Favorite Actor Square Offs

Jeremy Ordan

Jeremy Ordan

Major Contributor
This weekend I was watched 'Heat' and 'True Romance' and it hit me: There are very few films where you get to see truly great actors square off head to head.

In 'Heat' the scene with DeNiro and Pacino sitting at the table together matches two heavyweight actors just doing their thing and the performances are almost as remarkable as the film itself (one of my personal favorite films). Watching these two legends on screen together is just almost indescrible as they allow their characters to flesh out on screen and just square off like boxers feeling each other out and then moving in for the kill.

'True Romance' on the other hand gives up Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken. While both get these great lines of dialogue to throw at each other, seeing two great actors going head-to-head makes this scene 10 times more intense than if it was Walken and Paul Walker (you get my drift).

I think that actors are normally cast because of the box office draw that they are able to bring, and more and more in films today we get one super star matched with a talented actor. I think it is the truly talented actors that are able to sometimes overcome shortcomings in the technical nature of filmmaking and grab the audience with their performances.

So my question, what are some of your favorite scenes of great actors squaring off with one another on screen and why?

-Jeremy
 
Interview with the Vampire. I thought it was intense when Cruise and Pitt (heh, maybe more Dunst than anything, her best role ever) dominated the first half of the movie. Then in Paris, Antonio Banderas comes out and consumes everything for a moment. I really liked the conversation between Banderas and Pitt. It made Anne Rice's writing come to life. Banderas delivered such a great physical performance.

Another one I love is "On Golden Pond" between Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda.

ooh another one, "Bridges of Madison County"

Meryl Streep vs Clint Eastwood
 
well i don't know if you can count Heat... the diner scene was shot at 2 different times... the actors weren't actually there at the same time... supposedly there was a fued between them or something... if you look closely at the editing during that scene you can sorta tell that they weren't there at the same time. i love the movie don't get me wrong. the end scene between them was really good.

a couple of my picks...

Johnny Depp vs. Geoffrey Rush in Pirates of the Caribbean
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters vs. Evil Keanu Reeves and Evil Alex Winters ;)
 
ravinesedge said:
well i don't know if you can count Heat... the diner scene was shot at 2 different times... the actors weren't actually there at the same time...
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heat-mann-pacino-deniro.jpg
 
Some Square Offs Between A-List Hollywood Heavyweights That come To Mind...

-Clark Gable vs. Charles Laughton (Mutiny on the Bounty)
-Cagney vs. Bogie (Angels With Dirty Faces)
-Bogie vs. Edward G. Robinson (Key Largo)
-Kirk Douglas vs. Laurence Olivier (Spartacus)
-Charlton Heston vs. Yul Brynner (The Ten Commandments)
-Joan Crawford vs. Bette Davis (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?)
-Gregory Peck vs. Robert Mitchum (Cape Fear)
-Kevin Costner vs. Robert De Niro (The Untouchables)
-Michael Keaton vs. Jack Nicholson (Batman)
-Robin Williams vs. Dustin Hoffman (Hook)
-Brad Pitt vs. Tom Cruise (Interview With A Vampire)
-Brad Pitt vs. Antonio Banderas (Interview With The Vampire)
-Brad Pitt vs. Kevin Spacey (Se7en)
-Jodie Foster vs Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs)
-Clint Eastwood vs. Gene Hackman (Unforgiven)
 
ravinesedge said:
thanks... there were all kinds of rumors and stuff about them fighting, and that they wouldnt film the scene together.. guess the rumors were wrong.
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You're dead on about the editing though. I just watched the scene again. I wonder why it was shot that way?

Maybe they thought that not even a single frame of film could contain these giants. Maybe they were right. :)
 
While I don't consider Tom Cruise a great actor, what about his scene with Jack in 'A Few Good Men'? Just the way the intensity rises is brilliant.

Another one I thought of, and I want to get ya'lls opinion on, is the Baldwin rant in Glen Gary Glennross. Here we have Baldwin overacting, but pulling it off better than anyone else and going along with Lemmon, Harris, and Alda. It's intense, fast, angry, and heavy, but is this one of the best collections of talent there is? Do we consider it acting as much as reacting from the group? Is this scene the Wrestlemania of acting performances or is it just a silly scene with great actors doing what they do?

Where does it fall?

-Jeremy
 
Pesci and Liotta


Henry Hill: You're a pistol, you're really funny. You're really funny.

