In 1972, a great classic movie was released based upon a novel that had been written in 1969.  The Godfather was the name of this movie and with the release of it thereafter, the popularity began to skyrocket.  It was an American gangster movie by a man named Mario Puzo, and was then directed by a man named Francis Ford Coppola.  It derived from a screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Coppola that caught so much popularity in itself that the thought of making it into a picture film was such a great idea that it only took 3 years after the release of the novel before it was indeed turned into a novel.  There was also another man that was involved in the making of the screenplay and the classic movie and his name was Robert Towne, though he was not truly credited.

The Godfather featured some of the most famous actors of the time such as the famous Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, John Marley, Diane Keaton, Sterling Hayden, James Caan, Richard Conte, Richard Castellano, and Marlon Brando.  Some of these actors had not been previously known prior to their role in The Godfather, though this is the time when their careers really began to take off.  There were also two sequels to the movie, The Godfather II (1974) and The Godfather III (1990).

The 1972 classic movie, The Godfather, did receive many Academy Awards for Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.  The movie was such a hit for its time and received enough awards that it was eventually inducted into the U.S. National Film Registry.  In addition to this, it ranked only 2^nd in all time for the greatest American history cinematic films.  The leader of the greatest movies was won by the movie Citizen Kane.