The Godfather

Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972) marked a transition in American film—making, and its success – as a work of art, as a creative 'property' exploited by its studio, Paramount Pictures; and as a model for aspiring auteurist film—makers – changed Hollywood forever.

Jon Lewis's study of The Godfather begins with a close look at the film's audacious visual style (the long, theatrical set pieces; the chiaroscuro lighting, the climactic montage paralleling a family baptism with a series...