The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte and Diane Keaton, and features John Cazale, Talia Shire, and Abe Vigoda. The fictional story, spanning the years between 1945 and 1955, chronicles the experiences of the Italian-American Corleone crime family. Two sequels followed: The Godfather Part II in 1974, and The Godfather Part III in 1990.

The Godfather received Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In addition, it had been ranked third—behind Citizen Kane (1941) and Casablanca (1942)—on the AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies list by the American Film Institute. It was moved up to second when the list was published again in 2007

During his daughter Connie's (Talia Shire) wedding reception, crime family patriarch Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) hears requests for favors, one of which comes from singer Johnny Fontane (Al Martino) asking for help in landing a movie role that will revitalize his flagging career. The Don's adopted son and family consigliere, Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), is dispatched to Hollywood to meet with wealthy studio head Jack Woltz (John Marley) to fulfill Fontane's request. Woltz angrily refuses to cast Fontane, but when he later finds the severed head of his prized racehorse in his bed, he changes his mind. Wikipedia