Raging Bull

Round 4: "Scarface" (1983) vs. "Raging Bull" (1980)

Mention the name Tony Montana to card-carrying members of the modern hip-hop nation, and watch the quotes fly: "You cock-a-roooach!" "When you get the money, you get the power." "Say hello to my leee-tle friend!" Pacino turned ... morethis cocaine kingpin into both a symbol of '80s capitalism in extremis and the campiest gangster ever committed to celluloid. But, whereas Montana is a cultural touchstone, De Niro's Jake La Motta is the embodiment of commitment to a role. It's easy to get hung up on the physical transformation the actor went through to play the boxer -- months of training in the ring, then gaining a whopping 60 pounds to play the champ in decline -- but it wasn't the pounds that made us sympathize with this self-destructive beast. The reason we cringe in fear and still feel sorry for La Motta can be chalked up to De Niro's ability to find the human being who's throwing the haymakers. It remains one of the greatest screen performances ever, period.

Winner: De Niro by a knockout

(Everett Collection)