Al Pacino

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q41163: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only person by that name on Wikidata.

Counted as other. The films the hosts said they were tied to, which the two lists below run through too: Born on the Fourth of July (1989); Seven (1995); Lady in the Water (2006); The Departed (2006). Count them as actor (26 films) instead.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

Alfred Hitchcock: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Alfred Hitchcock ⇒ Seven (the host's read). Se7en is a Hitchcock movie in its pulling-your-chain structure of mystery, reveal and anxiety, and Hitchcock is Fincher's biggest influence.
    “I think as much as this seems like a modern movie, it's also just completely a Hitchcock movie in so many ways.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:14:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)

All That Jazz (1979): 1 line

  1. lineage (cited influence) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: All That Jazz ⇒ Seven (the maker said so). A host recalls a Fincher film the show covered where he cited All That Jazz as an inspiration for the look, maybe Seven.
    “where he cited how much of an inspiration all that jazz was for him for the look of the movie?”
    Blank Check — Patreon · David Fincher Music Videos · 1:13:07 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

Dino De Laurentiis: 1 line

  1. unmapped (real-life model) · them, directly: Dino De Laurentiis ⇒ Al Pacino (the host's read). Pacino's Marvin Schwarz is a version of De Laurentiis who lured actors to Italian films.
    “he's basically playing a version of Dino DeLorentis, very famous Hollywood producer who started out in Spaghetti Westerns”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ Live From Sundance With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:21:16 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Infernal Affairs (2002): 1 line

  1. lineage (remake source) · through The Departed (2006), which they were tied to as first choice for Costello: Infernal Affairs ⇒ The Departed (the host's read). The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, which is tighter.
    “It was called Infernal Affairs, the Hark Kong one?”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Departed’ With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan · 0:59:09 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Klute: 1 line

  1. lineage (visual inspiration) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Klute ⇒ Seven (the maker said so). The speaker watched Klute because Fincher and DP Darius Khondji cited it as an inspiration for Se7en's dark look and flashlight-led framing.
    “I watched Clute over the weekend because I know that both Fincher and Darius Conji, the DP, had cited that as an inspiration”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 2:38:58 · Nick Wiger or Mike Mitchell (unresolved) (0.30 sure it was them)

Scarface (1983): 1 line

  1. lineage (homage) · through The Departed (2006), which they were tied to as first choice for Costello: Scarface ⇒ The Departed (the host's read). The film has references to classic gangster films like the original Scarface that feel like pastiche.
    “there's a couple of references in this movie to classic gangster films like the original Scarface”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Departed’ With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan · 0:45:24 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Vietnam-vet cliche films (The Exterminator, The Park Is Mine): 1 line

  1. contrast (contrast) · through Born on the Fourth of July (1989), which they were tied to as attached star in the dead 1978 version: Vietnam-vet cliche films (The Exterminator, The Park Is Mine) ⇒ Born on the Fourth of July (the host's read). Born was meant as a rebuttal to the ticking-time-bomb vet movies of the 80s.
    “The film would almost be a rebuttal to all those Vietnam vet cliches.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:20:05 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)

William Friedkin: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: William Friedkin ⇒ Seven (the maker said so). Fincher drew from Friedkin and wanted it to feel like an episode of Cops.
    “he's drawn from like Friedkin, but he's also, he's, he's referenced like how he wanted it to feel like an episode of cops.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:15:42 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

Fight Club (1999): 2 lines

  1. career (career) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ Fight Club (the host's read). Without Se7en's power Fincher does not get to do The Game and Fight Club his way.
    “I think without this movie, he doesn't go on this run”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:27:28 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)
  2. career (career lever) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ Fight Club (the host's read). Se7en's success is what let Fincher make the seemingly impossible Fight Club.
    “But the fight club is him more being like, okay, guys, I know this seems impossible, but I made seven.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 1:05:55 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

The Game (1997): 2 lines

  1. unmapped (R-rated proof) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ The Game (the host's read). Se7en's hit status as an R-rated film convinced the backers to fund The Game.
    “I think convinced, um, people like, okay, like, you can make an R-rated movie a hit.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:33:16 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (commercial lead-in) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ The Game (the host's read). Se7en's success gave Fincher an absurd budget for The Game.
    “this is better for me because now I can make this movie at an absurd budget.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:47:35 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

8mm (1999): 1 line

  1. lineage (rip-off) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ 8mm (the host's read). Calls 8mm Schumacher ripping off Se7en.
    “8 millimeter is Schumacher ripping off seven.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Game with Brendan Hines (Ad-Free) · 0:41:48 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Lieutenant Dan (Forrest Gump): 1 line

