The Godfather

The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Mario Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne in a production of Albert S. Ruddy.Based on Puzo's 1969 novel of the same name, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan as the leaders of a powerful New York crime family. The story, spanning the years 1945 to 1955, centers on the ascension of Michael Corleone (Pacino) from reluctant family outsider to ruthless Mafia boss while also chronicling the experiences of the Corleone family under the patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando).
The Godfather is widely regarded as one of the greatest films in world cinema – and as one of the most influential, especially in the gangster genre. Now ranked as the second greatest film in American cinema (behind Citizen Kane) by the American Film Institute, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1990 for being "culturally significant." The film's success spawned two sequels: The Godfather Part II in 1974, and The Godfather Part III in 1990.