The Godfather, American gangster epic film, released in 1972, that was adapted from the 1969 best-selling novel by Mario Puzo and has been regarded as a masterpiece since its release. Its creative cinematography, haunting score, and unforgettable performances by such actors as Marlon Brando and Al Pacino made the multigenerational saga an enduring cultural touchstone.
The Godfather is set in the 1940s and takes place entirely within the world of the Corleones, a fictional New York Mafia family. It opens inside the dark office of the family patriarch, Don Vito Corleone (also known as the Godfather and played by Brando), on the wedding day of his daughter, Connie (Talia Shire). Vito’s youngest son, Michael (Pacino), who has distanced himself from the family business, attends the festivities with his non-Italian girlfriend, Kay (Diane Keaton). A few months later, Vito is nearly killed by gunmen sent by a rival family, and Michael saves him from another attempt while he is recovering in the hospital. Michael then takes revenge, killing a corrupt police captain as well as the man who ordered the hit on Vito, after which he flees to Sicily as a gang war breaks out. Vito’s eldest son, Sonny (James Caan), is gunned down, and the violence eventually reaches Michael when his Sicilian wife is killed during an attempt on his life. Michael returns home and marries Kay, and Vito makes peace with the rival families. Michael succeeds his father as don, and, after bringing prosperity to the family, he launches a campaign to systematically wipe out all those who had ever attacked the Corleones.
Director and cowriter Francis Ford Coppola shared an Academy Award for the screenplay that he and Puzo wrote. Dialogue from the movie—especially the line “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”—became common parlance, and scenes from the film were frequently quoted in other movies and TV shows. Nino Rota’s score was nominated for an Academy Award but was removed from the list after it was learned that portions of the music were originally composed for the 1958 Italian film Fortunella. The Godfather made a star of Robert Duvall, who played the family consigliere, and revitalized Brando’s career. Brando, however, refused the Oscar that he won for his performance in order to protest the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry. The Godfather was in the second group of films selected for the National Film Registry (1990) and was named in 2002 as one of the National Society of Film Critics’ 100 Essential Films.
Source: britannica
