10 Worst Changes 'The Godfather' Movies Made From the Books, Ranked

Image via Paramount Pictures Published Oct 15, 2026, 6:36 AM EDT Andrea M. Ciriaco is a long-time script reader and former entertainment editor who specializes in classic movies and Hollywood history. She was a student film critic at Kent State University for three years and worked at Warner Bros Studio in Burbank and The Safran Company for several years. Based on her vast taste and range of knowledge, many consider Andrea to be a walking IMDb who knows dozens of underrated movies and is a vital assesst to any trivia night. While movies are her expertise, Andrea is also a diehard fan of iconic shows including The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, Will & Grace and South Park. Some of her favorite filmmakers are Walt Disney,John Huston, Fritz Lang, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Mel Brooks, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and Howard Hawks. Sign in to your Collider account In 1969, Mario Puzo's best-selling novel, The Godfather, took the literary world by storm and changed the public's view of organized crime forever. Shortly after the book's release, it was picked up by Paramount Pictures and adapted into one of the greatest movies of all time, revitalizing the classic gangster genre for a new generation. The Godfather has been regarded as Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece, followed by one of, if not the best, sequel films in history, The Godfather: Part II. Both the book and the films are exceptional and while it's hard to include everything from the novel into its film adaptation, some things should have stayed true to the original. When it comes to adapting a novel for the silver screen, adjustments are inevitable and completely justified, but minor details such as Apollonia's pregnancy and the unspeakable story about Luca Brasi should have made the final cut. It's not just the details, though. Several significant scenes were altered, and while they are magnificent, the original would have shed more light on the film's characters, such as Kay Adams actually seeking Michael Corleone out after his return to the United States. Even though Coppola and Puzo did a phenomenal job, there are still some questionable changes (even deleted scenes!) that arguably should have made the film. 13 Carmela Corleone Image via Paramount Pictures Carmela Corleone (Morgana King) is a supporting player in the films, but the book gives more detail and depth to her character as a mother as well as a wife to a powerful man and one of the greatest movie mob bosses, Vito Corleone. In The Godfather: Part II, audiences learn about the authentic devotion between Carmela and Vito Corleone, which is shown with minor gestures, notably Vito bringing his wife a pear. It's clear that Vito and Carmela have a solid and loving marriage, but in the first film, there is one particular deleted scene that would have brought more to King's character. In the book, Sonny Corleone is tasked with telling his mother about his father being gunned down in the street. While most would have a tearful and shocked reaction, Carmela is calm and quietly asks if her husband is dead, not wanting her son to sugarcoat the circumstances. The exchange between the mother and son is played out in a deleted scene from the first film, and it is a shame that it had to be cut. The brief, but insightful scene sheds new light on Carmela as the matriarch of the Corleone family and also proves there is much more to her than what meets the eye. 12 Forbidden Story about Luca Brasi Image via Paramount Pictures At the beginning of The Godfather, Kay Adams (Diane Keaton) asks Michael (Al Pacino) about Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana), who is sitting alone in the corner rehearsing what he is going to say to the Don. Michael tells her about the large man as well as a story about how he helped get Johnny Fontane out of a contract. The story paints Brasi in a violent, loyal light, but in Puzo's novel, there is one story that everyone, including Vito and Tom Hagen, refuses to tell Michael, which demonstrates how cold and cruel Brasi truly was. In the novel, when Michael is hiding out in Sicily, he meets an old woman named Filomena who knows his father as well as Brasi. Michael asks her to tell him the forbidden story and soon regrets asking. When Filomena lived in New York City, she worked as a midwife in an Italian neighborhood. One night, Brasi was at her doorstep asking her to help a woman currently in labor. She realized the young woman was Brasi's girlfriend who was pregnant with his child. After the baby is born, Brasi does the unthinkable and forces Filomena at gunpoint to throw the baby in the furnace. With her life on the line and shaken with fear, Filomena did as she was instructed. Shortly after, Brasi murdered his girlfriend. While this is a horrific detail, it would have added not only more insight into Brasi, but also to the character's fearsome, violent reputation. 11 10 Michael Corleone and Kay Adams' Reunion Image via Paramount Pictures After being home for several years and the murder of his first wife, Michael abruptly tracks down Kay and tries to rekindle their relationship, hoping she will marry him. Michael's surprise visit gives off the impression that he is just looking for a wife and that it doesn't matter that it's Kay who he marries; he just wants a wife in general. While there's no doubt that he still had feelings for Kay, it is a bit off-putting to have him come back into her life years later, assuming she is still available and unaware of Michael's previous marriage. Puzo plays it out much better in the book, as it is Kay who seeks out Michael, who is actually surprised to see her. During one of her phone calls with Carmela, she learns that Michael has been home for six months and is invited over to see Carmela. While the two women are sitting at the table, Michael arrives home and is caught off guard by Kay's presence. The two immediately pick up where they left off. Michael admits he didn't reach out because he thought she had found someone else or wouldn't still be interested in him after the whole Sollozzo and McClusky business. The book's version is more plausible with a bit more of a realistic touch. It also puts a more positive and considerate light on Michael regarding Kay than in the film's version. 