Keep in mind that I only considered The Godfather Parts 1 and 2. In The Godfather 3, Michael felt entirely different, he needs an entire video just to compare him with his previous self. (Yes, I included some footage from Part 3 just to depict what Michael established and his empire).
Vito runs things like a family and Michael runs things like a soldier. More specifically Vito runs things like a Father but Michael runs things like a general or conquering emperor.
There is a dialogue in the Indian epic movie Bahubali the beginning where two brothers have to fight a war against enemy and those win will get the throne. one brother is like miachel ruthless and just wants power while other is like vito who cares for the family and people. queen mother says that a king is the one who while killing enemy also cares for the people while soldier just kills enemy by hook or crook. it is set in medieval period
Problem with comparing Vito and Michael is that they became powerful through different means. Vito had time to build and fight wars to establish control while Michael had to suppress rebellion from the established families to keep control.
This is a bit unfair to Michael. He didn't have much choice in being more aggressive and less trusting because he came up when the family was weak and in the midst of a mob war.
well the first Don grew up with nothing but Michael grew the family's powers and fortune 100x. Michael paved the way to legitimate businesses for his future generations.
@@DxModel219 true comment - but who was Michael leaving the money and power to? his dead daughter or opera singer son? Vito wanted legitimacy but knew his hands were too dirty
@@johnniewalker64 while both children could maybe inherit to the legitimate part of his Empire. But on the mafia side, neither wouldn’t be allowed anyway because they’re half Sicilian. In mafia tradition, you have to full blooded Italian or Sicilian.
Michael never lost his humanity. As Coppola stated while commenting " He lost his path, he corrupted himself, he became his father's puppet:. Than Coppola said " Everything he did he did for his family and in the end he destroyed his family "
@@dc6461 mario puzoo know it better not copola . And movie par 3 was not written by puzo . So michael was a successful don in the part 2 movir and in the book even ending is his wife Kay live with hus husband don michael
i always felt that the kids of vito were the unfiltered aspects of vito's personality. from the rage of sonny, the child like naivety of fredo, the cold calculation of michael and in gd3, the shrewdness of connie. Vito has all of these qualities that make him successful but shows indivdualy it is failure. mike is the closest to them all but in the end not enough.
I agree with Vito being the better don. Your analysis reminded me of the metaphor said to Goeth by Schindler in Schindler's List about power. Vito, though cunning, flexes his greatest power through his compassion. Michael's only compassion seems to be his cunning.
Vito let Carlo beat Connie without even saying a word, his own driver betrayed him, he sent his main enforcer on a mission that made no sense, and he was really only powerful in one lone city. Michael on the hand, created an organization that was powerful on an international level. He was on the verge of being a multi-billionaire. And after part 2, people knew that crossing him was a death sentence, if he was willing to kill his own brother, and was able to kill Hymen Roth, then he would have no problem killing you if you crossed him, and no matter where you fled, he would eventually find out where you are.
I believe he was going to turn over his criminal empire over to Vincent. While he would have his legitimate business/empire that he wanted to leave to his daughter.
what Vito didn't do was what Vito didn't WANT to do, not unable to do, Vito saw that loyalty is better earned by friendship, and expanding or rivalries or assassinations puts your people at risk Michael didn't know friendship, so his inner circle got smaller as those who were loyal to his father either left or died till he had no one to trust or help, not only that but Michael saw himself as a commander not a godfather, which made Fredo feel inferior, and push Tom away (his most capable and irreplaceable advisor) because Tom never saw what Don Vito say as unquestionable commands and he always argued with Sonny over the family when Sonny was acting don. after part 2 it was clear that he saw the reality which is that those who respected him for his father are all dead, and that unlike his father, he can't replace them he was very rich but knew it all would go away with him, and the 3rd part put a nail in his coffin when it took from whatever very little he had to show him the value of family and have him do all what he did for his brother's long ignored bastared son.
@nolasorrosalom4846 Listen, Vito didn't know Carlo beat Connie, Sonny knew when he went to see her. People also betrayed Michael like Tessio & Fabrizio. The mission Vito sent Luca Brazi on was a good mission. They had no way of knowing Sollozzo & Tattaglia would kill him. Michael was worth $600 million so stop EXAGGERATING with the billions numbers & furthermore, money is not everything, especially if you can't hold onto it and your daughter gets killed.
Michael was definitely a cunning and shrewd boss who greatly expanded the Corleone empire through cold, calculated efficiency but he was never loved or respected the way Vito was because he failed to cultivate authentic interpersonal relationships the way Vito did. Vito also built an empire from absolutely nothing which I think was more impressive than Michael's expansion of it.
