The Spotlight: Vito Corleone

Vito Corleone is a role that has been portrayed in film twice, by different actors. They both won Oscars, and each would be a showing that would define the raw essence of acting.

How to even talk about such a game changing character over the course of film is simply daunting. I am going to do my best. Vito Corleone, better known as The Godfather, is the main character in the first of the trilogy of famous films about the cosa nostra done masterfully by Francis Ford Coppola.

For the most part, these films are etched in stone on every list of all-time greats. Many experts and famous critics alike place The Godfather II at the very top of their lists of greatest movies ever made. This is very much a testament to the Don who held the strings. Vito Corleone was The Godfather, and this character was the figurehead for these genius pieces of violent poetry.

He was amazing, and when we cut down to it… he changed my life. I know, I know, I became a Librarian, as opposed to a hitman, but I learned about confidence, honor, critical thinking, love for family, and pride in one’s heritage from this character.

In this world Coppola created, Vito Corleone was king. He was a vicious killer, a mastermind of the Mafia, and the figurehead of a society bred by fear, vengeance, and honor. He built what would become the head crime family in all of New York City, and revolutionized the idea of an organized crime syndicate. He is bigger than just that, though. Lots of Mafia movies have come down the pike over the years. Some good, some really amazing in fact, most were pretty terrible though. Vito Corleone is the ace in the hole that all other are measured against. He is the Don of Dons. The man. The one.

He had a quiet power, almost a glowing aura around him. This presence has been unparalleled, not only in mafia films, but… in films… period. One of the greatest characters in the history of America cinema.

Now the true breakdown of what we are really talking about here.

When people debate “Who is the greatest actor of all time?” several names come up. Maybe people who really know what they are talking about will say they can’t pick just one, but maybe need a list of the top five.

Nine times out of ten, two names will appear on this list of five. These two men, are two of the best actors who have ever lived.

The first is almost completely and totally obvious, and often is regarded as quite possibly the greatest actor who ever lived, and more than half of it is attributed to his role in The Godfather for his portrayal of Vito Corleone. If you don’t know who I am talking about yet, then really… we should get together for coffee, we need to talk about life a little bit and see where your priorities are at.

His name was Marlon Brando. He changed film in ways that actors only dream of nowadays. He was 47 when he was cast as Don Corleone, a character more then 20 years his elder. He showed a calm and collective sense of power that puts you in your place.

Marlon Brando – The Godfather

While idealistic and very focused, Vito was very much about power and success, and was ultra violent. Business was all that mattered. Well wait a minute… not all that mattered. Family was first. Above all was his love for his family, and the value he placed on honor.

A line that echoes in time for me is: “Because a man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” When all the separate Mafia families embraced the idea of drugs, he held his ground against it, as he knew the trouble that would come down the road from such an endeavor. He focused his criminal endeavors on the prospects of gambling, racketeering and numbers, the more traditional organized crime avenues.

Italians (like ME) hold Marlon Brando’s Godfather up so high on the pedestal of greatness and prestige that maybe the only one to stand as tall as him is Frank Sinatra. Maybe a few others, like a Dean Martin, but not many.

Marlon Brando. Yea, accept no substitutes. His career serves as the prime example of what it is to be an actor, with dozens of great roles spanning a long career, but none get even close to this role. He set the bar with this one.

So where to go from here? Such a challenge would lie ahead. Coppola received acclaim for this masterpiece and won Oscars. Then he would move on to make the sequel. This film would tell two stories at once, of two Dons and their respective rises to power. One of them is Vito’s son Michael Corleone (played perfectly by Al Pacino an actor very deserving of his own spotlight), but that is another story for another day. The other story told in The Godfather II is the rise to power of the young Vito Corleone in New York City.

How could they move on from Marlon Brando’s game changing performance? What other actor could possibly reprise this masterful role in the prequel portion of this film, showing us how this small time gangster would become the Don we came to fear and love? The leader of all crime in New York.

They found a virtual unknown. He had made only a few films, but did star in the inaugural film debut of a future legend in directing, named Martin Scorsese. The film was Mean Streets. Well, safe to say that Francis Ford Coppola saw this movie and knew right away… that this man named Robert De Niro was the perfect actor to play the young Vito Corleone.

Robert De Niro – The Godfather II

De Niro would show us a different side of the Don. We saw him now, as a young man. As a broken and humble immigrant from Sicily. We witness as he grows tall and hard, and attempts at great cost to live the straight and noble life.

He overcomes the murder of his entire family and stows away on a ship to America, where an adoptive family helps him to find menial jobs, only to be taxed and dominated by local Italian mob figures. He is pushed to the limits of a mere citizen and realizes that in order to survive and become successful, he must confront head-on anyone who stands in his way… and make them an offer that they can’t refuse.

Before long, the Italians in the city would know where to go when they were in trouble, when they couldn’t find work or were being met with racism and persecution, from police or other groups seeking to cheat or punish their families. They would go to Don Corleone.

This vision of the early Don is an impeccable complement to the already famous character created by the Brando. It would propel Robert De Niro into a A list  career that many would now say rivals Brando even. Further still perhaps gives HIM the status of greatest actor who ever lived, even over Brando (though this NOT the opinion of The Big Brown Chair). In any case, it all started with these films, and both of their names are certainly mentioned in that discussion of who is the best, even if you don’t love these movies like I do, you must respect their importance.

Vito Corleone is a character who has been brought to life on film twice. Each time, the performance earned an Oscar. This is the only time this has ever happened. Need to hear that again? Vito Corleone is the only character played by two different actors, each of whom would receive an Oscar for the portrayal. It never happened before, and it has not happened since. Brando and De Niro each received the honors.

I could change the name of the blog to The Big Vito Corleone if I really wanted to. That is how profound an effect this character has had on me. Please, friends, if you have never sat down and watched these movies… do it now. In fact, let me know, I’ll watch them with you. I try watch them both back to back every year on St. Patrick’s Day. Once I had a streak of eight years in a row.

This scene lays the groundwork for Don Vito Corleone. It is the opening scene to the first film. Vito is but a shadow. He waits patiently, listening to the story of this man coming to seek his ever popular counsel. Marlon Brando’s raspy voice, and calm demeanor introduce us to the giant powerful figure, the head of the underworld. Watch in awe, and go seek a copy of it. If you’ve seen it before, its time to see it again.

Author: Peter

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