The Godfather (1972), from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski) and Tuna

You don't need us to tell you that The Godfather is not only a part of cinematic folklore, but deeply ingrained into popular culture. Thirty years later, even casual film fans understand references to Fredo and Luca Brasi; they know the meaning of toll booths to the family; they know what it means to make an offer one can't refuse. The movie was a mammoth popular success, with a $134 million at the box office, equivalent to $347 million in today's dollars. It's difficult to find someone who has not seen it. It is unanimously praised. It made Coppola a rich and powerful man. 

So who won Best Director that year at the academy awards? Mr Coppola? Uh, no. The Godfather did win Best Picture, but the award for Best Director of the year went to - Bob Fosse, for Cabaret.

I know that sounds crazy, but there is some logic behind it. Coppola might have taken home the statuette if he had been the driving force behind the film but, as most people have forgotten, Coppola was not the auteur behind The Godfather. He was a merely a hired gun on a project developed by various others at Paramount Pictures. In fact, Coppola only got the job because several other directors, including Peter Bogdanovich, refused the project when offered it by Robert Evans, the head of Paramount. Coppola himself demurred originally because he wanted to develop his own projects, and because the book was a best seller, and therefore beneath his artistic dignity. When he finally took the job, the actual filming process turned out to be a semi-disastrous experience for him. During the production he was almost fired, then he almost quit. Even after he finished cutting the film, he thought the final product would be a flop - "Well, I guess I failed. I took a popular, pulpy, salacious novel, and turned it into a bunch'a guys sitting around in dark rooms talking".

I guess we know he was wrong.

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The Godfather did win several awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Brando). Maybe you remember the award ceremony that year. It was one of the all-time classics. That was the notorious year when Brando's Best Actor statuette was picked up by "Sacheen Littlefeather" (real name Maria Cruz, an actress), who used Brando's acceptance speech to agitate against America's treatment of Native Americans. In case you weren't aware or had forgotten, the award shows in the 70s and 80s were highly politicized. Many performers, on both sides of the political spectrum, used the spotlight to make speeches on behalf of their pet causes.

Many years later, comic Tim Allen delivered a memorable Oscar-night line regarding this trend. "I thought I'd take this opportunity on worldwide television to promote my personal political causes. Sadly, I have no personal political causes." 

Tuna's comments in yellow:

The Godfather is the number 1 film of all time at IMDb. Is the film that good? Maybe. I would agree that it is an A, very well done, and of interest to nearly everyone, even if they hate the genre. I don't think I could chose a single favorite film because I like different films for different reasons, and my enjoyment of a film doesn't necessarily correlate to the quality of the film, but The Godfather is probably as good a choice for #1 as any of 30 or so great films.