The Godfather (film series)

The Godfather
Directed by	Francis Ford Coppola
Screenplay by	Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola
Based on	The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Produced by	Albert S. Ruddy (1) Francis Ford Coppola (2–3)
Cinematography	Gordon Willis
Edited by	Peter Zinner (1–2) Barry Malkin (2–3) William H. Reynolds (1) Richard Marks (2) Lisa Fruchtman (3) Walter Murch (3)
Music by	Nino Rota (1–2) Carmine Coppola (3)
Production companies	Alfran Productions (1) The Coppola Company (2) American Zoetrope (3)
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	March 15, 1972 (1972-03-15) (The Godfather) December 20, 1974 (1974-12-20) (The Godfather Part II) December 25, 1990 (1990-12-25) (The Godfather Part III)
Running time	539 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English Sicilian
Budget	$73–74.2 million[N 1]
Box office	$430.9–517.4 million[N 2][N 3]

The Godfather is a trilogy of American crime films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the 1969 novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo. The films follow the trials of the fictional Italian American mafia Corleone family whose patriarch, Vito Corleone, rises to be a major figure in American organized crime. His youngest son, Michael Corleone, becomes his successor. The films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and released in 1972, 1974, and 1990. The series achieved success at the box office, with the films earning between $430 and $517 million worldwide.^{[N 2][N 3]} The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are both seen by many as two of the greatest films of all time.^[1] The series is heavily awarded, winning 9 out of 28 total Academy Award nominations.

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