Agree that is the main point. Vito started with absolutely nothing. Michael took an already established wealthy family into the stratosphere. Vito tried to make everyone benefit from his "friendship" Michael not so much, even though he did make the other Vegas mobsters/investors very rich in GF3. Michael just didn't invest in people the way Vito did. Of course, they moved in different worlds and eras.
Michael was never a street guy unlike his father which is something that Frank Pentangeli brings up!! To be a good Don you have to know both sides the business and the streets
A really excellent analysis. I've been a huge fan of Parts I and II for 40 years but never considered this comparison. You've focused on THE key point. Maybe Michael made more money - but unlike Vito he didn't start with zero. And whereas Vito had family to take over when he left - Michael has no one - so who are the vast riches and power for? Thanks for this really good piece
Michael said it himself to Kate “My father’s ways are old, even he knows that”. What Michael meant was honor and overall respect in criminality was diminishing because drugs and other ventures were becoming too lucrative for anyone to conduct business the old fashioned way. Greed had taken over all the families. The days of having “honor amongst thieves” were finished. Michael went threw the same thing when he passed the family on to Vincent and saw how Vincent had no regard for any of the old ways. So it’s not a fair comparison between Michael and Vito Corleone because both were Dons in two different eras, but both were excellent Dons for their perspective time periods.
I think a point we all miss is that Vito had a life before being a mob man. A life where he lived and became a mob man. Micheal was always surrounded by mob people and the shit that follows the constant death and pain. Also the fact he went to war and that changes a person. He while hid it when he came back from war. You can see as the movies progressed he acted more like a army man leading his troops
Vito did use Michael in the end. Not many peeople talk about this but it's true. When Sonny is killed Vito sets up a meeting with the heads of the family and gives a promise that he won't be the one to break the peace. Which is true because he already intended to give his throne to Michael and even tell him who the traitor was. It was a calculated move to be honest
Some interesting observations. May I contend that they were very different as dons due to two main things? Firstly, they were men of their times, Vito made it the hard way from nothing, the only simple thing when Vito was a young man was to become a streetwise hustler, as this was needed to survive. Michael was born into a completely different world, due in large part to Vito and his success. Secondly, they were products of their environment. Vito came as a very young boy to America from Sicily with everything he owned on his back. He diligently and carefully made his way to the top, partly due to the nature of his life as n New York’s slums, where Italian immigrants had no one to protect them except the mafia. Vito shrewdly became a man of the people and the rest is history. Again Michael was born into a completely different environment, one where Vito was a very wealthy businessman and mafia don. This environment was a world away from the young vito’s early life environment. Whilst they are two people of a family only a generation apart, to compare them like this is to try and compare apples with oranges. Two different points in time and two completely different environments make it very difficult to compare their virtues. Who is to say that if the roles were switched they would be different? The only thing that can really be compared is their personality over time. Vito’s manner and personality changed little over time, whilst Michael’s shifted considerably.
Vito should of never let barzini live he swayed the loyalty of your family he attacked your family and hindered your future moves if moe green didn't go to barzini micheal would never wouldn't make a move on him so quickly making enemies of roth
That alone doesn't make him the better Don. Those are just the circumstances of their lives. Michael was born into power, while Vito had to build it from scratch. I would argue that if they were both competing against each other as Dons and not family member that Michael definitely could win. I'm not saying he would win vs Vito, but it wouldn't be shocking if he outsmarted Vito and took his power. Michael got EVERYTHING he ever wanted in terms of the mafia business.
who was the better Don? We will never know. I will go with Vito. Others may have a different opinion. Who was the better Godfather? Hands down Vito.. not even an argument. "Don" & "Godfather" have different meanings.
Hard to really say...if one looks at the heights the family reached after Michael was don, one would have to say Michael. But the building and foundation that the family was built on was all Don Vito..nothing of what Michael really achieved could have been done without him. Both were similar in the respect of intelligence, but quite different in other ways. Both came up differently, so both would rule differently. If being pressed to say who was the better don, I would say Don Vito..he truly represented what a real Godfather was supposed to be...not only feared but loved as well.. big families are built on that. Michael was terribly feared, people quaked in their boots in fear of him...but that still didn't stop those who wanted him gone from coming at him when they felt he was slipping.
Are you serious? Michael wasn't feared? What the actual fuck ? Who was afraid of him? Connie? No, she married a man he told her not to. Fredo? No, he had a meeting with Ola behind his back and didn't tell Michael about it bc he was angry at him. Hagen? No, he had an affair with Sonny's ex, something he would never do in front of Vito. FrankP? No, he was drunk in front of him. He even disrespected his wife at the table. Only than Michael gives him a death stare and puts him down in Italian. Senator? No, he told him to his face " You and your fucking family " Michael in gf2 becomes savage animal after the attack on the house. Wtf are you talking about?
vito was the better leader, but michael was the more realistic portrayal of a crime boss don. crooks at every level are crooks, dishonest, not playful and jovial and personally loving to the underlings.
