In 3 Godfather Movies, The Corleone Family Only Broke Its "Business, Not Personal" Rule One Time
Across The Godfather trilogy, the Corleone family only broke their hard-and-fast rule of not mixing their personal problems with their business on one fateful occasion. The Corleone family’s rule of keeping personal feelings out of their business points to how cold and ruthless their illicit operations are. But it also explains why they’ve been so successful in the world of organized crime, and how they became so powerful in the New York underworld.
It’s a common trope in crime stories for a career criminal to set up rules that prevent them from getting caught, then break those rules one by one until they get caught. In Heat, Robert De Niro’s Neil McCauley forbids himself from personal attachments until he finds love. In Elmore Leonard’s novel Swag, Frank and Stick come up with 10 golden rules for the perfect armed robbery, then struggle to adhere to them. In The Godfather trilogy, the Corleones have a “business, not personal” rule that they only broke once.
Vito Killing Don Ciccio In The Godfather Part II Was The Only Death That Felt Purely Personal
Vito Killed Don Ciccio For No Other Reason Besides Revenge
Nothing that takes place after our first introduction to Vito breaks the family’s “business not personal” rule, even after Vito dies and Michael takes over the business. But the prequel storyline that fills in Vito’s backstory in The Godfather Part II has one killing that breaks the family’s golden rule. The earliest scenes in Vito’s origin story reveal that he fled to America when his Sicilian family — the Andolinis — were massacred by the unscrupulous Don Ciccio. As he rose to power in New York, Vito never forgot about what Don Ciccio did.
Vito Corleone's The Godfather Timeline Explained (In Chronological Order)
Vito Corleone was already rich and powerful when audiences met him in The Godfather, but Part II filled in his complex (and tragic) backstory.
In 1922, when Vito travels to Sicily with his family to start the olive oil importing business he uses as a front for criminal activities, he and his business partner Don Tommasino pay a visit to an elderly Don Ciccio. After Ciccio gives Vito his blessing to start the business, Vito reveals who he is and cuts into Ciccio’s stomach to avenge the Andolinis. There was no business reason for Vito to kill Ciccio; he did it purely as an act of vengeance.
Why The Godfather Trilogy's Other Major Deaths Weren't Just Personal
Even Fredo's Death Wasn't Entirely Personal
None of the other major character deaths in The Godfather trilogy were just about settling a personal score — even the ones that seemed the most personal had a pragmatic business reasoning behind them. Killing the other dons wasn’t just revenge for Sonny’s death; it was about gaining power. Killing Carlo wasn’t just about his abuse of Connie; it was to remove an untrustworthy leak. Even after Fredo betrayed Michael, he wasn’t killed out of spite; he was killed to get rid of a liability. Don Ciccio is the only death in The Godfather trilogy that felt purely personal.
The Godfather
- Created by
- Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola
- First Film
- The Godfather
- Latest Film
- The Godfather Part III
- Cast
- Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Sofia Coppola
- Movie(s)
- The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Godfather Part III
- Character(s)
- Vito Corleone, Michael Corleone, Sonny Corleone, Fredo Corleone, Kay Adams, Tom Hagen, Connie Corleone, Vincent Corleone, Peter Clemenza, Salvatore Tessio