9 Jack Woltz and the Young Starlet Image via Paramount Pictures When Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) informs Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) that Jack Woltz (John Marley) refuses to give Johnny Fontaine (Al Martino) the movie part, he sends him a gruesome response that quickly changes the producer's tune. Some may have felt the horse's head in the bed was a bit excessive, but there is more to Woltz and his character that makes Vito's choice completely understandable. In a deleted scene, before Hagen leaves, he sees a young woman standing at the top of the staircase in Woltz's home, disheveled and dazed. She is quickly ushered back into a room by an unknown woman. In Puzo's novel, Hagen sees a young girl stumbling out of Woltz's home with her mother intoxicated and her makeup smeared. It's obvious that Woltz had inappropriate relations with the obviously underage girl, which only adds to Vito's absolute disdain for the producer. This minor but crucial detail should have been included mainly because it shed light on Woltz's true, degenerate nature as well as why Vito chose to punish him with his prized stud. 8 Apollonia's Pregnancy Image via Paramount Pictures While hiding in Sicily, Michael is hit by a thunderbolt and falls head over heels for a local girl, Apollonia (Simonetta Stefanelli), who is strikingly beautiful and the ideal wife. Shortly after meeting, Michael courts Apollonia in Sicilian tradition, and the two eventually marry in a small ceremony. The newlyweds are happy to be together and start their lives together, but sadly, their bliss is cut short when Apollonia is accidentally killed in a car bombing that was intended for her husband. In the book, it is revealed that Apollonia is pregnant before her death, which is obviously not mentioned in the movies. Perhaps the detail would have been too tragic for audiences at the time, but whatever the reason why it was left out, it still would have added to Michael's transformation. It's one thing to lose someone in such a twist of fate, but to also lose your unborn child would have a devastating impact on anyone, so it's interesting why this detail wasn't included, since it would have only added another layer to the character's arc in The Godfather. Collider Exclusive · Villain Personality Quiz Which Criminal Mastermind Would Be Your Nemesis? Lecter · Joker · Moriarty · Chigurh Four of the finest criminal minds ever put on screen. One of them would look at you and see something worth their time. Eight questions decide which one comes for you, why they picked you, and what they would want when they arrived. 🍷Lecter 🃏Joker ♟️Moriarty 🪙Chigurh MEET YOUR NEMESIS → 01 What would a criminal mastermind notice about you first? Great villains choose their opponents carefully. Something about you got their attention. AMy manners, and everything I am careful not to say. BThat I still believe people are basically decent. CThat I am clever, and quietly enjoy proving it. DThat I handle things myself, and always have. NEXT QUESTION → 02 How do they make first contact? The introduction tells you everything about what is coming next. AA polite letter. Beautiful handwriting. Quietly wrong. BSomething on fire, with a message left beside it. CA puzzle, left where only I would look. DNo contact. Just the aftermath, and a coin. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What do you actually believe about right and wrong? Every nemesis is really an argument about the thing you believe most. AThere are lines. Mine are private and absolute. BRules are the only thing keeping us from being animals. CMorality is a system, and systems can be solved. DThings happen. Most of it was never up to me. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What finally gets under your skin? Everybody has a pressure point. Finding yours is the whole plan. ABeing seen clearly by somebody I cannot read. BWatching good people do something ugly. CLosing to someone who was simply better prepared. DHaving no move left that changes anything. NEXT QUESTION → 05 They have made their move. How do you fight back? This is the part of the film where the audience finds out who you are. ACarefully, and never where they expect to be touched. BLoudly. I would rather lose than play their game. CWith a better plan. I can out-think this. DDirectly, once, with whatever is closest to hand. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What would they use against you? A good villain never brings a weapon you have not already handed them. AMy privacy. I have kept far too much to myself. BMy conscience. I will not cross the line they want. CMy ego. I cannot resist a worthy opponent. DMy certainty that I can handle it alone. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What do they actually want from you? The money is never the point. Something else always is. ATo understand me better than anyone ever has. BTo prove I am no better than they are. CTo finally be beaten by someone worth the trouble. DNothing at all. I stepped into the wrong path. NEXT QUESTION → 08 How does it end between the two of you? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who comes for you. AA conversation I will be replaying for years. BA choice forced on me that has no clean answer. COne final move, and the better mind wins. DA coin in the air, and nothing I can say. REVEAL MY NEMESIS → The Case File Is Complete Your Nemesis Is…Four criminal masterminds. One of them was always going to be yours. Here is who comes for you, why they picked you out of everyone available, and what they want from the encounter. Hannibal LecterYour nemesis does not want to beat you. He wants to know you completely, and he is patient enough to wait for it. The frightening part is how good the conversation is. Lecter is the most dangerous kind of opponent: the one who finds you interesting. He never raises his voice, because he has never needed to. You keep a great deal to yourself and you are careful about what you show. That reserve is exactly the door he would knock on. The films understood something other thrillers missed. The horror is not the