Brazilian translation studios have a fair bit of those:
| Portuguese | Literal translation | Original title |
|---|---|---|
| O Poderoso Chefão | The Powerful Big Boss | The Godfather |
| A Noviça Rebelde | The Rebellious Novice | The Sound of Music |
| Noivo Neurótico, Noiva Nervosa | Neurotic Fiancé, Nervous Fiancée | Annie Hall |
| O Tiro Que Não Saiu Pela Culatra | The Shot that Didn’t Backfire | Parenthood |
Those four are representative examples because they don’t just adapt the original title; they do it without regard of what the original title is conveying, just to throw it into a “this is a movie title!” template.
Is Poderoso Chefão used to mean the leader of a gang/crime family in Portuguese?
Not really - it’s no fixed expression for those; the only word there that can refer to mafia is “chefe” (boss, chief; “chefão” is its augmentative). But even then, “chefe” can be also used for company bosses, video game bosses, restaurant chefs etc., it doesn’t evoke mafia imagery at all unless you specify “chefe da máfia” (mafia boss) or similar.
I’ve seen a few people using “capo” (an Italianism) for that, but I don’t know how widespread this is.
In the case of The Godfather I get why they changed it - as “padrinho” won’t deliver the same reference to the Italian-American mafia as “godfather” does. However “poderoso chefão” doesn’t do it either, you need a very specific context to interpret “chefe” as “chefe da máfia”, and the augmentative even hides it further.
They had better choices - like calling it “Don Corleone”. Just the “don” plus the promotional images are enough to convey “this is a mafia boss, you simply don’t fuck with him”.
But by far among those four the one that I hate the most is A Noviça Rebelde. Because the literal translation of the original (O Som da Música) sound more aesthetic IMO than it. And it changes the focus from Maria’s connection with music to her rebelliousness.
