With the Oscars being handed out this weekend, I wanted to take a moment and revisit two of the greatest movies in American Cinema. The Godfather Parts I and II. These amazing movies are not just wonders to watch but their ability to show the slow corruption of a protagonist villain is one of the greatest character arcs ever developed.

The greatest deception in Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather saga isn’t found in any single betrayal or assassination – it lies in our understanding of who truly represents evil in these films. While history remembers Emilio Barzini, Hyman Roth, Virgil Sollozzo, and Tony Zaza as the saga’s villains, a closer examination reveals them as businessmen operating within the understood rules of their criminal world. The true agent of evil, hidden in plain sight, is Michael Corleone himself.

Consider Sollozzo “The Turk” – his attempt on Vito Corleone’s life came after a legitimate business proposal was rejected. Within the context of their world, this was a predictable response to a business blockade. Sollozzo never targeted family members who weren’t directly involved in the family business, maintaining a code that separated business from true family.

Barzini, often dismissed as a simple rival, was actually maintaining balance among the Five Families. His moves against the Corleones came only after Vito’s unprecedented consolidation of power threatened the ecosystem of New York’s criminal underground. Like a predator culling an overpopulated species, Barzini’s actions served a darker form of justice.

Hyman Roth, despite his ultimate betrayal of Michael, operated with transparent motives. His famous line “This is the business we’ve chosen” reflects an honest acknowledgment of their world’s brutal nature. Even his attempt on Michael’s life was a response to Michael’s murder of Roth’s surrogate son Moe Greene – a death for a death, nothing more.

Even Zaza, while brutish, operated with predictable patterns and clear objectives. His violence, while excessive, was never hidden behind pretense of family or loyalty.

But Michael Corleone? He corrupts the very thing his father built the family to protect. Vito’s empire was created to shield his family from harm; Michael’s actions ultimately destroy his family from within. He orchestrates his brother-in-law Carlo’s murder while acting as godfather to his child. He has his brother Fredo killed while pretending to forgive him. He drives away his wife Kay and alienates his children, all while claiming to act in the family’s interests.

The genius of The Godfather saga lies in this subtle revelation: Vito Corleone built an empire of crime to protect his family, while Michael Corleone sacrificed his family to protect his empire. The other “villains” of the series operated within understood boundaries – it was Michael who truly broke the moral code, not through his violence, but through his betrayal of family itself.

This tragic irony makes Michael Corleone not just the saga’s protagonist, but its greatest villain – a man who destroyed everything his father built while believing he was preserving it. In his pursuit of power and vengeance, Michael becomes something far more dangerous than any rival gangster: a man who uses family as both shield and sword, corrupting its sacred nature in the process.

In the end, we see two parallel stories: Vito, who built something dark to protect something beautiful, and Michael, who destroyed something beautiful to protect something dark. The true horror of the Godfather saga isn’t in its violence, but in watching Michael become everything his father fought against, all while believing he was following in his father’s footsteps.

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