Before we get too far off track with the threads, my orginal post started off with:

As many times as I have seen "The Godfather" I am always mesmirized by Brando's performance. He is just so overpowering and commanding. My question is "Would the Godfather have been so succesful with him"?

Keep in mind when "The Godfather" first came out it was without the "1" The question I posed was basically to get other comments concerning Brando's contribution to the success of the orginal. It could be argued, that without him, the orginal, while being successful, might not have created enough interest to have sequels.

There have been threads comparing the "young" and "old" Vito. I think that DeNiro might have had a tougher job bringing the character to life, due to the fact, not only did he have to capture the essence of Vito, but he had to intermingle, the groundwork already laid by Brando.