HALL OF FAME:

The Godfather (1972)

Based on Mario Puzo’s novel, The Godfather has simply become the standard by which all other mob films are judged against. The film takes a look at the Corleone family, in its most turbulent decade of existence. At its heart though lays Italian traditionalism and the deep bond of family. Its main protagonist Michael (Al Pacino) literally becomes leader of the underground after his father falls victim to an assassination attempt and heart attack. Director Francis Ford Coppola paces his action with wondrous clarity: from the opening wedding scene to the closing spell of dread Michael sets in motion. In between, we see a family struggling to keep itself together as greed and ambition seeps in.

The importance of the film is widely knows: three Oscar wins, selected for preservation by the US National Film Registry in 1990 and permanently in the top five list of greatest Americans films irrespective of the decade compiled. Marlon Brando won an Oscar as Vito, the patriarch and influenced a generation of method acting.