WhileThe Godfathercontains many villainous figures, the lack of one true main antagonist remains a hallmark of Francis Ford Coppola’s genre-defining gangster movie. Since releasing in 1972,The Godfather’s reputation has aged like a fine Sicilian wine, and the first chapter ofthe Corleone familytrilogy continues to be considered a leading contender when debating the greatest movies ever made. That same debate often yields the line “a movie is only as good as its villain,” and that pearl of wisdom has been proven right on many occasions.
Heath Ledger’s Joker was crucial toThe Dark Knight, Ralph Fiennes' Amon Göth cut an unforgettably sinister presence inSchindler’s List, and the Good and Ugly would have been a lot less interesting without the Bad. Curiously,The Godfatherstands apart. Plenty of nefarious figures are littered throughout the story, but pinning down one main villain fromThe Godfather’s castis far from straightforward. Even then, no single antagonist emerges fromThe Godfatheras memorable as Joker, Göth, or Angel Eyes. Surprising that may be, butThe Godfather’s approach to villainy only makes its triumph more impressive.
Sollozzo, Barzini & Why The Godfather Doesn’t Have An Actual Main Villain
Neither Sollozzo Nor Barzini Fits The Bill
The closest thingThe Godfatherhas to a central antagonist would likely be Al Lettieri’s Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo, who works alongside the corrupt Captain McCluskey to pushNew York’s Five Familiesinto the drug business. After being refused,Sollozzo arranges the attempt on Vito Corleone’s life, attempts to force the Corleone family into cooperating, and triggers an all-out mafia war. In terms of deeds committed, Sollozzo does more than enough to be consideredThe Godfather’s most prominent villain.
Because Michael Corleone guns Sollozzo down halfway through the movie, however, it becomes difficult to consider the TurkThe Godfather’smost serious threat. Lettieri’s conniving criminal is the enemy ofThe Godfather’s first one or two acts, certainly, but no more. The next major candidate would be New York mob boss Emilio Barzini. As the instigator of the Sollozzo situation and the don behind Sonny’s murder,Barzini is the chief source of conflict inThe Godfather- even more so than Sollozzo himself. While other families are drawn in,The Godfatheris, at its core, a feud between the Corleone and Barzini families.
He may beThe Godfather’s biggest antagonist technically speaking, but Barzini would fail to crack most viewers' lists ofThe Godfather’s 10 most memorable characters.
Having said that, Barzini, played by Richard Conte, keeps a relatively muted presence throughout the movie. He receives very little characterization, development, or screen time - especially when compared to Sollozzo - and is mostly a lingering shadow silently pulling strings. Indeed, Vito fails to realize Barzini is his true enemy until surprisingly late inThe Godfather’s story. Consequently, it’s difficult to consider Barzini a true movie villain in the traditional mold. He may beThe Godfather’s biggest antagonist technically speaking, but Barzini would fail to crack most viewers' lists ofThe Godfather’s most memorable characters.
10 Things About The Godfather That Still Hold Up Today
From Marlon Brando’s iconic performance to Gordon Willis' breathtaking cinematography, there’s a lot about The Godfather that still holds up today.
With Sollozzo dying early and Barzini rarely stepping out of hiding or openly declaring himself as the Corleones' enemy,The Godfatheris left without a clear big bad. For some movies, especially within the gangster genre, the lack of an obvious figure viewers can boo and jeer would work against the movie. ForThe Godfather, it becomes an enhancement.
The Meaning Behind The Godfather’s Lack Of A Clear Villain
“Villain” Is A Meaningless Term In The Godfather
In both Mario Puzo’s original novel and Coppola’s timeless movie adaptation,The Godfatheris a tale defined by moral grayness. Few gangster stories are as simple as “good” and “evil,” butThe Godfathergoes further by introducing antagonistic forces at every step. Threat, danger, and death come from all corners - both anticipated and completely unforeseen.
Encouraging the audience to direct all of their vitriol and anger toward any single character defeats the purpose ofThe Godfather.
Sollozzo, McCluskey, and Barzini aside, the Tattaglia family is the chief cause of Luca Brasi’s death. Carlo Rizzi abuses Connie during their marriage, then sets up Sonny’s assassination. Tessio betrays the Corleone family after being a longstanding ally. Jack Woltz is a predator, Moe Greene takes advantage of Fredo, and Michael’s Sicilian bodyguard kills Apollonia with a car bomb. Barzini might be behind a lot of the anti-Corleone shenanigans inThe Godfather, but the real point is that enemies are everywhere. The line between friend and foe is a fairy tale, and all that exists is the family and those working against it.
Barzini is killed by Al Neri, on the orders of Michael, duringThe Godfather’s baptism scene.
The concept of one character having a monopoly on wrongdoing works for most feature film narratives, butThe Godfatheris far more powerful for having the Corleones assaulted by various opponents from different angles as the conspiracy unfolds. Even if Barzini was calling most of the shots against Vito and co., encouraging the audience to direct all of their vitriol and anger toward him, or any single character, defeats the purpose ofThe Godfather.
The Corleones Are Supposed To Be The Villains Of The Godfather
The Godfather’s Real Villains Are Secretly The Heroes
By playing down the notion of having one central villain,The Godfatherallows the Corleones themselves to be considered bad guys. Despite the many criminals who commit dastardly acts inThe Godfather, Coppola and Puzo mostly refrain from building a moral hierarchy. A line is drawn between regular mafia members and abusers like Jack Woltz and Carlo Rizzi, butThe Godfatherotherwise puts very little ethical daylight between the gangsters themselves.
The Godfathernever introduces a main villain who could be described as more of a monster than Michael himself.
The Corleone family is not overtly any more virtuous than the Barzini or Tattaglia families. Tessio’s betrayal is a calculated business decision rather than a turn toward evil, and the Sicilian bodyguard responsible for Apollonia’s death isn’t much different than Luca Brasi threatening to blow a band leader’s brains out. WhenwatchingThe Godfather, there’s a temptation to view the Corleone family as a softer, kinder version of the mafia versus the more brutal, evil Barzinis. This simply isn’t true.
Michael Corleone’s Worst Crime In The Godfather Movies Was Something Marlon Brando’s Vito Would Never Have Done
Of the many sins Michael Corleone commits in the Godfather movies, the worst is so bad that even Marlon Brando’s Vito wouldn’t have done it.
If Barzini had more scenes, or if Sollozzo had survived until the end, audiences would have naturally made a stark distinction between those characters as baddies and the Corleones as saviors. By not really having a main villain,The Godfatherinstead allows the Corleones to serve as the heroes and villains of their own story. The heart ofThe Godfatheris the transformation of Michael Corleone from an upstanding citizen into a mafia monster who will one day lose everything he loves and die alone. That transformation only succeeds becauseThe Godfathernever introduces a main villain who could be described as more of a monster than Michael himself.
The Godfather
The Godfather chronicles the Italian-American Corleone crime family from 1945 to 1955. Following an assassination attempt on family patriarch Vito Corleone, his youngest son Michael emerges to orchestrate a brutal campaign of retribution, cementing his role in the family’s illicit empire.
