A Comparison of the Main Characters in "The Godfather" and "Scarface"

Scarface and The Godfather have influenced movies about gangs and family since they have been released and are considered two of the greatest works in cinematic history. The movies play a huge role in how mafia and gang movies were made after they were released because they show more gruesome and bloody aspects of that part of life. If you just look at the plot of Scarface and compare it to The Godfather, they do not seem to have a lot in common.

The Godfather is focused more on family, tradition, and looking after your own people. In Scarface, Tony had family but they did not work together for a common goal like the Corleone‘s did. The plot and theme of the movie are not the same exactly but as you look deeper into the movies you can see how they do have a number of things in common. Deciding which movie is best would most likely be based on what type of person you are and a person‘s moral beliefs.

In both movies Tony and Micheal are very family orientated, everything they do is for the well being of their loved ones. Micheal comes from a very deep traditional Italian family which values loyalty as a top priority in his life. You see how everybody plays a part in his life and when the older brother beats that guy up for hitting his sister without a second thought it is an example of how he loves his family.

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Everybody looks out for their own in The Godfather, for example when Sonny beats up Carlo without a second thought for hitting Connie Tony shows his family’s love in almost the same way when he had some money he went and gave it to his mom and younger sister and kept giving it to his sister even after his mom was disappointed in the lifestyle he chooses. Family in other cultures is very important because often time is all they have so being able to protect them and make sure they are okay is a way of showing the love that a person has for them. In Scarface, you see how the little family is all that Tony has that isn’t materialistic; it’s a real irreplaceable love and it’s somewhat like that in The Godfather. the family is a business and a way of life for him.

In The Godfather, respect is earned depending on your role in the family, meanwhile in Scarface Tony is respected more based on the materialistic things he owns. Tony is a poor immigrant in Miami and when he has nothing you see people look past him – when Tony was a cook and was called a cook in an argument with a man he took it as an insult and got into a fight with him. He saw how people with money in positions of power were given respect and anybody who disrespected him would get hurt. In The Godfather Michael has always been respected, he was a war hero and at the time it’s one of the highest accolades a person could be given When he became the official Godfather he was in a position of power and gained a different type of power and respect. Disrespect was something that neither one of the men took very kindly too. They both earned the respect that they wanted. Al Pachino plays the main character in both movies but is two completely different people. In The Godfather he plays Micheal as a calm and level headed guy and in Scarface, he ponrays Tony as a more erratic and impulsive guyt Tony in Scarface is an arrogant and very flamboyant type of guy and on the other hand, Micheal is more of the quiet and observant type of man. The two men live the same lifestyle but two different lives and how they act is one way to tell them apart, They come from two different backgrounds but since they live a life of crime many of the choices they make will have the same outcomes or face the same problems, In the Godfather. you see a lot of tradition that originated in Italy and is still done in New York, The Corleon family is a family who is surrounded by tradition. They don’t marry any other race than Italians, they speak Italian, eat Italian food, and live in a neighborhood that is predominantly Italian. It is not hard to spot how traditional Micheal is and that‘s pan of the reason he joined the family business In the opening scene the movie is when Connie is getting married in the church.

In the beginning, Tony Montana is a Cuban refugee with nothing to his name, he comes to Miami and became one of the biggest drug lords in Miami and in Brooklyn, New York, there‘s Micheal Corleone who is filst considered a war hero and throughout the Godfather series, you see he went from not wanting to be part of the mafia but takes his father‘s place as the Don. From the beginning of the movie it shows Tony as this man with very little to his name and living in a refugee camp to a little cook with a little money and taste in loud shirts, to this up and coming drug lord Finally this big drug lord with a lot of money ,drugs,and access to even louder better quality shirts. All while this is going on Tony developed a shorter and more erratic temper and that ended up being one of the reasons he dies at the end. The Godfather and Scarface seem like two films that do not have many things in common at first but compared to each other you see how both men play men living in different pans of the United states but have the same lifestyle have similarities The movies are both great and still considered movies that changed the ideas of gang and violence movies since but choosing the better movie simply comes down to what you can relate more to and if people like a more of a coming of age type of movie like Scarface or if people like a more slow storytelling movie like The Godfather.