The Godfather trilogy is so packed with incredible and fascinating characters that some were bound to be changed from Mario Puzo’s original novel. However, there is one ignored man who not only gets his own chapter in the book but is essential in supporting Michael (Al Pacino) throughout the trilogy, and that is the Corleone don’s bodyguard, Al Neri (Richard Bright). Neri is a key enforcer for Michael, helping to carry out some of the most famous hits in the entire trilogy, but his importance lies in what Neri represents for Michael. By being totally loyal to him, Neri completes Michael’s image as a feared family boss, similar to how Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) had the terrifying mountain of a man, Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana).
Al Neri Arguably Contributes the Most in Michael’s War Against Barzini in ‘The Godfather’

Image via Paramount Pictures

Al Neri is a former police officer famed for his temper and violent tendencies, and after being recruited, he is not only a bodyguard but the most trusted assassin. In the book, after they meet with Moe Greene (Alex Rocco), Neri taps his forehead to tell Michael he has Greene “numbered,” confirming the character’s fate that we see later when he is shot while having a massage. Later in the film, we see him dressed in his old police uniform as he assassinates Barzini (Richard Conte). Without Neri’s old uniform, but crucially his experience, the hitman would not have been so convincing as a fake officer holding up Barzini’s driver. Not only is Neri, therefore, crucially disguised, but his killing of Barzini effectively means Michael has won the war. Even if he hadn’t had the other heads of the families assassinated, it is unlikely they would have stood against the Corleones without Barzini’s backing, the same way the Tattaglia’s did.

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“It’s not personal, it’s strictly business.”

Al Neri Is Michael Corleone’s Luca Brasi

Furthermore, Neri’s significance comes from what he means for Michael. As the novel points out, in Al Neri, Michael has found his Luca Brasi. Luca Brasi is very significant to Vito Corleone due to his fierce loyalty and ruthless violence. He was used to free Johnny Fontane (Al Martino)from his crooked contract and is so feared that he is the first to be targeted by Sollozzo (Al Lettieri). The book constantly reminds readers that Brasi fears Vito and is entirely devoted to him, something hinted at during Connie’s wedding in The Godfather, as Brasi mumbles his lines before meeting Vito and appears nervous to speak to the don. This fear and respect comes from the fact that Brasi killed his own baby child, forcing the midwife to throw it into a furnace. When the midwife went to the don, he covered up the crime and earned Brasi’s undying loyalty.
Michael did something similar with Al Neri, as, after his wife left him, the crooked cop murdered a pimp before bashing his head in and urinating on the corpse. However, rather than going to jail, Tom Hagen saved him, seeing a parallel with Brasi. With Al Neri being lifted from the underpaid and seemingly underappreciated role as a police officer, he is completely devoted to Michael, feeling he owes everything he has to the new Corleone don. Even in the criminally underrated The Godfather Part III, Al Neri maintains this fierce loyalty to Michael. In the famous scene where Michael utters the immortal line, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” before collapsing, Al Neri, along with Michael’s sister Connie (Talia Shire), helps Michael. It speaks not only to Neri’s longevity with Michael to have remained with Micheal but also to how their relationship has evolved, with Al Neri taking a more direct role in advising and assisting Michael, moving beyond a simple physical enforcer like Luca Brasi.
It is such a shame we never get to see this lore explored in the films, (Neri and Brasi) because it not only fleshes out their characters but displays just how ruthless both Corleone dons are, particularly Vito, who is portrayed rather sympathetically for a criminal boss. However, there are so many characters and plot lines that some things had to be removed, and it probably wouldn’t have served for Francis Ford Coppola’s portrayal of Vito to make him so obviously evil. In the end, only the book reveals Al Neri’s backstory and significance, which is a good excuse to run through the book that inspired this great film trilogy.

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The Godfather

Don Vito Corleone, head of a mafia family, decides to hand over his empire to his youngest son, Michael. However, his decision unintentionally puts the lives of his loved ones in grave danger.

Release Date

March 24, 1972

Director

Francis Ford Coppola

Cast

Marlon Brando
, Al Pacino
, James Caan
, Robert Duvall
, Richard S. Castellano
, Diane Keaton
, Talia Shire
, Gianni Russo
, Sterling Hayden
, John Marley
, Richard Conte
, Al Lettieri
, Abe Vigoda
, Rudy Bond
, Al Martino
, Morgana King
, Lenny Montana
, John Martino
, Salvatore Corsitto
, Richard Bright
, Alex Rocco
, Tony Giorgio
, Vito Scotti
, Tere Livrano

Runtime

175 minutes

Writers

Mario Puzo
, Francis Ford Coppola

Budget

$6 million

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The Godfather is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
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