The Godfather movies are based on a novel of the same name by Mario Puzo which details the rise and fall of a fictitious Italian Mafia family. The Godfather (1972), directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, was a huge hit at the box-office, obliterating all previous records to become the highest-grossing film of all time. (It held this record for three years until Jaws surpassed it in 1975.)