Vito knew how to create relationships. All Michael learned was how to consolidate power it's only in his later years. Did Michael soften and try to build relationships. Unfortunately, if you don't start with that as the foundation, anything you've built on top of it will fall apart.
It is difficult to decide which Don was better because each one came from a different era. Vito had the old mentality where loyalty was something you won, and it had nothing to do with money but Michael has to deal with "Loyalty" where Money talk.
Two different eras, two different Dons. Don Vito was from whole different Mafia than Michael. Vito was from the old guard where the was, at least, the notion of "honor ". The new Mafia that Michael dealt with was all business, however, all business was personal. Michael had to be ruthless to deal with animals. It my thinking that they were both the best Don, each in their own times.
I dont think Michael could have started from nothing and rose up from the streets. Vito knew to take care of his neighborhood, build friendships and relationships, and invest in police and political protection. When he struck a deal, he tried to not only profit himself but also provide for the other guy, at least in his first offer. Michael had a better sense for modern big business. His goal to make the family 100% legitimate by controlling casinos, real estate, etc. His dealings still involved a lot of strongarm, but at least on the surface appeared legal. He took the family's wealth and power to heights Vito never even dreamed of. To be fair, though, Vito did have the foresight of wanting his sons in positions of power in the legal world - Senator Corleone, Governor Corleone. The ones pulling the strings (like Joe Kennedy) They then could have raised the family up that way. Different eras for sure. Michael for sure didn't build relationships like Vito did. He burned Frankie, a loyal capo who was with the family for decades. He cut Tom out without explanation. He killed his own brother, and made his sister a widow. He ruled only out of fear. He had no loyal friends. As he said himself, their loyalty was based on business only (and fear) He sent Rocco on a suicide mission to kill Roth.
Vito earned his reputation but it was hard for him to keep it like Miachael. Like someone already pointed out that he let his daughter get beat. It's on purpose though to show how these Corleones in their own light, we have Fredo who was weak, emotional Sonny who was a hothead but did everything for his family. Vito wanted to have the power respect and still remain civilized while Michael was willing to do whatever it takes including killing his own brother and brother in law
When Vito wasn't slipping he was the best Don. If it were not for Sonny's anger issues he would have been a good Don. Michael was just completely angry and held everything as being personal about him which results in him royally self destructing every single thing. It was never about family or business, it was 100% personal. They family was way worse off once Michael took over and it only went downhill from there. Fredo would have been the worse Don.
@@richardmoores Well Michael definitely got everything he wanted out of the mafia business. He was able to take out anyone in his way and get everything he wanted, while Vito was always able to do that. In fact he came very close to getting assassinated, and was very lucky to live through that. I'm not saying Michael was a better leader, but I do think he did better in term of business. Michael alienated his family though, which I think was a bad choice.
I think what’s not shown in this is that Michael wants things to be right but misunderstands what strength is. He didn’t have to earn respect through trust, friendship, and vulnerability the way Vito did. Also, Roth’s story about Mo Green is critical to understanding the difference between Vito and Michael. Vito would not have killed Green, thus not turning Roth against him.
Everyone forgets it is Michael who was taught many lessons from his Father. So I would say Vito made a Better Don. He was is a Self made Don. Michael would be (at first) the unwilling future of the Family. But Accepts his role to Run his Father.
Vito was the better godfather because he used his family to balance out the darkness of the mafia business by being loving towards his family.Michael not so much.
@@dc6461 Michael slapping the shit out of his wife Vito at the verge of tears when he saw fredo being ill, how he never cheated on his wife and how he adopted a kid just to help him out and made him on of his own.
@@V---L Michael didn't slap the shit out of his wife. Michael hit Kay after she said she killed the baby. Michael was in Cuba for months, he was surrounded by mafia and whores. He was looking over his shoulder, waiting to be killed while trying to Roth himself When he came home he was ashamed to face her and than Semat hearing. He is waiting for his mother to be die so he kill his brother. He was under severe emotional pressure and in that moment he lost it. Moment when he hit her Coppola commented with words " Michael became paranoid like Nixons America ". He said that in the documentary called Godfather family: a look inside.
I guess it all comes down to whether you’re willing to roll the dice or not. Vito played it safe, but didn’t gain as much success and power. Michael gained success and power, but it was shaky and fell apart at the end.
