WhileThe Godfatheris about the rise and fall of the powerful Corleone mafia family, the story is bigger than that, with five families at the center of the mafia war.The Godfathertrilogybegins with the critically acclaimed movie,The Godfather, which is still regarded as one of the greatest films of all time.The cast ofthe Godfathertrilogyfeatures veteran actors like Marlon Brando and rising actors who would later become major stars, like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
The main themes running through theGodfathertrilogy are trust and the way that alliances can make or break the movie’s crime families.The Godfatherbegins with the Corleone family seemingly in power, but that status starts to crumble as Don Vito Corleone discovers that he has trusted the wrong people.The Corleone family’s biggest mistakesand attempts to hold onto their power are the basis ofThe Godfather’s story. Of all the five crime families of New York, some are more trustworthy than others, and theGodfathertrilogy shows that the balance between them is delicate.
The Corleone Family
The Godfather Trilogy Is About The Corleone Family’s Rise To Power
There are sixCorleone family Dons in theGodfathertrilogy, and the movies begin with Vito Corleone in power but planning to step back, so one of his sons can take over. The Corleone family is one of the richest and most powerful families in the film.Vito Corleone runs the legal Genco Pura Olive Oil Company as a front to cover the family’s illegal businesses, which include running gambling rings and offering protection to influential figures in exchange for money. Vito allows his eldest son, Sonny Corleone, to take over the business, which proves to be a mistake.
Vito could be brutal, but he also has self-control, and his actions are outrageous but effective. This includes punishing a man by putting hishorse’s severed head in his bed. In contrast, Sonny is impulsive, which makes him easy to manipulate.Sonny does not last long, being lured out of the house and assassinated, with Michael taking over. Michael becomes the most formidable Corleone Don, while still taking advice from his sister Connie, and Vito’s adopted son and consigliere, Tom Hagen. Michael’s revenge at the end ofThe Godfatheris one of the best in cinema history.
The Godfather Trilogy’s 5 Consigliere Characters Explained
The Godfather movies included many mafia terms and designations, one of which was the role of consigliere used by five different characters.
The Corleone family is betrayed by the Barzini and Tattaglia families, who have the support of the Stracci and Cuneo families. Atthe end ofThe Godfather, Michael Corleone assassinates all the Corleone family enemies at once. This includes the heads of the other four families and traitors who contributed to the attempt on Vito’s life.This was a shocking but smart move for Michael Corleone because killing his immediate opposition gave him time to take overwhile the other horrified families tried to pick up the pieces and mourn their dead members.
The Barzini Family
Emilio Barzini Was The Main Antagonist Of The Godfather
Headed by Don Emilio “The Wolf” Barzini,the Barzini family was the most powerful in New York before Vito Corleone took over. They resented Vito Corleone winning the “Olive Oil War” and while they controlled the drugs trade in New York, they had been planning retaliation before the events ofThe Godfather. The Barzinis, with Virgil “The Turk” Solozzo, were responsible for the assassination attempt on Vito, before conspiring with the Tattaglia, Stracci, and Cuneo families to wage war on the Corleones. Emilio Barzini and his men were responsible for Sonny’s assassination at the toll booth, which Vito realizes later.
Vito’s years of wisdom helped Michael as the Corleone’s acting Don, warning Michael that Emilio Barzini would betray him. This proves to be true, and Barzini also persuades the trusted Sal Tessio to change sides. The Corleone family had apparently forgiven the Barzini family for Sonny’s death, but Michael planned revenge. Michael employsthe Corleone family’s secret weapon, their enforcer, Al Neri. Neri and his men gun Barzini down in the street at the end ofThe Godfather, and he was succeeded by Paul Fortunato, who expanded the drug business and eventually became a supporter of Michael Corleone.
