The Godfather, by Mario Puzzo, is a great book that brings back the feudal system of the Mafiosi. The movie like the book is, in my opinion, one of the all time greats. The book and the movie run hand in hand for the most part with very few major discrepancies. Not everyone feels that way; Isidore Silver thinks that the movie is a "myth-opera-fable" (Berger, 51), which is "an infinitely superior pop art version of its clumsy novelistic predecessor"(Berger, 51). On the other hand Carlos Clarens says, " a resurgence of Italian pride followed the release of the Godfather"(Clarens, 277). .
A major difference between the book and the movie are the elimination of characters. The book goes into greater detail explaining characters lives, most notably Johnny Fontane, who in the movie does not play a huge role. The book explains his troubles, family life, movies and singing career where the movie only gets into his singing career. A character that isn't mentioned in the movie at all is Albert Neri. In the book he plays an important role towards the end of the book. He becomes Michael's right hand man or his Luca Brasi. Michael made Albert Neri, a former cop, his right hand man from "a trick learned from the Don himself"(Puzo, 446). The movie does not have anything about Albert Neri who plays an important roll for Michael. Another person who is not put in the movie is Rocco Lampone, who at the end "is the Corleone caporegime"(Puzo, 441). These two men are left out of the movie.
Another difference is in characters that are not Italian and the roles they play. The book has characters that are not Italian that represent society, such as the Jewish doctor who marries Sonny's mistress. In the movie it "eliminates all of the book's references to outsiders such as the Jewish doctor"(Berger, 53). The movie has a few non-Italian characters, two of which play an important role in the movie. Tom Hagen and Kay Adams play large roles in the movie and the book.
