Few people could have anticipated during the course of adapting Mario Puzo’s best-seller The Godfather to the big screen that it would become a lasting legacy in cinema. Forty-plus years have passed since its theatrical release, yet it stands the test of time as not only one of the greatest depictions of a crime family, but as one of the best films ever made.
The audience is introduced to the Corleone family during the wedding of patriarch Vito’s only daughter. We learn something about the family members as each vignette coalesces into a portrait of organized crime. Francis Ford Coppola chronicles the ins-and-outs of the organized crime business, from Vito’s fair-handed rule over his territory to Michael’s cruel, calculating and lasting reign over New York City and eventually Nevada. When Vito bare survives an attempt on his life, the family quickly seeks to fill the power vacuum left by his absence.
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