In 1972, an offer was made that the world could not refuse...

The Corleone crime family has touched millions of lives for more than four decades. From their origins in a pulp fiction novel by author Mario Puzo, the Corleones inspired one of the most important and enduring films in history. Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather not only broke box office records, it actually infiltrated the American conscience.

This special looks at how this groundbreaking film and its two sequels transcended Hollywood, transformed the American psyche, and even influenced real-life organized crime. Historians, scholars, law enforcement agents, and real-world Mafiosi explain how these powerful mobsters, with their moral ambiguity and human flaws, resonated with audiences and impacted popular culture.