Curio: 75 Years of Pacino
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 10:00AM Alexa here with your weekly arts and crafts. This weekend Al Pacino celebrates his 75th birthday. The actor is such a mainstay in our cinematic subconscious (mine especially, due to his resemblance to my father) that his age might be his least surprising feature. His horizon continues to be limitless, and may include his first pairing with Scorsese (The Irishman, is it happening?) and possibly being directed by Harmony Korine (The Trap).
For now, let's celebrate his cinematic past with curios that show the many faces of Al after the jump...
Ilustration by Matthew Brazier.
Scene paintings by Eugene Chung.
Serpico tee available here.
Mugshot collage bookmark available here.
Vintage Dog Day Afternoon radio featurette LP available here.
Pen and ink poster by BenG.
Reader Comments (5)
I need to rewatch Frankie and Johnny. I haven't seen enough Pacino, but he and Pfeiffer are so poetic together in that one.
Also, that's a play I could get behind remaking on film. It's a role actresses like Kristen Stewart, Scarlett Johansson, darling Annie Hathaway and others deserve the chance to tackle. The original did such a beautiful job of making it about the play first and the movie stars second, so it doesn't feel untouchable to me. I'd love to see another interpretation.
Hayden -- well the actresses you mentioned are all very beautiful and the biggest complaint about the film version was that it betrayed the "regular people" aspects of the play (the role being originated by Kathy Bates) for movie star beauty. I love Pfeiffer in that movie (she really does an excellent job despite the controversy of her casting) but it would be cool to see it as originally written/intended... I've seen it on stage (with Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci) and it's just a really solid play.
Yeah, I know, Kathy Bates threw a hissy fit of debatable legitimacy back in the day. I know she wasn't dismissing Pfeiffer or her gifts but in retrospect it sure feels that way. Regardless, it's an adaptable story that worked perfectly with a pretty woman with great depth and feeling. And she didn't need to drastically deglam to play those things.
Looking at it through the prism of a casting director/producer, I think it's great material for an actress in that 30ish sweet spot.
I hope more folks give Danny Collins a try, even though it's targeted to an older audience. It was nice to see Pacino again, not so over-of-the-top, but familiar, quirky, and charming, and comfortable, like a relative who is brash and annoying, but someone whom you secretly enjoy spending time with. And it's easy to see and remember why he is a movie star.
It's like D.B. Pacino. Whoa.