It's not juvenile to care about the money. The very things you need to help your friends and family are bought and paid for using money. Love and respect are important but they can't buy hamburgers.
The biggest separator between Vito and Michael is we only see Vito when it was times of peace, and we only see Michael minus 3 in times of war. They also had different ambitions, Michael wanted to take the family legit and get out of the crime side. Vito had no such aspirations, I think the timing if Vito was the son, he too would have had to change. Vito was brought up in the world of we can control things with money and crime. It's way harder now and in Michaels time then Vito ever dealt with.
Don Vito was the real leader. his son run the empire with an iron fist. when they killed sonny ; Vito was the voice of reason he didn't want the other mob bosses do more; revenge revengeful vendettas against the other families Michael turned into a ; monster something his father didn't want him to become
Somewhat bias against Michael. Pantangeli only flipped because he thought Michael tried to kill him, when it was really Roth. Michael did care about his people too. He could have walked away from the Don and left the Corleone family, but he wanted to make sure the people he was responsible for were taken care of first. He told Kay this in the beginning of Godfather 2
i do agree that vito was a much better don than michael put it my way if i were to be one thier crime member i would rather stay loyal to vito when he in danger than stay with michael when in the top league I'd ask for my leave the first day Michael become don in respect for his father
I’m sorry but this video feels like a demonization of Michael that is unfair and fails to factor in the different eras and environments they came into power under. People tend to ignore the fact that Michael only came into power because Vito’s way of doing business had run its course and he was betrayed by the same people that had pledged loyalty to him. Michael didn’t simply see the family as a business because he was cold hearted, he did so because the events that brought him into power reflected that sentiment. Vito wasn’t any less brutal/calculating than Michael was, the story was simply written at a time where that version of him was far removed; he also was capable of brutality and calculated coldness. Michael wasn’t as warm and kind natured as Vito as the Don, but that was only because that version of him eroded away due to the things that happened to him and his family during Vito’s reign. He was actually a pretty nice and well mannered young man before the attempt on Vito and the murder of Apollonia. Vito was a loved King, Michael was a feared/respected protector; and both roles were perfect for the time periods they navigated. I get that the two did things differently but you did Michael dirty in this video man.
This analogy has been done to death. One key point the narrator left out was the 2nd last scene from Godfather 3 when Michael is in anguish over the murder of his daughter. The look on Kay's face was the most crucial part of this scene. She sees that Michael truly loved his family. The method he employed to protect them, though not always popular, wasn't rooted in selfishness.
Vito wasn't above the thought of hitting his wife. The only reason he never did was because she never gave him reason to, according to Michael's mother. Given the right circumstances, he would've struck her too
Vito ofcourse! Vito had no one to mentor him, he grew up with the grime from scratch from nothing. Vito embodied what a Don was not just for Michael but for every other american mobster, Vito set the example.. When michael became don that way of life was no longer accepted by families or the community so michael loses his family n friends due to changing times not lack of trying
First, you should comprehend what the term "clickbait" means. A clickbait is when the title or thumbnail is misleading, and it's obvious in this case. I'm comparing the two dons. So If the comparison is meaningless, why did you click on the video in the first place? Second, your reasoning makes no sense. They were both dons who made decisions based on their own characteristics, traits and personalities. It is still possible to compare two persons from different eras; it is done all the time. It's human nature to make comparisons. Consider football. You may compare two players from different generations, such as Messi and Maradona.
It's an interesting comparison. It's like comparing two top players of a game of some sort from two different time periods, which can never be done accurately, but it's still interesting to here.
I think the 2 dons are roughly the same. Their rule was just under different circumstances. They are both extremely un emotional when it comes to taking action and follow the mafia code pretty much flawlessly.
Vito chose a life of crime which caused a lot of people to die over money. His decision led to Sonny getting killed, a son in law marrying his daughter to get into the business to only betray the family, Michael’s wife getting killed, Fredo resenting Michael from being passed over which almost killed Michael, and Tess and Roth two people who helped Vito create his criminal empire try to kill Michael. And Michael who wanted nothing to do with the family business made an emotional decision to join the business to protect his family which caused him to lose his soul and the family he built with Kay. His marriage with Kay ended when Roth attempted to kill them in their bedroom…and Kay finally left him for good when their daughter was killed in another failed assassination attempt on Michael life. Vito might have been a good Don, but if saw what happened to his after his death would have broken his heart.
It's all very well to say "Money isn't everything." but all the respect, loyalty and friendship Vito built up didn't stop his family almost being destroyed because he cost someone money. Only luck and having a brilliant son (and another pretty capable one) kept him and his family alive.
