stevie boy

Apologies this is not about British films, not sure if this is ok but I will ask the question. Why did De Niro replace Keitel in Scorsese's affection, anyone any ideas?? I watched Pulp Fiction yesterday and Keitels performance was very similar to De Niro.

GRAEME

And now he's moved on to Leo DiCaprio.

Steve Crook

Maybe because after Mean Streets and Taxi Driver he realised that De Niro could give him what he wanted more than Keitel could. Although their styles do have similarities they are really very different. Could Keitel have done the lead role in Taxi Driver? What about Raging Bull?

I've read and heard people say that when they worked together, Scorsese and De Niro had a very good understanding of each other.

Steve

Moor Larkin

I expect Bob puts more bums on seats than Harv.....
Mind you Marty completely missed out on this guy: Robert Forster (I) ,
but Quent didn't........

Which Focker do you like best?

batman

I thought Robert Forster was excellent in his first film ... the Brando/Taylor weirdie Reflections in a Golden Eye (based on Carson McCullers book). He was the object of Brando's desire but had the hots for Liz, leading to tears all round. In the film Mr Forster was also keen on a bit of Alan Strang style moonlight horse riding. He was great in Jackie Brown too ...

Bats.

"Do you know why fattries are called fattries .... it's because they are big and people make things in them."

GRAEME

I imagine Keitel could have been an excellent Travis Bickle, but the sheer physicality of Raging Bull might have been beyond him.

Marky B

I saw Robert Forster in American Perfekt and Me,Myself and Irene - I think he has been a veteran in many a movie,but perhaps has just been discovered in the last decade or so.
Ta Ta
Marky B

I am special. The heavens always open for me.

stevie boy

I think that Keitel would have made a good fist of any role, including Raging Bull, although De Niro was outstanding in that. De Niro & Keitel are supposed to be good friends, maybe you are right Steve, but it does seem strange.

christoph404

I thought Keitel was perfect in the role of the pimp in "Taxi Driver", did Scorsese replace Keitel with De Niro in his affections? Perhaps it was more of a natural progression based on the direction Keitel wanted to take with his other films and the developing talent and power of De Niro? Here is a trivia question, what major Scorsese film had Keitel in a key role but didn't feature De Niro at all, clue; it was post Taxi Driver. I think Keitel was in demand by other filmakers and it seemed like he was keen to broaden his scope and take risks with first time independent filmakers. He worked with Ridley Scott on the "Duellists" which was Scotts first film, they reunited again in "Thelma and Louise" Keitel was Coppola's first choice for "Apocolypse Now" and indeed Keitel signed on to the film and worked for two weeks on location in the role of Willard before being fired and replaced by Martin Sheen, "due to creative differences with Coppola" After that Keitel's name was synonymous with "unbankable" and he spent much of the 80s working with independent filmakers. Could De Niro's roles have been interchanged with Keitel? possibly, but I wonder if that was down to Keitel's choice rather than Scorsese's? "Taxi Driver" made a star out of De Niro and his career followed a natural progression after that, if Keitel had played Travis Bickell which I think he could have, perhaps his career would have
taken a slghtly different path. At the end of the day it is the major studio's who bankroll films and after "Taxi Driver" De Niro was a box office draw, in other words a bankable star, Keitel was not so perhaps the reality was that Scorsese found it easier to raise money for his films by having them star De Niro. That would make sense to me.

dremble wedge

The Last Temptation of Christ

christoph404

Spot on!

stevie boy

Thanks for your thoughts,Very interesting and has got me thinking

BerkFilmFan

Keitel v DeNiro -- they are both very skilled and talented actors but I would offer that in the early days DeNiro had more of a physical appeal/leading man quality.