'The Godfather' has been voted the Greatest Movie ever.

The Godfather's Al Pacino

The Godfather's Al Pacino

The iconic 1972 drama film - which stars Al Pacino and Marlon Brando and follows the story of the powerful crime family of Don Vito Corleone - has come out on top in a poll of 5,000 film fans conducted by Empire magazine.

'The Empire Strikes Back' - which won the poll in 2014 - placed second whilst 'The Dark Knight', 'The Shawshank Redemption' and 'Pulp Fiction' placed third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Other film classics including 'Goodfellas', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'Jaws', 'Star Wars' and 'The Fellowship of the Ring' complete the top 10.

Terri White, editor-in-chief of Empire, said of the results: "Empire readers turned out in their thousands to vote and, forty-five years after release, it's fantastic to see 'The Godfather' continue to elicit such affection from movie lovers.

"In addition to such perennial favourites such as 'Star Wars' and 'The Shawshank Redemption', it's also encouraging to see a number of recent releases have already found a place among cinemagoers' most cherished films.

"Last year's 'Arrival' and this year's 'La La Land' have emerged as firm favourites, while 'Captain America: Civil War' is the latest of the recent comic book adaptations to strike a chord."

Meanwhile, 'Jurassic Park' topped the Box Office Blockbusters list whilst 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' took home the top spot in the Recent Hits category after being rated highly by film fans.

The full 100 Greatest Movies Ever list appears in this month's Empire magazine, on sale on Thursday June 15 and on www.empireonline.com.