Tommy DeVito: What do you mean I'm funny?

Henry Hill: It's funny, you know. It's a good story, it's funny, you're a funny guy.
[laughs]

Tommy DeVito: what do you mean, you mean the way I talk? What?

Henry Hill: It's just, you know. You're just funny, it's... funny, the way you tell the story and everything.

Tommy DeVito: [it becomes quiet] Funny how? What's funny about it?

Anthony Stabile: Tommy no, You got it all wrong.

Tommy DeVito: Oh, oh, Anthony. He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What did ya say? Funny how?

Henry Hill: Jus...

Tommy DeVito: What?

Henry Hill: Just... ya know... you're funny.

Tommy DeVito: You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little ****ed up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to ****in' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?

Henry Hill: Just... you know, how you tell the story, what?

Tommy DeVito: No, no, I don't know, you said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. How the **** am I funny, what the **** is so funny about me? Tell me, tell me what's funny!

Henry Hill: [long pause] Get the **** out of here, Tommy!

Tommy DeVito: [everyone laughs] Ya motherfucker! I almost had him, I almost had him. Ya stuttering prick ya. Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold under questioning.
 
ravinesedge said:
well i don't know if you can count Heat... the diner scene was shot at 2 different times... the actors weren't actually there at the same time... supposedly there was a fued between them or something... if you look closely at the editing during that scene you can sorta tell that they weren't there at the same time.
Click to expand...

You kidding me? I always wondered about that scene. For one, they were never captured in the same shot. And it always felt a little artificial. I even remember saying to my brother that I wouldn't be surprised if they filmed each actor separately. Well, I'll be damned.....
 
TheYankee said:
While I don't consider Tom Cruise a great actor, what about his scene with Jack in 'A Few Good Men'? Just the way the intensity rises is brilliant.
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Definitely a classic scene.

Hudson, that scene from "Goodfellas" is the best. Pesci is awesome.

Chris
 
John_Hudson said:
Pesci and Liotta


Henry Hill: You're a pistol, you're really funny. You're really funny.

Tommy DeVito: What do you mean I'm funny?

Henry Hill: It's funny, you know. It's a good story, it's funny, you're a funny guy.
[laughs]

Tommy DeVito: what do you mean, you mean the way I talk? What?

Henry Hill: It's just, you know. You're just funny, it's... funny, the way you tell the story and everything.

Tommy DeVito: [it becomes quiet] Funny how? What's funny about it?

Anthony Stabile: Tommy no, You got it all wrong.

Tommy DeVito: Oh, oh, Anthony. He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What did ya say? Funny how?

Henry Hill: Jus...

Tommy DeVito: What?

Henry Hill: Just... ya know... you're funny.

Tommy DeVito: You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little poo pooed up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to poo pooin' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?

Henry Hill: Just... you know, how you tell the story, what?

Tommy DeVito: No, no, I don't know, you said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. How the poo poo am I funny, what the poo poo is so funny about me? Tell me, tell me what's funny!

Henry Hill: [long pause] Get the poo poo out of here, Tommy!

Tommy DeVito: [everyone laughs] Ya motherpoo pooer! I almost had him, I almost had him. Ya stuttering prick ya. Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold under questioning.
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man that scene was intense and it was funny as hell, it took me back to R.I where i'm from. some of the wise guys there were just like those guys SCAREY!
 
I think I have a couple, considering some of the actors listed here I think these guys should qualify:

Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci in Casino AND GoodFellas
Sean Connery and Michael Caine in The Man Who Would Be King
Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer (okay, perhaps Rutger's pushing it a little) in Blade Runner
Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade
Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson in The Cincinnati Kid
Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman in Papillon
Steve Martin and Michael Caine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington in Glory
Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau in The Odd Couple and Grumpy Old Men
Paul Newman and Jackie Gleeson in The Hustler
Paul Newman and Melvyn Douglas in Hud
Paul Newman and James Mason in The Verdict
Peter O'Toole and Alec Guinness in Lawrence of Arabia
Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier in The Marathon Man
Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past
Peter Sellers and David Niven in The Pink Panther
Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in Road to Perdition
Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman in Under Suspicion

Gene Hackman is one of those great actors who nearly always raises the level for all those around him.


For ensemble casts take a look at A Bridge Too Far and The Great Escape, and for comedy Ghostbusters.
 
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