  1. craft (craft) · through Born on the Fourth of July (1989), which they were tied to as attached star in the dead 1978 version: Born on the Fourth of July ⇒ Lieutenant Dan (Forrest Gump) (the host's read). Dan's angry wheelchair stretch evokes Kovic.
    “Behavior that no doubt reminded many of COVID and born in the 4th of July.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:46:36 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)

MTV Movie Awards Se7en parody: 1 line

  1. unmapped (parody) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ MTV Movie Awards Se7en parody (the host's read). The MTV Movie Awards parodied the Se7en ending with William Shatner playing every role and the head in the box.
    “And then Shatner's head is in the box and then he sings a song.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 2:34:40 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

Nine Inch Nails: 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ Nine Inch Nails (the host's read). Se7en caught industrial rock at its peak and led to Fincher-Reznor scores.
    “Fincher and Rezner go on to make this incredible partnership”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:55:04 · Sean Fennessey (0.45 sure it was them)

Saw (film series): 1 line

  1. unmapped (borrowing) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ Saw (film series) (the host's read). Rewatching the Saw movies, the speaker was struck by how much they lifted from Se7en.
    “I forgot how much saw stole.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 0:59:00 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)

The Batman (2022): 1 line

  1. unmapped (borrowing) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ The Batman (the host's read). The speaker had forgotten how indebted The Batman is to Fincher, mostly to Se7en.
    “I had forgotten just how indebted the Batman is to...”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 1:28:34 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)

True Detective (2014): 1 line

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ True Detective (the host's read). Se7en's influence shows in True Detective from the title sequence to the characters, though True Detective's first season flinches at the dark ending.
    “you can see the influence of of 7 on things like True Detective from the title sequence to the characters.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:15:19 · Chris Ryan (0.55 sure it was them)

Zodiac (2007): 1 line

  1. unmapped (why Fincher was offered it) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ Zodiac (the host's read). Seven made Fincher the first choice for any serial-killer project, Zodiac included.
    “Ever since he makes seven, if there's some serial killer movie, is getting sent it”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Zodiac with Leslye Headland (Ad-Free) · 0:51:53 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

later crime thrillers and crime TV (unnamed): 1 line

  1. lineage (genre influence) · through Seven (1995), which they were tied to as attached/considered for Somerset: Seven ⇒ later crime thrillers and crime TV (unnamed) (the host's read). As an adult the speaker is less shocked by Se7en because everyone since took a page out of its book.
    “I'm not as shocked by 7 because everyone took a page out of its book, of course.”
    Blank Check — Patreon · Se7en with Mike Mitchell & Nick Wiger (Ad-Free) · 2:15:39 · Mike Mitchell (0.50 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Acting (55) everyone in acting

Other (5) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (8)

  1. career (comeback): Sea of Love → Al Pacino. The hosts hold Sea of Love as Pacino's quiet comeback, number three that weekend.
    “we both hold the importance of Sea of Love as a comeback moment for Pacino.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Look Who's Talking with Hillary Busis · 2:08:49 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. career (career): Al Pacino → Author! Author!. Pacino's anti-apex is Author! Author!, an early-80s bomb that made people doubt the best actor we had.
    “Pacino, it's definitely author author.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:10:10 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): Al Pacino → Insomnia. Insomnia is the last Pacino movie that felt like an event before his decline.
    “Last grasp, insomnia is the tail end, and then it flips.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:04:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. career (career): Al Pacino → Scarface. Theory that Scarface broke Pacino by knocking him off his axis between over-the-top and nuanced.
    “the theory of Pacino is that he was broken by Scarface”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:11:44 · Sean Fennessey (0.55 sure it was them)
  5. career (career): Al Pacino → Righteous Kill. Pacino's decline in event status ends with Righteous Kill with De Niro.
    “And then ends up with righteous kill with De Niro in 2008”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:17:33 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  6. career (career): Russell Crowe → Al Pacino. Pacino gets three decades to be Al Pacino while Crowe gets five years, a statement about the movie business.
    “Pacino gets 3 decades to be Al Pacino.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:18:33 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  7. career (career): Cruising → Al Pacino. Cruising is called Pacino's most incredible choice.
    “It's Pacino's most incredible choice.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Tombstone’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:20:34 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  8. career (career): Al Pacino → The Godfather Part II. Speculating how an early Oscar might have altered Pacino's wild 1980s and later money-driven career.
    “I just know that his performance in the Godfather Part 2 is arguably the greatest performance in the history of movies.”
    The Big Picture · Thirteen Awards Movies to Watch Out for, Oscar Do-Overs, and More From the Mailbag · 0:45:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.75 sure it was them)

craft (1)

