Organized Crime in America, Dennis Kenney and Jim Finckenauer note that the movie "The Godfather had more influence on the public mind and the minds of many public officials than did any library filled with scholarly works that argued for the true nature of organized crime" (Mario pp).

The scenes from "The Godfather" are among the most often recalled and parodied in screen history (Fox pp). Released in 1972, it won three Oscars, including Best picture, as did the sequel, "The Godfather Part II" two years later (Fox pp). Both movies have become legendary landmarks of American film history, however, when Mario Puzo wrote the novel, he had no intention of telling any real hard truths about the gangsters (Fox pp). Puzo, the son of illiterate Neapolitan immigrants, had grown up in Hell's Kitchen area of New York City, and saw writing as a way out of the working class...
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