Al Pacino chewed some delicious scenery in the late 1990s. Twice at Michael Mann's direction, he excelled as a hard-nosed investigator (Detective Vincent Hanna in "Heat" then journalist Lowell Bergman in "The Insider"). He stole the show from his younger co-stars both in "Donnie Brasco" and "Devil's Advocate," proving youth can't compare with sheer talent.

Pacino's last film of this period was the football drama "Any Given Sunday." He played Tony D'Amato, the aging coach of the Miami Sharks. The film's most famous scene, a motivational speech by D'Amato to his players, is carried entirely by Pacino. The speech as written and Pacino's delivery of it are masterful in their escalation. D'Amato starts weary, telling the players, "We're in hell gentleman." Yet, he manages to describe the grave odds in a way that makes you want to defy them:

"Because in either game, life or football, the margin...