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If you havent seen the Godfather there are going to be spoilers in this thread
I am sure many of you have seen Francis Ford Coppolas epic trilogy. I am a huge fan of it, such great movies and such great acting from some of the most legendary actors ever. But today I have a question for the members of TL about two of those actors particularly. Marlon Brando and Robert Deniro.
I know many of you are going to go heavily to one side or the other as to which is the better actor. But I dont want to talk about that. What I want to know is which one do you think did a better job of portraying the Godfather, Vito Corleone.
Deniros part is as the young Vito who has reached America after his mother and father were murdered in Sicily. Deniro starts off working in a humble grocery store, trying to feed his wife and son. He works his way up to be the "Godfather" of the neighborhood, not exactly the ideal rags to riches story but hell Deniro does it well.
Brandos part is the older Vito Corleone. On the day of his daughters wedding he takes requests from his "constituents", he has clearly come a long way from operating out of a store in Harlem. Now the head of a huge family Vito must deal with all the politics that come across his table, even the dirty laundry.
Anyway what I was wondering was who did the better job of portraying Vito?
Poll: Whos the better Godfather?
(Vote): Robert Deniro
(Vote): Marlon Brando
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United States12607 Posts
I've got to go with Brando. The flashbacks with Deniro were really boring IMO. In the flashbacks the Godfather's character was very romanticized so he wasn't very deep. Brando's Godfather was a much more complex character. Also, he's the original - Brando is responsible for all of the mannerisms we associate with the Godfather, not Deniro.
Edit: wait, why isn't Al Pacino in this poll? I guess I expected him to be an option after reading the title, but OP explains.
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You can't really say one was better than the other, I feel like The Godfather Pt. I lended itself more to seeing deeper within the character of Vito Corleone, since in Pt. II the flashback depiction of Vito Corleone's life was like less than 1/3 of the movie. Regardless DeNiro gave an amazingly convincing performance (all spoken in Sicilian) and you could really feel the struggle he went through to get to the top. Brando was fucking badass in the movie. He gave off a very powerful, yet calm sort of demeanor throughout the whole movie, and made you feel like he was a good person whilst pursuing his illegal operations. Every single movement he did with his hand, his body, just was perfect in that movie.
I am personally favorable towards De Niro, just because he is one of my favorite actors of all time, but I honestly can't say that one is better than the other.
also, they portray two almost totally different characters. Even though it's the same person, the character changes that you see within the young and the old Vito Corleone are drastic. It's like saying who was a better actor in "Silence of the Lambs" Anthony Hopkins or Jodie Foster?
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On November 11 2008 05:34 jwd241224 wrote:
I've got to go with Brando. The flashbacks with Deniro were really boring IMO. In the flashbacks the Godfather's character was very romanticized so he wasn't very deep. Brando's Godfather was a much more complex character. Also, he's the original - Brando is responsible for all of the mannerisms we associate with the Godfather, not Deniro.
Edit: wait, why isn't Al Pacino in this poll? I guess I expected him to be an option after reading the title, but OP explains.
I'd say because we're trying to compare the two Vito Corleone depictions, rather than Michael Corleone, who was played by Al Pacino in all three films. We could have a poll saying who was a better Godfather, Michael Corleone, or Vito, but really... actually that's not a bad idea.
Poll: Better Godfather
(Vote): Michael Corleone (Al Pacino)
(Vote): Vito Corleone (Brando/De Niro)
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Brando for sure. This was the first big movie for De Niro, he just didnt blossom as an actor yet. But it surely did something to him, given what his next performance was.
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thats kind of like asking whos better - pele or maradona. both of them acted incredibly imho. cant make up my mind -.-
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I prefer Brando, as long as subtitles are on.
