'''Gudfadern''' är en Gudfadern, den delvis fristående Gudfadern del II och den helt fristående Gudfadern del III. Rollen som Gudfadern spelas av Marlon Brando.

==Handling==

Boken utspelar sig i dödad p.g.a sin oförsiktighet i det krig han startar mot de övriga New York-familjerna för att hämnas sin far. När sedan Don Corleone frisknar till sluter han en fred och får hem sin son Michael som har varit i landsflykt på Sicilien efter ett mord för att kunna involvera honom i familjeverksamheten. En kort tid senare avlider Vito av en hjärtinfarkt, varpå Michael blir familjen Coreleones nye Don. Michael värderar inte freden lika högt som sin far, utan han låter avrätta bossarna till samtliga rivaliserande famlijer och drar därmed igång ett storkrig mellan familjerna i New York. Under Michaels ledning vinner familjen Corleone kriget, vilket breder väg för de två följande delarna av filmtrilogin. Kort sagt kan man säga att man får följa familjen Corleones vardag i genom ett par omvälvande år. Det har även gjorts tv- och pc-spel på filmen. 

{{infobox Book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name           = The Godfather
| orig title     =
| translator     =
| image          = 175px|Cover of ''The Godfather''
| author         = Mario Puzo
| cover_artist   = 
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| series         = 
| genre          = Crime novel
| publisher      = G. P. Putnam's Sons 
| release_date   = 10 March 1969
| media_type     = Print (Hardback & Audio Book
| pages          = 448 pp (Paperback edition)
| isbn           = ISBN 0-7493-2468-6 (Hardback edition) & ISBN 0-399-10342-2 & ISBN 0-451-16771-6 (Paperback editions)
| preceded_by    = 
| followed_by    = The Sicilian
}}
'''''The Godfather''''' is a American Sicilian Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the backstory of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood. 

The book introduced Italian criminal terms like ''1972 film of the same name. Two film sequels, with new contributions made by Puzo, were made in 1974 and 1990. The first and second film are widely considered to be two of the greatest films of all time.

==Titling==
Much controversy surrounds the title of the book and its underworld implications. Although it is widely reported that Puzo  was inspired to use "Godfather" as a designator for a Mafia leader from his experience as a reporter, the term ''The Godfather'' was first used in connection with the Mafia during Joe Valachi's testimony during the 1963 Congressional Hearing on Organized Crime.

==Main characters==

The Corleone family patriarch is Santino "Sonny" Corleone, Fredo "Freddie" Corleone, Michael "Mike" Corleone, and Constanzia "Connie" Corleone.   He also has an informally adopted son, godfather of a famous singer and movie star Johnny Fontane. The Godfather referred to in the title is generally taken to be Vito. However, the story's central character is actually Michael, and a central theme of the novel is that it is Michael's destiny, despite his determination to the contrary, to replace his father as the family head. 

The Corleone family are in fact a criminal organization with influence in many areas of crime, notably Protection and Extortion, Gambling and the Unions. Under the Don is his ''consigliere'' who is a 'cutout,' to protect the Don from implication. The operational side of the organisation is headed by two 'Caporegime,' or 'Captains.' Peter Clemenza and Sal Tessio are high ranking officials in the family.

== Plot ==
The plot deals with a gang war fought between the Corleone family and the five families of New York. After Don Vito Corleone is shot by men working for drug dealer Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo, his two sons, Santino and Michael must run the family business with the help of consigliere Tom Hagen and the two Capos Barzini Family, Michael sells all his business in New York and makes the Corleone Family a legitimate business in Las Vegas.

==The families==
The five New York City families are the Straccis, the Tattaglias, the Corleones, the Cuneos, and the Barzinis. Other families, such as the Bocchicchio clan of New York (who act as peacekeepers), the Tramontis in New Orleans and the Capones, in Chicago are also mentioned.

==Film adaptation==

In 1972, a film adaptation of the novel was released, starring Oscars, and became the first sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

The film is similar in most places, but leaves out some details, such as extended back stories for some characters. Some of these details were actually filmed, and were included in later versions such as ''The Godfather Saga''. A subplot involving Johnny Fontane in Hollywood was not filmed. The biggest difference was that the novel included a more upbeat ending than the film, in which Kay Corleone found a peaceful acceptance of Michael's decision to take over his father's business. The film, in contrast, ended sharply with Kay's dreadful realization of what Michael had done and his ruthlessness, a theme that would develop in the second and third films, which were not based on the original novel.

==Other adaptations==