The Godfather (1972)

This crime drama directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan is a cinematic masterpiece. It won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and spawned two sequels. The Godfather” is revered as the greatest movie ever made and is regarded as the most influential in the crime or mafia genre.  The story is inspired by Puzo’s 1969 novel of the same name. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino play the heads of a significant New York crime family in this movie. The movie is set between the years 1945 and 1955 and focuses on Michael Corleone (Pacino), who goes from being a hesitant family outsider to a vicious Mafia boss. It also follows the Corleone family under the leadership of the patriarch Vito Corleone.