Only 3 Crime Movies Are Better Than 'The Godfather'

Mario Puzo's crime novel The Godfatherremained on the New York Times bestseller list for 67 weeks and sold over nine million copies in two years, making it the best-selling published work in history at the time of its release in 1969. Unsurprisingly, it took mere months for the book to catch Hollywood's eye, with Paramount confirming its intentions to make a film based on the book. Several directors, from Sergio Leone to Peter Bogdanovich, were offered the project but declined it. That was until Francis Ford Coppola, after originally also turning the offer down (since he thought Puzo's book was "sleazy" and "a potboiler"), had to reverse his decision and agree to direct the film due to being in dire financial straits. Taking another look at the material allowed him to find a way to turn it into a compelling film: Not just a simple crime story, but a complex family saga dealing with the American Dream and American capitalism as its core thematic concern.