5. The Godfather
Before The Godfather the gangster sub-genre was seen as trash and demoralizing but everything changed when Francis Ford Coppola made his seminal movie. Never again were gangster movies seen as lower forms of film. They were now highly revered Oscar winners. The greatest thing The Godfather did was it took every cliche' surrounding crime films and changed it into something real and captivating. The narrative structure is more akin to the patron/client system in the ancient Roman culture to Scarface or Public Enemies which adds a layer of humanity to the characters that very few movies can replicate. The relationships of each family member to one another give the movie a sense of familiarity but there is always the looming threat of violence that keeps you enthralled every minute throughout the running time.