The Godfather is a 1972 crime film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with screenplay by Puzo and Coppola. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and James Caan. The story spans ten years from late 1945 to 1955 and chronicles the life of the Corleone crime family.

The Godfather was initially ranked as the third greatest film in American cinematic history (behind Citizen Kane and Casablanca) on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list by the American Film Institute. It has now been re-ranked number two under Citizen Kane, with number three being Casablanca.It is also the top movie on Internet Movie Database's Top 250 list, as well as Metacritic's top 100 list and Rotten Tomatoes all-time best list.

Two sequels followed, The Godfather Part II in 1974 and The Godfather Part III in 1990