One of American popular culture's most resilient narratives is that of the Mafia and its antiheroic gangsters, and one of this genre's most popular and poignant products is Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy, based on Mario Puzo's novel of the same name. Released in 1972 to universal acclaim and rewarded with several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, The Godfather instantly fixed its place in the American cultural psyche, establishing itself as the de facto gangster film to which all other subsequent exercises in the genre would be compared.

Powered by Marlon Brando's timeless delivery of the film's namesake, Godfather Vito Corleone, the film also established the futures of Hollywood royalty Al Pacino (Michael Corleone), Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen), and James Caan (Sonny Corleone), all of whom are most recognized for the roles they played in this sprawling and sensitive study of two generations of Mafia membership...