screen”

The Deer Hunter

Even though The Deer Hunter went over budget and over-schedule, it is considered one of the greatest films ever made. Following a trio of Vietnam War veterans, the war epic was widely praised for the performances of Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken.

For his role as Staff Sergeant Michael Vronsky, De Niro went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, one of nine for the film.

Jackie Brown

While Robert De Niro’s role as ex-con Louis Gara in Jackie Brown was a bit on the smaller side, it doesn’t detract from the fact that the film and his performance are top-notch.

Alongside an all-star cast of Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton, and Robert Forster, the film was “alive, authentic and spontaneous,” according to film critic Roger Ebert.

Heat

Considered one of the most influential films of its genre, the 1995 crime drama Heat was widely praised for the performances of both Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. According to film critic Roger Ebert, “It’s not just an action picture.”

“Above all, the dialogue is complex enough to allow the characters to say what they’re thinking: They are eloquent, insightful, fanciful, poetic when necessary. They’re not trapped with cliches.”

This Boy’s Life