best on screen male chemistry

paul newman and robert redford in “butch cassidy and the sundance kid”
paul newman and robert redford in “the sting”
george clooney and brad pitt
or al pacino and robert de niro
or michael caine and sean connery in “th man who would be king”
harvey keitel and robert de niro in : mean streets "

I just saw “Tropical Malady,” and the relationship built in the first part of the film is completely natural, and believable. I was pretty amazed at how powerful that feeling of uncertainty, and fear of rejection was in the film. He captured the universal feeling of, “not knowing if someone is ‘into’ you or not.”

That’s just something that came to mind.

Leopold and Loeb

william holden and peter finch
walter matthau and jack lemmon

How about Tony Curtis & Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot? Male bonding while in dresses – hmmm, what’s up with that? Throw Marilyn Monroe into the mix and things really got interesting. Oh, and we can’t forget the ‘chemistry’ of Jack Lemmon and Joe E. Brown dancing the cha-cha with the band blind-folded, eh?
Or Ed Wood bonding with himself in Glen or Glenda – some fascinating chemistry there.

To tell you the truth; Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon did a great job in Mystic River— even Fishburn as a supporting actor. Good chemistry..

Also, many of Bergman’s films— all the actors and actresses as well have amazing chemistry.. But specifically male: Max Von Sydow and Gunnar Bjornstrand.

Isn’t the obvious answer Brokeback Mountain …?

OK, without sarcasm …

There’s a little indie movie from the early 90s called Amongst Friends. It’s NEO-neo-noir, and probably just a little too full of itself, just as so many of those early Sundance-y films were, but it really is impressive for how well the three main characters blended without Scorsese or Altman behind the camera.

And on that same tenor I’d give a nod to Leo’s The Basketball Diaries as well.

Let’s not forget Elijah Wood and Sean Astin in Lord of the Rings.

The bond and friendship forged through war between Frodo and Sam is honestly one of the strongest ever depicted on film, and fully shows the deep and pure love that’s possible between two, heterosexual men who have literally crawled through Hell together.

I just saw Carnal Knowledge again last night…Nicholson and Garfunkel worked really well off each other, I thought.

Voight and Hoffman do the business in Midnight Cowboy

John Cassavetes’ HUSBANDS hands down.

The “Three Men in a Boat” that is the second half of “Jaws”.

Should I be the one to mention every Kevin Smith movie, especially Clerks 2 and Randal’s emotional confession at the end.

Laurel and Hardy

@ Grey Daisies.

I second Husbands.
In regards to Husbands there is a terrific interview with Cassavetes, Falk, and Gazzara promoting the film on the Dick Cavett Show. I’ll post the link.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=cassavetes%20husbands&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#q=the+dick+cavett+show+cassavetes+husbands&hl=en&emb=0

Another vote for Husbands – still my favourite Cassavetes – good choice. The sub-title to this film could be ’suburban boys gone wild". That looks to have been a fun shoot.

Midnight Run with Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin.

Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church in Sideways
Robero Benigni, Giorgio Cantarini in La Vita e Bella
Elijah Wood, Sean Astin in The Lord of the Rings
Philippe Noiret, Massimo Troisi in Il Postino

Runner Up: Mathieu Amalric, Max von Sydow in The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, They have very few moments together, but when they are, you really believe these two are father and son.

Humphrey Bogart & Peter Lorre “The Maltese Falcon” (1941)
Robert Walker & Farley Granger “Strangers on a Train” (1951)
Dirk Bogarde & Björn Andrésen “Death in Venice” (1971)
Gérad Depardieu & Patrick Dewaere “Les Valeuses” (1974)
James Spader and Robert Downey Jr. “Less than Zero” (1987)

(or Spader-Shatner in Boston Legal & Spader with Andrew McCarthy “Pretty in Pink”? )

Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Victor McGlaglen in GUNGA DIN.

Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in Goodfellas.
Tom Doniphon and Rance Stoddard in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

Hm, I think Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro had incredible chemistry, especially in Raging Bull.