The resulting film was in chronological order. The Godfather Part II had cut back and forth between scenes in the early 1900s and the late 1950s, and was therefore both a prequel and a sequel to The Godfather.
Malkin also toned down the violence, sex, and language for a television audience. The television film incorporated additional footage not included in the original films, including Don Fanucci being attacked by street thugs, Vito Corleone's first encounter with Hyman Roth, Vito killing two of the mafiosi who worked for Don Ciccio and were instrumental in his family's death, Michael Corleone's reunion with his father after his return from Sicily, Sonny Corleone's taking charge of the family after his father is severely wounded, and Michael's vengeance upon Fabrizio for killing Apollonia. The previously deleted scenes totaled almost 75 minutes. Hal Erickson summarized the results as follows, 'While this rearrangement was reasonably coherent, the rhythm and pacing of the original theatrical versions of the two films was severely damaged. The inclusion of scenes previously removed from the theatrical prints also stretched out what was already an overlong project.