The 10 best Robert De Niro movies of all time

Robert De Niro is one of the most respected and celebrated actors in cinema history.

He has been nominated for an Academy Award for no less than seven acting performances and has won Best Actor once for Raging Bull and Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather Part II. His other nominations were for Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Awakenings, Cape Fear, and Silver Linings Playbook.

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Within our MovieMeter community, there are naturally various De Niro movies that have received hugely positive responses. 

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It is perhaps no surprise to see that The Godfather Part II tops our list of De Niro's best movies. In the second film in the famous trilogy, he plays a younger version of Vito Corleone who was portrayed by Marlon Brando in the first movie.

De Niro's most famous collaborator is legendary director Martin Scorsese. The pair have worked together on 10 full-length feature films -  Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, New York New York, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon.

The newest movie on our list of De Niro's best is Joker which was released in 2019.

Top 10 Robert De Niro movies

1.

4.29 (7223)

The Godfather: Part II (1974)

The sequel to the Godfather tells the story of the young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) who grows up in Sicily and manages to work his way up into a powerful gangster in New York CIty. At the same time, we continue the story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) who is now head of the family business after the passing of his father.

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton

2.

4.18 (6979)

Goodfellas (1990)

For as long as he could remember, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) wanted to be a gangster. He starts out as an errand boy and over the years he gets bigger and bigger jobs. He falls under the care of Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro), an old hand in the trade, and the psychopathic Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). Henry begins to enjoy the high life, but as questions are raised over those close to him, he begins to wonder who he can trust.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci

3.

4.1 (6495)

Heat (1995)

Detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) is obsessed with the thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) and tries to catch him, if necessary, at the cost of his private life. As McCauley prepares for the heist of a lifetime, and Hanna's team tries to catch him, both realise they are dealing with the very best in their trade.

Directed by: Michael Mann
Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer

4.

4.1 (3660)

Once upon a Time in America (1984)

An epic set in New York at the beginning of the 20th century. David Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and Maximilian Bercovicz (James Woods) form a youth gang with three others. A few years later, they have become gangsters and have power during Prohibition. 35 years after a tragic robbery ended, David receives a mysterious letter that brings the past back to the surface...

Directed by: Sergio Leone
Stars: Robert De Niro, James Woods and Elizabeth McGovern

5.

3.93 (3054)

Joker (2019)

Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a clown-for-hire and aspiring stand-up comedian, slowly develops violent and psychopathic tendencies as he deals with the rich-poor divide in Gotham City as well as his overbearing mother. Fleck's emergence as the Joker inspires others to rise up against the wealthy, with fatal consequences.

Directed by: Todd Phillips
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz

6.

3.9 (4233)

Casino (1995)

Sam Rothstein (Robert De Niro), nicknamed Ace for his successful gambling methods, is a childhood friend of Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci). When Ace earns a career in a casino in Las Vegas, Nicky follows soon after, but unlike Ace, he gets involved in criminal organisations. Then he meets Ginger (Sharon Stone), a woman who has the men in her pocket, but can't say no to her previous boyfriend. He marries her, but he shouldn't have.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci

7.

3.91 (4055)

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage) and Nick (Christopher Walken) are three young Pennsylvania factory workers who are called up to fight in Vietnam. Before they go, Steven marries the pregnant Angela and their wedding party is also the farewell party of the three boys. After fighting in the war for a while, the friends fall into the hands of the Viet Cong and are captured in a camp where they are forced to play Russian roulette against each other.

Directed by: Michael Cimino
Stars: Robert De Niro, John Cazale and John Savage

8.

3.9 (4484)

Taxi Driver (1976)

War veteran Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) works as a taxi driver. He is a lonely man obsessed with pornography and violence. His life continues to decline, and he slowly loses himself in his paranoia. He grows increasingly irritated by the thugs that walk the streets at night, and it's only a matter of time before he springs into action, helping to save a young prostitute (Jodie Foster).

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster and Cybill Shepherd

9.

3.82 (2427)

Raging Bull (1980)

Martin Scorsese's sports epic looks back on the career of Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro). In 1941, La Motta wanted to achieve more and prepare for heavyweight boxing. He was known as a boxer who was incredibly violent and therefore unstoppable in the ring. However, the violence would soon spread to his private life.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty

10.

3.82 (817)

Novecento (1976)

In this film, a friendship develops between landowner Alfredo (Robert De Niro) and farmer's son Olmo (Gérard Depardieu) against the background of Italian life in the first half of the 20th century. The awareness of peasant oppression leads to the rise of fascism in Italy, which puts the friendship to the test.

Directed by: Bernardo Bertolucci
Stars: Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu and Donald Sutherland