50 Best Robert De Niro Movies Ranked and Where to Watch Them

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Robert De Niro’s career spans decades and includes a wide variety of roles that showcase his ability to portray everything from hardened criminals to comedic fathers. His commitment to his craft, willingness to take on diverse roles, and collaboration with top directors like Martin Scorsese have made him one of the greatest actors in cinematic history. 

From his early work in Taxi Driver to his more recent performances in Joker and Zero Day, Robert De Niro has proven time and time again that his talent knows no bounds. Read on to learn more about the Hollywood legend and discover where to watch the best Robert De Niro movies and TV shows online!

Early Career: The Breakthrough Years

Robert De Niro’s breakthrough came with Mean Streets (1973), where he first worked with Martin Scorsese and established his gritty, intense acting style. But it was his role in The Godfather: Part II (1974) that cemented his status as a Hollywood icon. De Niro won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the young Vito Corleone, an intricate performance that balanced power with vulnerability.

His early career was marked by other standout roles like the heartbreaking Taxi Driver (1976), where De Niro played Travis Bickle, a troubled Vietnam War veteran. This performance, alongside his role in The Deer Hunter (1978), which won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, established him as a leading man capable of tremendous emotional depth.

The 1980s and 1990s: Rise to Legendary Status

The 1980s and 1990s were De Niro’s golden years. His role in Raging Bull (1980), directed by Scorsese, remains one of his finest performances, earning him another Oscar nomination for his portrayal of boxer Jake LaMotta. His collaboration with Scorsese during this period resulted in several classics, including Goodfellas (1990), where De Niro played Jimmy Conway, a gangster with a tragic downfall.

In the 1990s, De Niro's career expanded to include roles that blended drama with comedy. He starred in Awakenings (1990), for which he received another Academy Award nomination, and Analyze This (1999), where he showcased his comedic chops alongside Billy Crystal. De Niro’s ability to move between intense drama and lighter fare made him one of the most versatile actors of his generation

The 2000s and 2010s: Reinventing and Expanding Roles

In the 2000s, Robert De Niro continued to deliver exceptional performances, though many of his roles were more focused on broadening his range. He starred in Meet the Parents (2000), playing the overbearing father-in-law Jack Byrnes, a role that showcased his comedic timing and earned him a new audience. 

De Niro’s versatility was on full display during this period, as he moved between genres with ease. His work in The Irishman (2019) once again paired him with Scorsese, delivering a quiet, powerful performance in a sweeping crime drama that spanned decades of history. Equally important roles followed such as that of a talk show host in Joker (2019), a corrupt land baron in Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and a government official in Netflix’s cyber-thriller Zero Day (2025). 

Why is Taxi Driver the best Robert De Niro movie to watch? 

Taxi Driver is the best Robert De Niro movie to watch because it showcases his unparalleled ability to embody a deeply troubled character. His portrayal of Travis Bickle, a disillusioned Vietnam War vet, is haunting and transformative, capturing the complexities of isolation, rage, and societal alienation with mesmerizing intensity.

Where to watch the best Robert De Niro movies and shows streaming online in India

Check out JustWatch’s guide below for the several iconic movies and shows starring the two-time Oscar winner streaming online in India. We also provide offers to buy, rent, or watch these movies for free (if available).

Whether playing a mobster, a sensitive father, or a politician in a thriller, Robert De Niro’s career continues to thrive, and his influence on film and television remains undeniable. 

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  1. Taxi Driver

    Taxi Driver

    1976

    #1

    A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feed his urge for violent action.

  2. The Godfather Part II

    #2

    In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

  3. The Deer Hunter

    The Deer Hunter

    1978

    #3

    A group of working-class friends decide to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos -- not the noble venture they imagined. Before they left, Steven married his pregnant girlfriend -- and Michael and Nick were in love with the same woman. But all three are different men upon their return.

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  4. Raging Bull

    Raging Bull

    1980

    #4

    The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.

  5. Mean Streets

    Mean Streets

    1973

    #5

    A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.

  6. Heat

    Heat

    1995

    #6

    Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.

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  7. GoodFellas

    GoodFellas

    1990

    #7

    The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.

  8. Casino

    Casino

    1995

    #8

    In early-1970s Las Vegas, Sam "Ace" Rothstein gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro, his ex-hustler wife Ginger, her con-artist ex Lester Diamond and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger.

  9. Joker

    Joker

    2019

    #9

    During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.

  10. The Irishman

    The Irishman

    2019

    #10

    Pennsylvania, 1956. Frank Sheeran, a war veteran of Irish origin who works as a truck driver, accidentally meets mobster Russell Bufalino. Once Frank becomes his trusted man, Bufalino sends him to Chicago with the task of helping Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful union leader related to organized crime, with whom Frank will maintain a close friendship for nearly twenty years.

  11. The King of Comedy

    The King of Comedy

    1982

    #11

    Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.

  12. Once Upon a Time in America

    #12

    A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

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  13. Awakenings

    Awakenings

    1990

    #13

    Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.

  14. Killers of the Flower Moon

    #14

    When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one—until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

  15. Analyze This

    Analyze This

    1999

    #15

    Countless wiseguy films are spoofed in this film that centers on the neuroses and angst of a powerful Mafia racketeer who suffers from panic attacks. When Paul Vitti needs help dealing with his role in the "family," unlucky shrink Dr. Ben Sobel is given just days to resolve Vitti's emotional crisis and turn him into a happy, well-adjusted gangster.

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  16. Meet the Parents

    Meet the Parents

    2000

    #16

    Greg Focker is ready to marry his girlfriend, Pam, but before he pops the question, he must win over her formidable father, humorless former CIA agent Jack Byrnes, at the wedding of Pam's sister. As Greg bends over backward to make a good impression, his visit to the Byrnes home turns into a hilarious series of disasters, and everything that can go wrong does, all under Jack's critical, hawklike gaze.

  17. Silver Linings Playbook

    #17

    After losing his job and wife, and spending time in a institution, a former teacher winds up living with his parents. He wants to rebuild his life and reconcile with his wife, but his father would be happy if he shared his obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles. Things get complicated when he meets a woman, who offers to help him reconnect with his wife, if he will do something very important for her in exchange.

  18. Joy

    Joy

    2015

    #18

    A story based on the life of a struggling Long Island single mom who became one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs.

  19. Cape Fear

    Cape Fear

    1991

    #19

    Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? 14 years ago, Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.

  20. The Untouchables

    The Untouchables

    1987

    #20

    Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.