Robert De Niro is more than just an actor. He represents an entire era in cinema. His characters are vivid, complex, and utterly believable. They make us empathize, fear, and admire, sometimes all at once.
His filmography includes true gems that never grow old. Films where every scene is imbued with mastery and the plot grabs you from the very first minute. From crime sagas to profound dramas, De Niro is always at his best.
We've collected eight such works. These films are classics that you'll want to watch again and again. They prove that true cinema always remains contemporary. Get ready for a few unforgettable evenings.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
A still from The Godfather: Part II
The Godfather: Part II is a gangster film legend and the capo di tutti capi of sequels. He repeated
the success of the original film
starring Marlon Brando in the lead role, and
won over even skeptical critics
. The drama centers on two storylines: the first tells the story of the childhood and youth of Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro), who has to overcome difficult trials to help his family find wealth and success in a foreign land; the second is about Vito's son, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), who takes over his father's business and gradually becomes a ruthless mafia don. The film won six Oscars. One of the awards went to De Niro for Best Supporting Actor, setting a record: the Academy awarded two actors for playing the same character in different films (in 1973, Brando won an Oscar for his role as Vito Corleone).
Robert De Niro is one of the greatest actors in film history, and his best films keep you in suspense from the first frame to the last. This selection includes eight films in which he acts with such power and authenticity that it is simply impossible to look away: from crime dramas to gritty action films and poignant stories about people on the edge. These are films that leave you feeling like you have truly experienced something.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Still from the film Taxi Driver
One of
one of the greatest films in American cinema
, Taxi Driver is the most important work in the careers of director Martin Scorsese and lead actor Robert De Niro. The plot centers on the theme of loneliness. Driver Travis Bickle, a Vietnam War veteran, drives a taxi around 1970s New York and observes the city at night, which is dirty in every sense of the word. Almost the entire film, with its unhurried pace and deep introspection, is carried by Robert De Niro's taciturn performance, which reflects with his eyes alone his character's attitude toward the alien and unfamiliar life in which he finds himself. Taxi Driver won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
“Raging Bull” (1980)
Still from the movie Raging Bull
The Oscar-winning role of the scandalous boxer Jake LaMotta, nicknamed Raging Bull, is a legend of Robert De Niro's acting skills. Before filming began, he needed two years of combat training and training with LaMotta himself. During the process, De Niro had to gain 23 kg in three months to show how the former champion had changed with age. But the greatness of his performance is not limited to his stunning physical transformation. The actor managed to brilliantly convey the inner drama of a character who could only find satisfaction in destruction, accurately portraying his quick temper and jealous nature, which ultimately led to the great athlete's downfall.
The Untouchables (1987)
Still from the film The Intouchables
Chicago, 1930s. The US Treasury Department is hunting Al Capone (Robert De Niro), a notorious gangster who ran an underground business during Prohibition. To stop the elusive mafioso, a squad called “The Untouchables” is formed, led by agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) and his assistants, played by Sean Connery and Charles Martin Smith. “The Untouchables” is another example of De Niro's meticulous preparation for his roles. To get into the role of Capone, the actor gained 13 kg in a few weeks and ordered suits (right down to silk underwear) worn by the mobster from an Italian tailor.
Awakenings (1990)
A still from the film “Awakenings”
The film is based on real events that took place in 1969–1970 involving neurologist Oliver Sacks (which were later included in the doctor's memoir of the same name) and tells the story of his struggle for the well-being of seriously ill patients in a psychiatric hospital. Robert De Niro played Leo in Awakenings, an adult child who lost 30 years of his life while immobilized by a rare disease. Robin Williams played the neuropathologist, a man with a complex character and a complicated fate. The film received three Oscar nominations and later made it into the top rankings of the largest film databases.
Meet the Parents (2000)
Still from the film Meet the Parents
Jack Burns in Meet the Parents is one of Robert De Niro's first comedic roles, who since the early 1970s had almost never strayed from playing gangsters and tragic heroes. His character is a retired CIA agent. He loves his daughter Pam (Teri Polo) dearly and decides to put her fiancé, the hapless paramedic Greg Tracher (Ben Stiller), through a grueling test, which includes a polygraph test. De Niro was nominated for a Golden Globe for his brilliant performance. He later received invitations to other comedy projects, including Meet the Fockers (2004), Starbers (2013), and the recent The Unbearable Weight of a Man's Past (2020).
Silver Linings Playbook (2025)
Still from the film Silver Linings Playbook
Despite its comedic genre, Silver Linings Playbook is more thought-provoking than laugh-out-loud funny. This unusual story centers on the life of Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper), a high school history teacher. After catching his wife cheating on him and beating her lover half to death, Pat ends up in a mental hospital, where he is diagnosed with schizophrenia. After forced treatment, he tries to return to normal life, but his relatives — his troubled mother, played by Jacki Weaver, and his father, played by Robert De Niro, who is even more “psycho” than Pat — only put obstacles in his way. Cooper's character finds the help he needs only in Tiffany, a neurotic widow played by Jennifer Lawrence.
This selection of films is just the tip of the iceberg in Robert De Niro's career. He knows how to make us believe in any of his characters, whether it's a furious taxi driver, a cunning mafioso, or an eccentric family man.
Every role he played in these films became a benchmark for acting skill. You can watch them in one sitting — the plot is captivating, but it is his acting that adds depth and tension to the story.
If you haven't seen any of the films on this list yet, now is the time to fix that. And if you've seen them all, you have a great reason to watch them again and reevaluate the genius of one of the greatest actors of our time.
