The Godfather, a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based on Mario Puzo's best-selling 1969 book of the same name, was co-written by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. The first installment of The Godfather trilogy is The Godfather. From 1945 through 1955, the film follows the Corleone family, focusing on Vito Corleone's youngest son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), as he matures from a reluctant family outsider to a deadly mafia boss.

The Godfather had its worldwide premiere on March 14, 1972, at the Loew's State Theatre, and was widely released in the United States on March 24, 1972. It earned between $246 and $287 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing film of 1972 and, for a time, the highest-grossing film ever filmed. The film gained overwhelming acclaim from reviewers and audiences alike, with particular praise for Brando and Pacino's performances. The Godfather is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential films of all time, particularly in the gangster genre.

Detailed Information:

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano

Release dates: March 14, 1972 (Loew's State Theatre)/March 24, 1972 (United States)
Running time: 177 minutes

The Godfather Part II, a 1974 American epic crime film based on a screenplay co-written by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The sequel to The Godfather is The Godfather II. The film serves as both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, depicting two parallel dramas: one follows Michael Corleone (Pacino), the new Don of the Corleone family, as he protects the family business after an assassination attempt in 1958, and the other follows his father, Vito Corleone (De Niro), from his Sicilian childhood to the founding of his family business in New York City.

It's one of the movie's most significant transformations, and Pacino gives a career-best performance in films made $48 million in the United States and Canada and up to $93 million worldwide on a $13 million budget. The film got eleven nominations at the 47th Academy Awards and became the first sequel to win Best Picture.

Detailed Information:

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro

Release dates: December 12, 1974 (New York City)/December 20, 1974 (United States)
Running time: 200 minutes

The Irishman (titled onscreen as I Heard You Paint Houses) is a 2019 American epic crime drama film. The Irishman follows Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a truck driver who becomes a hitman after being associated with gangster Russell Bufalino (Pesci) and his criminal family, including his time working for Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). Pacino portrays Jimmy Hoffa, the infamous labor leader who was convicted of a number of crimes in the 1960s and was rumored to have links to the mob.

It gained widespread critical acclaim, with praise for Scorsese's directing as well as De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci's performances. The film earned numerous awards, including 10 nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Pacino and Pesci, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 92nd Academy Awards. It was also nominated for five prizes at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, and ten nominations at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film.

Detailed Information:

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano

Release dates: September 27, 2019 (NYFF)/November 1, 2019 (United States)/November 27, 2019 (Netflix)
Running time: 209 minutes

The Insider is a 1999 American drama film directed by Michael Mann. It is based on Marie Brenner's 1996 Vanity Fair story "The Man Who Knew Too Much", which was adapted by Eric Roth and Mann into a screenplay. It is based on a 60 Minutes report on Jeffrey Wigand, a tobacco industry whistleblower, and CBS producer Lowell Bergman's battles to defend his evidence against efforts by CBS and Wigand's former company to discredit and suppress it.

The Insider was lauded for Crowe's portrayal of Wigand and Mann's directing, despite the film's failure at the box office. In 2006, Premiere ranked Crowe's performance #23 of the 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.[Eric Roth and Michael Mann won the Humanitas Prize in the Feature Film category in 2000. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role (for Russell Crowe).

Detailed Information:

Directed by: Michael Mann

Starring: Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora

Release date: November 5, 1999
Running time: 158 minutes

Another of Pacino's earliest and best-known roles is Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon. It is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. Dog Day Afternoon, a true-life story of a bank heist turned siege, stands out as a unique drama of great compassion and sorrow, firmly in the spirit of 1970s cinematic counterculture. Pacino's third and final collaboration with John Cazale stars the two as Sonny and Sal, who rob a bank to pay Sonny's lover's sex-change operation.

Dog Day Afternoon was a critical and box commercial success when it was released in theaters on September 21, 1975. The film received six Academy Award nominations and seven Golden Globe nominations, winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Detailed Information:

Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Starring: Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick, Charles Durning

Release dates: September 20, 1975 (San Sebastián)/September 21, 1975 (United States)
Running time: 125 minutes

Glengarry Glen Ross is a 1992 American drama film directed by James Foley and written by David Mamet from his 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross. The film recounts two days in the life of four real estate salesmen, and their increasing desperation as the corporate office sends a motivational trainer to threaten them with firing all but the top two salesmen within two weeks

Pacino plays Ricky Roma, the top earner in a real estate firm who isn't beyond manipulating others around him to stay on top of things. That year, his performance was so highly appreciated that he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film was critically acclaimed and is widely considered one of the best films of 1992.

Detailed Information:

Directed by: James Foley

Starring: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris

Release date: October 2, 1992
Running time: 100 minutes

Insomnia is a psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Hillary Seitz that was released in 2002. A remake of the same-named Norwegian film from 1997. Insomnia was released on May 24, 2002, and it grossed more than $113 million worldwide on a $46 million production budget. It gained critical acclaim, particularly for Pacino's performance.

The story of a veteran police officer (Al Pacino) who is assigned to a small Alaskan hamlet to investigate the death of a teenage girl comes from famed director Chris Nolan ("Memento"). The primary suspect (Robin Williams) forces the detective into a psychological cat-and-mouse game, and the detective's personal stability is threatened.

Detailed Information:

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney

Release dates: May 3, 2002 (Tribeca Film Festival)/May 24, 2002 (United States)
Running time: 118 minutes

You Don't Know Jack is a 2010 made-for-television biopic written by Adam Mazer and directed by Barry Levinson. Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the infamous "Doctor Death" who fights for assisted suicide in the 1990s, is surrounded by controversy and legal issues, is played by Al Pacino.

The screenplay for You Don't Know Jack was strongly influenced by Neal Nicol and Harry Wylie's book Between the Dying and the Dead. The film was nominated for numerous awards. For his portrayal of Kevorkian, Al Pacino received Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. It received mostly favorable reviews and currently has an 83 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie review aggregator.

Detailed Information:
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Al Pacino, Danny Huston, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman
Original release: April 24, 2010
Running time: 134 minutes

Al Pacino is well renowned for his gangster roles, but he also does a great job as a cop. Pacino plays Frank Serpico, one of the few honest cops in 1970s New York City, in the film Serpico. The film is based on the actual story of Frank Serpico, who helped expose the corruption in the real-life New York Police Department in the 1960s and 1970s. Serpico's eleven years of service in the New York City Police Department were plagued by corruption, and it was his efforts as a whistleblower that led to the Knapp Commission's investigation.

Serpico was a critical and commercial success upon its premiere. Police officers, on the other hand, were critical of the film. It was nominated for both the Academy Awards and the BAFTA Awards. Pacino won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama, while Salt and Wexler won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Detailed Information:

Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Starring: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire

Release date: December 5, 1973
Running time: 130 minutes

Mike Newell directed Donnie Brasco, a 1997 American crime drama film. Joseph Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI agent who has infiltrated one of the major Mafia families in New York and is now known as Donnie Brasco. In order to get deeper undercover, he develops a relationship with mafia hitman Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero (Al Pacino). Pistone must decide whether or not to complete his task, knowing that it would result in the murder of his new friend.

Donnie Brasco premiered on February 24, 1997, in Century City, and was distributed by TriStar Pictures on February 28, 1997. The film was a box office hit, grossing $124.9 million against a $35 million budget, and receiving positive critical reviews. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Detailed Information:
Directed by: Mike Newell
Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby
Release dates: February 24, 1997 (Century City, California)/February 28, 1997 (United States)
Running time: 127 minutes