Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Fictional Characters: 87

87: Vito Corleone
Created by Mario Puzo for the novel “The Godfather”
First Appearance: 1969

Why do I like this guy? Vito, here, is a real man. Important, influential, and legendary. His command of his powerful crime family is the focal point of the first film and his rise from nothing to being the head of said family is the second primary narrative arc of the second film. I can only assume the books follow the same course, since I’ve never read them. He commands fear with as much ease as he commands respect, and he is dangerous as well as he is loved by those in his life. His relationships with both his family and his enforcers/employees/lacky-

types are noteworthy, as is his penchant for getting his way, either through bloody revenge, tactical backstabbing, and/or merciless dealings with his enemies

But why do I like this guy?

Perhaps its all about Brando. I mean, I’ve never read the book, so I couldn’t really say if I thought he was a great character before any of the films came out. And, I mean, he’s only really alive for the first film, anyhow. But there’s a power, there, in Vito that is unmatched by the rest of the cast, even in Pacino’s three-film role as his son, Michael. Don’t get me wrong, I love that character and I love all three films, but the raw, sheer majesty of Brando’s command makes the character who he is in the first film: dangerous, compassionate, and breathtakingly real.

This is where the real issue with this list comes into play. Months and months ago, when I was first considering making this list, I had a talk with Aaron Jaco regarding whether or not it would be possible to really separate the characters from the actors that played them. In books or video games or comics, of course, this would be a non-issue, but with film and television, you are seeing someone become that character. Brando as Vito is a primary example of the horror that comes with trying to keep the two apart because every last thing I want to say about the character is in direct relation to how Brando plays him in this film, and – you know – how DeNiro plays him in in Part 2’s flashback sequences. This is problematic.

 

I could speak to how imposing Vito is on screen, how he carries his weight (no pun intended) and how his very presence earns him the respect and attention of those that surround him. But it is very easy to attribute this to Brando’s potrayal of the character. I could speak to the gravity of his words, his actions, and his personal arc through the two films, independantly. But, again, it would be simple to give credit to the actors playing the parts so well. Everything, down to the speech patterns, the mannerisms, and unique quirks are all part of the way Vito is played for screen. But if the issue is whether or not this means I’m commenting on Vito or Brando, then I don’t really know how to resolve it.

I hate to use a character’s post on this list to talk about the list itself (namely, some of the issues with making the list in the first place), but its the source of many issues I’ve been having keeping at it. I check to see who the next person is and, when I sit down to write the post out, all I can think about is how good a job an actor does. This is particularly distracting when you consider many of the characters in movies has alternative counterparts in other mediums, like Vito here, in Puzo’s novels. But if I don’t read them, I don’t really have access to the information I’d need to better flesh out the way I produce these notes about the characters. Instead, it turns into a sloppy series of excuses for a long-delayed and barely-read list of 100 Characters that, at the rate I’m going, will wrap up sometime in early 2018 (unless the world ends later this year). So, I’m off, now, to re-evaluate how I produce these notes. Hm.

Favorite Portrayal:
So, obviously, I’m going to give it to Brando. Just watch that first film and you’ll see why. His nuanced, subtle acting in this movie transcends standard acting abilities and skyrockets this character actor high above the rest of the cast in terms of screen presence and lasting impact on the viewer. And, you know, its Brando’s greatest role ever. So there’s that.

Favorite Quote:
“I want reliable people, people who aren’t going to be carried away. After all, we’re not murderers.”

Favorite Moment:
Uh, duh:

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Added September 6, 2016
And here we see the break-down of this list. It was too difficult to manage it without separating the character and the portrayal. I just started losing interest in the list from this point, forward. And then I left Facebook, so that didn’t help.