The plot begins with Don Vito Corleone declining an offer to join in the narcotics business with notorious drug lord Virgil Sollozzo, which leads to an assassination attempt.

Vito's oldest son Sonny subsequently takes over the family business and he conspires with Michael to strike back for the assassination attempt by having him kill Sollozzo and a corrupt police captain, forcing Michael to go to Sicily in hiding.

While in Sicily, Michael travels around the country and meets a woman he marries but who is killed in a car bombing.

Michael returns to America after the news of his brother Sonny's murder and marries his former girlfriend Kay.

Francis Ford Coppola returned as director for the feature-length film, while also writing the screenplay with the help of the author Mario Puzo.

In his audio commentary for Part II, Coppola stated it was his belief in the first two films having told the complete Corleone saga with nothing more to add that led him to decline multiple requests from Paramount to make a third installment for over a decade, until severe financial difficulties caused by the critical and commercial failure of One from the Heart (1982) compelled him to accept the long-standing offer.

The film also portrays a fictionalized account of real-life events, including the death of Pope John Paul I and the Papal banking scandal of 1981 & '82, linking them together and with the affairs of Michael Corleone.

[3] The film co-stars Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone, whose performance was received negatively by critics.

[5][6] Coppola said the film is the version he and Puzo had originally envisioned, and it "vindicates" its status among the trilogy and his daughter Sofia's performance.

The fourth film was intended to be a prequel and a sequel told in a similar narrative to Part II.

[9] Many actors were rumoured to be cast in the film: Robert De Niro, Andy García and Talia Shire were suggested to be reprising their roles.

[15] The estate of Puzo had sought to keep Paramount Pictures from producing the film based on The Family Corleone.

Compilations were created by Coppola and editors Barry Malkin and Walter Murch, with two released to home media: Other box sets were released in DVD and Blu-ray formats: A side-scrolling shooter, The Godfather (1991), was the first video game based on the series.