DE NIRO: A Life

Robert De Niro is one of the greatest screen actors of his generation. With performances in Mean Streets, The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter and Raging Bull he dazzled moviegoers and critics alike, displaying a talent that had rarely been seen. Yet little is known about the actor off stage. An intensely private man whose rare public appearances are often marked by inarticulateness and palpable awkwardness, his biographer here seeks to understand the evolution of an actor who has dived deeply into his roles as if to hide his inner nature. De Niro now seemingly avoids acting challenges by taking less demanding parts. The book adds depths of understanding never before seen to his friendships with Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel, Shelley Winters, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian de Palma, Michael Cimino and Elia Kazan among others. He was a master chameleon and an astonishing risk taker diving as deeply into his roles as any method actor ever has and coming through them stronger and better. He had a supernatural, mysterious air and conveys danger, poetry, sex, loneliness, daring, intensity, surprise and thrills. He was as exciting a screen actor as had been seen since the heydays of Brando and James Dean. At the age of 38 he was just getting started having in the spring of 1981 won his second Oscar in six years for his role in Raging Bull, built on astonishing physical transformations and raw, wrenching emotions. He continued to appear in high quality projects with notable collaborators: Brazil, The Mission, Angel Heart, The Untouchables, Midnight Run, We're No Angels, Mad Dog and Glory, Heat, Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown, Ronin. He made three more movies with Martin Scorsese - Goodfellas, Cape Fear and Casino, and made his directorial debut with the tender and substantial A Bronx Tale. Analyze This was a clever movie, making comic hay of De Niro's tough-guy aura. The following year he appeared in Meet the Parents, a witty comedy and an even bigger box office hit. He had misfires in the 1970s and 80s and worked with directors of finite gifts and dubious reputations. And he played a neurotic gambler trying to connect with his troubled adult son in Silver Linings Playbook which earned him his first Oscar nomination in 21 years. Brilliantly researched 600 page paperback with colour and black and white photos. Remainder mark.