The debate over which of the first two Godfathers is better has been raging for decades. Both films represent near-perfect cinematic experiences, and while Marlon Brando's entrance as Don Vito Corleone in Part I is memorable, Coppola's depiction of the character's formative years in the sequel/prequel is perhaps more impressive.
Sicily was devastated by mob violence at the turn of the twentieth century, and that is where the Godfather's journey begins. Vito's father is murdered by the ruling Don Ciccio, his brother shortly follows, and he's left with the weight of the world on his shoulders at the tender age of nine.
These are the events that propel Vito Corleone to become one of the leading figures of the Five Families, and it's an origin made more devastating by his struggle to come to America.
Both of Coppola's crime epics never shied away from violence, but there's a harshness to the Godfather Part II's introduction that elevates Vito's character into one of cinema's greatest.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
