The Godfather

'The Godfather' is an award-winning movie, based on the novel of the same name that was written by Mario Puzo. Directed by the Italian-American director, Francis Ford Copolla, its star cast includes Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Al Lettieri, Sterling Hayden and John Cazale. With Marlon Brando as the legendary 'Don Vito Corleone', the story of The Godfather revolves around a Sicilian Mafia family and captures crime from every possible angle in the 1940's. Read its complete summary below.

The story of 'The Godfather' opens in the study of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), the leading patriarch of a New York Mafia family, holding court during the wedding of his daughter Connie (Talia Shire). Guests-cum-suppliants come and pay tribute to him, each beseeching him with his/ her personal requests - revenge, role in a movie, husband for a daughter, etc. Don Vito's youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), a World War II hero, is also home with a new American girlfriend, Kay Adams (Diane Keaton).

Though Don Vito maintains his overpowering deportment, there are hints that his powers are eroding. His old-world ideas and policies are viewed as antiqued by many. Things take a bad turn when his eldest son, Sonny (James Caan), opposes his refusal to enter the drug business. When a drug-supplier named Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) arrives with intriguing business proposals, which Don Vito rejects, it leads to a bloody battle of treachery, deceit and plunder among the five mob families of New York. With Sonny's death, the plot takes volatile turns.

What makes Don Vito so galvanizing is his intricate character. He is not a killer, but a complicated gangster. He epitomizes a family man, who shows equal prowess while handling Mafia dealings. His wordless compassion for Michael, when he finally emerges as the new Godfather, is one of the most illuminating moments of the movie pertaining to the father-son relationship. In fact, the cinematic splendor of the movie lies in its tightly-knitted plot, its larger-than-life characters and its realistic pace.

Since its release in 1972, 'The Godfather' has garnered 10 Academy Award nominations and also bragged the title of 'Best Picture'. Such is the appeal of The Godfather, that it has become the yardstick for gauging the intensity of all the gangster movies. In fact, it is a wonderful masterpiece that palpitates with a matchless magic and has been an inspiring predecessor of many gangster movies that followed its time.