  1. craft (craft): Al Pacino → Heat. Pacino's patient, ulterior-motive conversational style is in Heat and in The Insider.
    “he does it in heat too when he's trying to get something out of the other person”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:42:36 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

industry (1)

  1. industry (industry): Tom Cruise → Al Pacino. Rewatchables Pantheon by number of movies: Cruise 17, Pacino 14, De Niro 13, Denzel 12, Stallone 12.
    “Cruise 17, Pacino 14, De Niro 13, Denzel 12, Stallone 12.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:02:15 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)

people (3)

  1. people (acting triumvirate): Robert De Niro → Al Pacino. De Niro, Pacino and Hoffman are the three rewriting the rules of acting as ethnic American leads.
    “I think there's a triumvirate.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Raging Bull with David Krumholtz · 0:19:39 · Griffin Newman or David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. people (people): Al Pacino → Denzel Washington. Denzel is another actor who is great at being a screen partner, receiving and giving.
    “That's a Denzel thing is very good at that too.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:44:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.35 sure it was them)
  3. people (people): The Insider → Al Pacino. Insider has one of the last truly god-tier Pacino performances.
    “one of the last truly, truly god tier Pacino performances”
    The Big Picture · ‘Ferrari’ and Top Five Michael Mann Movies · 0:56:17 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

theme (1)

  1. theme (theme): Rocky → Al Pacino. Polly from Rocky nominated for the character with the most terrifying podcast; Den of Thieves' Nick on LA high school football; Waingro.
    “Nick and Dennis Thieves would just be like talking LA high school football.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 1:23:48 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

unmapped (1)

  1. unmapped (real-life model): Al Pacino → Dino De Laurentiis. Pacino's Marvin Schwarz is a version of De Laurentiis who lured actors to Italian films.
    “he's basically playing a version of Dino DeLorentis, very famous Hollywood producer who started out in Spaghetti Westerns”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ Live From Sundance With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:21:16 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

verdict (3)

  1. verdict (verdict): Al Pacino → Any Given Sunday. Bill's favorite Pacino performance other than The Godfather is Any Given Sunday, which carries a terrible movie.
    “My favorite pacino performance other than the godfather.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:09:21 · Bill Simmons (0.45 sure it was them)
  2. verdict (verdict): Al Pacino → Sea of Love. Bill thinks it was Scarface, not Sea of Love, because Pacino is not doing that in Sea of Love.
    “because if you watch Sea of Love, he's not doing that in Sea of Love.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:12:54 · Bill Simmons (0.55 sure it was them)
  3. verdict (verdict): Al Pacino → Glengarry Glen Ross. Glengarry is a favorite of the 90s run because the specific material tempers Pacino's bigness.
    “even something as well written as Glengarry, which is one of my favorite performances from this run.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:13:49 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)

what-if (4)

  1. what-if (what-if): John Travolta → Al Pacino. Simmons wonders whether a very young Pacino could have done the opening walk.
    “maybe Al Pacino, as a very young man, could, but he's not even that...”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Saturday Night Fever’ With Bill Simmons and Jimmy Kimmel · 0:31:05 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (what-if): Seven → Al Pacino. Bill and Chris float Pacino in the John Doe role and note he was supposed to be Somerset.
    “Well, Pacino was supposed to be Somerset, wasn't he?”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 0:43:31 · Bill Simmons (0.45 sure it was them)
  3. what-if (casting what-if): Jack Nicholson → Al Pacino. Pacino was first choice for Costello and Simmons thinks he would have been better, though over the top.
    “I think Costello's better with Pacino.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Departed’ With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan · 0:16:14 · Bill Simmons (0.70 sure it was them)
  4. what-if (what-if): Al Pacino → Born on the Fourth of July. Pacino agreed to play Kovic in 1978; the film died when he shaved his mustache.
    “By 1978, Pacino had agreed to play COVID.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:08:12 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Al Pacino: Pacino's hair in this movie is blown dry to perfection, like a White Snake video.
    “he's right off the set of a white snake video, I think.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:03:49 · Bill Simmons (0.35 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Al Pacino: Pacino is in three late-90s dances with over-the-top; his Any Given Sunday inch-by-inch speech is called all time in a terrible movie, carrying it like LeBron.
    “The Inch's speech is all time for me and that movie's terrible and he's carrying it like LeBron carried the 2007 caps.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:09:36 · Bill Simmons (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Al Pacino: Pacino was not nominated for The Insider, which the hosts call outrageous.
    “Pacino, not nominated at all.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:49:23 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Al Pacino: The first Born movie died when Pacino shaved his mustache.
    “Pacino had shaved off his mustache.”
    The Big Picture · 8. I Love America | Do We Get to Win This Time? · 0:10:12 · Brian Raftery (0.90 sure it was them)