“Man to Man”

This idea had been ruminating in my head for some time, but it was watching the pilot for Boardwalk Empire again, the other day, that really solidified it in my head – films with duo male leads. I’m curious to see what will happen when the Emmy’s come around, I suppose Buscemi will be a shoo-in for a nod – but I’d love to see Michael Pitt get some love, although I’m almost certain they’ll push him in the Supporting Category and perform ultimate category fraud.

    

One of the great things about duo male leads, though, is seeing two fine actors play off each other. This week’s top 5 includes some actors at the top of their game playing off their peers.

        

Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington in Training Day (2001)

On the earlier note of category fraud, few are as glaring as Hawke’s supporting actor nomination for Training Day (he’s actually my choice that year for Best Actor); but I’ll be honest – I’m glad he even got nominated. It’s my favourite performance from Washington, and the two play excellently off each other. Fuqua’s debut is well directed but

Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy (1969)

None of the other films on the list are as indicative of male camaraderie as this one. I still think Voight and Hoffman are an odd pairing, and truth be told I don’t quite love the Midnight Cowboy (just like it fairly much) – it’s buoyed by the chemistry the two share, though. It’s a shame neither won their Oscars for their work here.

Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole in Becket (1964)

Jose, Luke and I had a go at this a few months ago – and I stand by my belief (regardless of what Luke thinks) that O’Toole and Burton are just brilliant opposite each other. I’ll admit, Becket sags on occasion but whenever Pete and Dick are at it – unencumbered by the somewhat iffy supporting cast – the film is at its best.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting (1973)

Even though Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is the one that seems to have endured in (American) pop culture, I much prefer the Newman/Redford duo in The Sting, and not just because it won the Best Picture Oscar.The Sting is just a slick movie all-round, it's not Newman's best performance but this type of sleek alpha-male is the type of role he slinks into easily and he's great opposite Redford who's at his best here.

F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce in Amadeus (1984)

I won’t argue that Abraham was a commendable Oscar winner, but I always feel badly that so few care to remember that Tom Hulce was more than just competent as Mozart. It's an excellent juxtaposition, not only of characters but of acting styles. It's also the lone of the five films here where my favourite isn't glaringly obvious, in  fact I still can't say which of the two I prefer.

          

Which duo impresses you most? Any suggestions to augment the list?