[dfwgator]

Brando certainly was good in the Godfather, and I don't want to suggest that he wasn't, but he really wasn't much of a factor in the second half of the movie. And I found the role pretty one-dimensional. Next to Pacino, Duval had more screen time in the two Godfather movies and his emotions were much more subtle, Tom Hayden was my favorite character in the two Godfather movies.

[dfwgator]

Oops I meant Hagen, not Hayden.

[don-o]

I never "got" Brando. Sorry, even "On the Waterfront" or Streetcar" which are supposed to be landmarks. He seems stiff ,stilted and indifferent. So sue me.

[Begin]

I concur. I found Hagen to be the most intruiging character in the Godfather I and II.

[GreenHornet]

Tom Hayden was my favorite character in the two Godfather movies.

I especially liked the way Duvall, as Tom Hayden, kept his cool with movie producer Jack Woltz (John Marley.) Woltz blew a gasket, called Tom every name in the book, ranted and raved while Tom responded by telling him how much he enjoys his films, and later at the house, thanked him for a pleasant evening. The next morning, however, things weren't so pleasant for Woltz.

[Phsstpok]

I agree with your assessment of the first two Godfather movies and the quality of Duvall's performance. If you ever have a chance to see the edited for TV mini series version of those two movies, shown in '77 as The Godfather Saga, it's well worth it. Coppola did the edit and included footage that didn't make it into the theaters. He put the scenes from the two movies in chronological order, starting with DeNiro's Godfather, transitioning to Brando's era from the first film then concentrating on Michael's rise and rule without the distracting jumps that ruined Godfather II for me.

It does't show as available on video, but The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980, appears to be a direct to video which does the same thing with all three films. Frankly I could do without Godfather 3, but if that's the price of getting a chronological version of 1 and 2, so be it.  Of course, it is $350 on Amazon, so I'm not likely to pick up a copy anytime soon.....

[churchillbuff]

"That's bold talk for a one-eyed fat man"