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Perhaps this response may help clear up a debate that has raged as fiercely as the immortal question of "Does God Exist?". But is it a debate worth considering?
Here are a list of the films that both stars have appeared in where they put in a good performances (that includes Godfather part III Pacino fans!), followed by their not so good. Remember this is just my opinion...
DE NIRO GOOD PERFORMANCES: Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Midnight Run, Mad Dog and Glory, Jackie Brown, Wag the Dog, Hi Mom!, The Untouchables, Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Angel Heart, Heat, Once upon a Time in America and the Godfather Part II.
DE NIRO BAD PERFORMANCES: Great Expectations, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, the Fan and Meet the Parents.
His other performances in films such as the Mission and Analyze this are average.
PACINO GOOD MOVIE PERFORMANCES: Carlito's way, Scarface, Dog Day Afternoon, Donnie Brasco, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Godfather parts I II III, Sea of Love, Serpico, Insider, Heat and the Panic in Needle Park
PACINO BAD PERFORMANCES: Revolution, Cruising, Scent of a Woman, Devil's advocate, Any Given Sunday.
If you managed to trawl through these lists (I've got far too much time on my hands), you will see that De Niro is far more versatile than Pacino. They are both superb actors of their era but now have burnt out somewhat under the weight of dollars and easy pay cheques. both have regularly underperformed in recent years, so much so that is this question worth asking any more if it isn't already answered? Perhaps the clearest indication of whom is the better actor can be seen in Heat, where both star only to share the screen for just over 2 minutes. De niro gives a performance of understatement and subtlety and Pacino is in his overblown chewing the scenery mode that he relies upon so often as he ages. Of course this question of who is better is down to personal taste, but, I hope that I've helped the debate go further, and if I haven't, I really enjoyed adding my opinion.