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On November 11 2008 05:41 StarN wrote:Show nested quote +On November 11 2008 05:34 jwd241224 wrote:
I've got to go with Brando. The flashbacks with Deniro were really boring IMO. In the flashbacks the Godfather's character was very romanticized so he wasn't very deep. Brando's Godfather was a much more complex character. Also, he's the original - Brando is responsible for all of the mannerisms we associate with the Godfather, not Deniro.
Edit: wait, why isn't Al Pacino in this poll? I guess I expected him to be an option after reading the title, but OP explains. I'd say because we're trying to compare the two Vito Corleone depictions, rather than Michael Corleone, who was played by Al Pacino in all three films. We could have a poll saying who was a better Godfather, Michael Corleone, or Vito, but really... actually that's not a bad idea. Poll: Better Godfather( Vote): Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) ( Vote): Vito Corleone (Brando/De Niro)
Its hard to say. Now i would definitely say Brando was better because he made the role special, however if i never saw any other of Pacino movies i mightve had a different opinion. Problem with Pacino's role is that after finding his niche in this movie he played most of his upcoming gangster characters exactly the same way, making Michael seem bland in retrospect.
ALTHOUGH, Although to be honest it was James Caan's performance that i liked the best. Although his godfatherish part was extremely brief i thought he was the best actor among this extremely talented crew.
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On November 11 2008 05:44 zgl wrote:
I prefer Brando, as long as subtitles are on.
hahaha
I liked Brando better though 
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United States3824 Posts
I think Brando does a better job of portraying the heavy burden that he carried as the godfather. I just felt like Dinero just went around and killed a bunch of people.
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For me, Brando IS the godfather. Deniro just plays the godfather as a younger man before he really takes on the title as 'the godfather'.
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Imho you can't really answer that qestion since they are in fact not portraying the same character per se. I mean sure they're both playing Vito Corleone, but at very different ages and very different settings ~ like a whole different character. You could ask who the better actor was and even that would be difficult.
I like Brandos acting a lot in that movie, especially the cat-scene.
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Deniro is awesome. Probably my favorite actor of all time, but I'd definitely have to say that Brando played a better Vito. He really represents the Godfather in most people's eyes.
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If you are looking it from a pure godfather point of view, then Brando probably, because he depicts the full fledge of power a Don can achieve after a long journey in the mafia. Deniro was better in Heat anyway
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I like Deniro, but for the life of me I never could understand what was so damn special about his performance in the Godfather II. He just mumbled his lines like Vito Corleone would've but it didn't blow me away. I felt Al Pacino's role in Godfather II was so good, much more deserving of the Best Actor oscar than Deniro deserving of the Best Supporting actor, although I heard the guy who got the Best Actor oscar that year got it out of sympathy because he had died.
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Brando's imagination for the character was nothing short of spectacular, it has to be him!
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I agree it's hard to say because it's two different characters almost. Most people instantly associate Brando as the character of Vito, so I think a poll like this will always go in favor of Brando.
Personally I really like Deniro's role in the Godfather, Brando to me seemed like he was doing something that wouldn't be too far of a stretch for him IRL, heh.
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On November 11 2008 06:38 JSkates wrote:
Personally I really like Deniro's role in the Godfather, Brando to me seemed like he was doing something that wouldn't be too far of a stretch for him IRL, heh.
If that's the case, shouldn't even more credit go to Brando? He really became his character. =p
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
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So much Brando. I can't believe so many people voted De Niro.
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Personally I think Deniro played a much more tough role and he did it very well. I think the character of Vito was always a bland and slow moving character, but based on values which drove his ambition. He was never as ambitious as Michael was. Deniro had to play Brando in the movie, not Vito Corleone.
The first Godfather is arguably the best movie of all time and Brandos performance is remembered as one of his greatest. Deniro had to step into his shoes and play the character which Brando would have years ago. That fact alone makes Deniros performance better than Brandos to me.
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Definitely deniro for me. I'm not going to say he's a better actor or whatever but those flashback scenes in godfather 2 were just magic to me.
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EPT
