The Godfather has had a profound impact on fiction, film, and culture since its publication in 1969. It was on the New York Times bestseller list for 67 weeks, and sold over nine million copies in two years. The publication of The Godfather in kicked off an American fascination with the Mafia and organized crime that continues to this day. Some consider The Godfather to be the next evolution of the Western-like the outlaws featured in pulp fiction and film. The Mafia operated outside the law but by their own code. Others see The Godfather as the natural evolution of the noir detective genre.

When The Godfather was adapted into a movie, the public’s fascination with the Mafia grew. The movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, immediately captured the public’s imagination. The film was fantastically successful, winning numerous awards, critical acclaim, and public adulation. The impact of The Godfather on today’s cinema, and on popular fiction more generally, cannot be understated. Certain phrases that appeared in the book and later in the movie have become a part of the American lexicon; for example, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse” (43).