Producer
Leopold Hoesch
Director
Lukas Hoffmann
Producer
Vera Bertram
Genre
Biography
Broadcaster
ZDF / 3sat
Length
1 x 58'
Editor
Lars Roland
Year
2020
Al Pacino
The reluctant star

Al Pacino is a mystery. He is fire and ice at the same time. His attraction is animalistic, his looks terrifying. He made it from the ghetto of the New York Bronx to the big stage - from Broadway to Hollywood. As Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" he celebrates his big breakthrough at the beginning of the 70s - against a lot of resistance, because apart from director Francis Coppola himself, nobody wants him for the role. His realistic acting becomes the measure of all things overnight.

Whether as drug lord Tony Montana, New York cop Serpico, bank robber Sonny Wortzig or blind Colonel Frank Slade: Pacino shows himself extremely changeable and creates legendary screen heroes. His characters polarise, are narrow-minded and magnanimous, despicable and admirable, tyrannical and lovable at the same time. Yet he does not grope his way towards them, but becomes his roles. They are his life's theme. The total dedication earns Al Pacino, among other things, a secure Cuban accent, temporary blindness and years of sleeping problems. A life for his broken characters that breaks him himself. Not only does he suffer from depression for a long time, his inability to relate also gnaws at him.

Despite early success in Hollywood, this glittering world of fame is not his at all. He is a shy star. Time and again he retreats and draws new strength from the theatre. That's where it all began for him. That is where the magic lies for him. Only there does he feel the pure adrenaline, the dizzying heights.
But as much as he adores the theatre, he always lives in both worlds: on stage and in front of the camera. In Martin Scorsese's latest gangster epic "The Irishman" he slips into the role of the ruthless union leader Jimmy Hoffa. At almost 80, Pacino still embodies the paradox of power like no other. It is a return to his own roots - the world of Michael Corleone.

Al Pacino - The story of a man with many faces. The story of an artist who balances on a tightrope and constantly threatens to fall. The story of a gifted actor but also reluctant star.

Al Pacino – The reluctant star

Al Pacino is a mystery. He is fire and ice at the same time. His attraction is animalistic, his looks terrifying. He made it from the ghetto of the New York Bronx to the big stage - from Broadway to Hollywood. As Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" he celebrates his big breakthrough at the beginning of the 70s - against a lot of resistance, because apart from director Francis Coppola himself, nobody wants him for the role. His realistic acting becomes the measure of all things overnight.

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