violence. It is being perfectly understood by the wrong person. He would be unfailingly polite about all of it. That is the worst part. The JokerYour nemesis is not after money, territory or revenge. He is after a demonstration, and you are the person he has chosen to prove his point on. The Joker only picks opponents who believe in something. Your decency is not a defence against him. It is the entire reason he showed up. He has no plan you can predict and nothing you can take away, which removes every tool you would normally reach for. His whole argument is that you are one bad day away from being him, and you would spend the rest of your life proving him wrong. He would call it a magic trick. You would call it the worst night of your life. MoriartyYour nemesis respects you, which sounds flattering until you work out what it means. He chose you because nobody else was worth his time. Moriarty is the original criminal mastermind, the template every later one borrows from: a mind the equal of the hero's, pointed the wrong way. You enjoy being the cleverest person in the room. He is counting on exactly that, and he has already built the room. This is the rare nemesis who would be genuinely disappointed if you lost badly. He needs the game to be worth playing. It ends the way these things always end. Two people, one problem, and only one way down. Anton ChigurhYour nemesis has no personal interest in you whatsoever, and that is precisely what makes him unsurvivable. You are not a rival. You are a stop on the way. Chigurh does not negotiate, gloat or explain. He arrives, he asks one question, and the answer was decided long before you opened your mouth. You trust yourself to handle things. He is the one problem in the world that has no interest in how capable you are. No Country for Old Men rewrote the screen villain by removing the thing audiences quietly rely on: the sense that talking might work. Call it. He will wait. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 7 Santino Corleone and the First War Image via Paramount Pictures Santino "Sonny" Corleone (James Caan) is the oldest Corleone son with a violent streak as well as a reputation for easily losing his temper. For those who haven't read the book, Sonny is much more experienced in warfare than he is given credit for and, while he does have his frequent moments of flying off the handle, he is capable of keeping his cool and being tactful at a crucial time. After Sonny tells his mother about his father in the deleted scene, he calmly goes to his father's study, removes a black book from a wall safe, and carefully begins to dial, giving the impression that he has been through this before. In the book, it's revealed that Vito was injured during the first war between the Five Families, forcing Sonny to step up as acting boss of the family. While he did have experienced men in his corner, Sonny was still successful and proved his worth to be his father's successor. Most people assume Sonny was chosen because he is the oldest son, but considering his impressive efforts in the first war, he genuinely earned his place to become the next head of the family. Sonny is much more of a complex character than the movie depicts, and while it's understandable that Coppola and Puzo couldn't include EVERYTHING, it's baffling why they didn't add at least some of Sonny's history, which would have made the character more than just a loose cannon with a reputation for bloodshed. 6 5 Al Neri's Backstory Image via Paramount Pictures Al Neri (Richard Bright) is easily one of The Godfather trilogy's most underrated characters. The movies mention little to nothing about Michael's Luca Brasi, who is usually standing in the shadows observing and listening, which is what makes him such a vital asset. While audiences are aware that Neri is an enforcer who whacks several people, they never get to see him in physical combat, which is simply a sight to see. In a deleted scene from The Godfather: Part II, Neri visits a packed casino and, without hesitation, roughs the owner up until he agrees to his terms. Despite his stoic, calculated demeanor, Neri is known for his fierce temper and physical strength. In the book, Neri used to be a police officer (hence his uniform at the end of the first film) who used to bend the rules a bit. While on duty, Neri responds to a report of a woman and her 12-year-old daughter being cut up in an apartment. The offender is well known to Neri and, after dealing with him on several occasions, this incident is the last straw. Neri beats the man to death with his flashlight and is charged with manslaughter. When Vito Corleone becomes aware of him through Peter Clemenza, he offers his assistance. Eventually, Michael offers to get Neri a job in Nevada and clear his record, but, considering everything he and his father had done for him, Neri decides that he wants to work specifically for Michael. Even though Neri is intended to be an enigma, his backstory reveals the reason for his unwavering loyalty to Michael and the Corleone family. 4 Vito Corleone Killing Don Cicci's Men Image via Paramount Pictures In The Godfather: Part II, Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) and his family travel to Sicily, where he and several other men pay a visit to Don Francesco Ciccio (Giuseppe Sillato), who is responsible for murdering Vito's family. The elderly Ciccio does not recognize Vito, and before he can process Vito's true identity, he is mercilessly gutted before Vito, and his men flee his home. It's not surprising that Vito sought out Ciccio, but in a deleted scene from the film, he pays more than Don Ciccio an unexpected visit. Vito tracks down several of Ciccio's men who either had a hand in killing his family or searched for him as a boy to be murdered by their boss. He finds his first target sleeping on a hot, humid afternoon and brutally slashes the man to death. The second victim is found in his boat floating alone on the water, and after Vito confirms the man's identity, he beats him to death with an oar. This is one scene that should have never been cut. Vito is not a man who resorts to violence lightly, and to see him kill Ciccio and go the extra mile to kill his men shows that when he does choose violence, he is absolutely ruthless.