The Tattaglia Family
This Family Was Blamed For The Attempted Hit On Vito Corleone
The Tattaglia family, headed by Don Philip Tattaglia, controlled escorting services and nightclubs in New York. While the family was relatively successful, they did not command the same respect as the Corleone and Barzini families did.Philip Tattaglia was more interested in women than business, and while he might not have been an intelligent strategist, his sons Bruno and John were, which helped the Tattaglia family to succeed. As the family moved into the drug trade, their alliance with Solozzo helped them to reach a new level of power, and they joined the plot to assassinate Vito Corleone.
InThe Godfather, Tattaglia’s lack of interest in business is shown when he pays more attention to his hair than the meeting of the five families, missing key points.
Philip Tattaglia and his family were seen as the weakest of the five families inThe Godfather, though the Tattaglias were originally suspected of being behind Vito and Sonny’s shootings, especially after Bruno’s assassination. Still, while it became clear that Philip could not have organized the attack alone and Barzini was the true mastermind, Michael put a hit on him for his role in the war, and Philip was killed at his hotel. The family nearly went bankrupt before being passed to former consigliere and Corleone ally, Altobello, who was poisoned bythe often overlooked Connie Corleonefor betraying Michael.
The Stracci Family
The Least Powerful But Seemingly Most Well-Connected Family
The Godfather’s Stracci family is less prominent than the Corleones, Barzinis, and Tattaglias, but the members have a very different approach to their business. Due to their political influence and fleet of freight trucks, the Stracci family has the potential to be more dangerous than many other families due to a combination of seemingly legitimate businesses and bribery of politicians. Whilethe Stracci family is loyal to the Corleones inThe Godfathernovel, Don Victor Stracci supported Emilio Barzini in his attempt to force the Corleone family into the narcotics trade in the movie.
7 Iconic The Godfather Moments That Weren’t In The Original Script
The Godfather features one of the greatest scripts ever written, but the final version was very different from Coppola’s initial draft.
Although the Stracci family does not play a main role inThe Godfather, themobsters had a hand in betraying Michael Corleone, who needed to take down all the leaders of the other families for his takeover to work.Victor Stracci was the first to die in the “baptism of blood” ending ofThe Godfatherwhen Michael took control of New York for the Corleones. He was killed by Peter Clemenza, who shot him as he was leaving an elevator. He was succeeded by his brother, Mario Stracci, and the Stracci family does not feature greatly in theGodfathersequels.
The Cuneo Family
The Cuneo Family Appear To Have Escaped The Notice Of The Police
Don Carmine Cuneo’s criminal business appears to have been ignored or hidden from the police, with the family originally having a fleet of milk trucks as a front for their illegal work.While the Cuneo family appears to have a hand in everything from gambling to smuggling, they do not play a large role inThe Godfatherother than to join the Tattaglia family in allying with the Barzini family against the Corleones. That said, Carmine Cuneo was shown to be good-natured and friendly to most people and believed himself to be an honorable man.
The Original Five Family Dons and Actors in The Godfather
Carmine Cuneo
Rudy Bond
Like the other leaders of the families that plotted against the Corleones,Carmine Cuneo was killed by Michael Corleone’s men at the end ofThe Godfather. The Corleone family soldier, Willie Cicci, trapped Carmine in the revolving door of a hotel before shooting him through the glass four times as he cursed the family. He was succeeded by Leo Cuneo before most of the family was wiped out by Joey Zasa. While the ending ofThe Godfatheris fast-paced, with many deaths taking place in a short amount of time, Carmine Cuneo’s death is one of the more memorable.
The Godfather
The Godfatheris one of the most iconic and influential film franchises in cinematic history. Based on Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel of the same name, the series chronicles the rise and fall of the powerful Corleone crime family. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the franchise consists of three films that explore the complex dynamics of organized crime, loyalty, and family. The films are celebrated for their outstanding performances, direction, and thematic depth, especially regarding power, betrayal, and morality within the Mafia world. The first two films, in particular, are widely regarded as some of the greatest films ever made.
