The Godfather

One of the best films ever made in history, The Godfather is the finest work of Francis Ford Coppola. It has been ranked as the second greatest film in American cinematic history- behind Citizen Kane- by the American Film Institute.  Previous gangster movies had looked at the gangs from the perspective of an infuriated outsider. In disparity, The Godfather presents the gangster's perception of the Mafia as a retort to corrupt society. Although the Corleone family is presented as incalculably rich and powerful, there is no hint of where its money comes from, no scenes depicting prostitution, gambling, loan sharking or other forms of racketeering. The setting of a criminal counterculture allows for unapologetic gender stereotyping, considered an important part of the film's allure.

Although many films about gangsters had been made before The Godfather, Coppola’s compassionate treatment of the Corleone family and their associates, and his interpretation of mobsters as characters of substantial psychological profundity and intricacy was hardly usual in the genre. The Godfather had a strong impact on the public at large.

The film starts with the wedding reception of Don Vito Corleone's daughter Connie and Carlo Rizzi. Vito, the head of the Corleone Mafia family who is known to friends and associates as "Godfather" and Tom Hagen, the Corleone family lawyer and consigliore, are investigating requests for favors because "no Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day". Meanwhile, the Don's youngest son Michael, an adorned Marine war hero returning from World War II service, tells his girlfriend Kay Adams anecdotes about his family, attempting to enlighten her about his father's criminal life; he reassures her that he is different from his family. Among depicting the marriage of Connie and Carlo, the wedding scene also serves as a significant elucidation scene for the remainder of the film, as Michael metaphorically introduces the main characters to Kay.

The Godfather is a drama/ gangster film which is based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Mario Puzo. The scene in which a delivery is made of a pair of pants and bullet proof vest wrapped around a fish is explained to be an old Sicilian message, "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes". This expression has made it into widespread American dialect.