🇮🇹🍕The GodFather🍕🇮🇹

    Welcome backkkkkkkk, one of my favorite movie trilogies of all time is the Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola , these movies have so many hidden messages and just an incredible screenplay. Today we will be looking at scenes from the GodFather and analyze the different camera shots an angles used throughout the films, and why these shots and angles were used to further the plot of the story, or signal a change.

~ Summary Of the GodFather ~

    Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, this mob drama, based on Mario Puzo's novel of the same name, focuses on the powerful Italian-American crime family of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). When the don's youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), reluctantly joins the Mafia, he becomes involved in the inevitable cycle of violence and betrayal. 

~Scene 1~

    This scene displays an establishing shot from the first movie, showing Michael Corleone as he gets out of his car and enters a restaurant. This scene is important because it sets up the next scenes to come. Unfortunately, Michael is not going to Louis’s Italian-American restaurant for the food. He is going there to kill two men who have wronged his family. This scene is actually a pivotal point in the movie, as Michele’s family is a part of the Italian Mafia in New York. Towards the beginning of the movie Michele wants nothing to do with the family business, he displays himself as a proud American, former marine, and war hero. He goes into the restaurant as an American, but once he kills the two men, he solidifies his presence in his family, this is his point of no return and because of this scene he must flee to Italy and lay low until the shooting blows over. And even though it may seem like a mirror detail, the fact that the restaurant is Italian-American plays a major role in how the rest of this movie pans out. As Michele walks in the restaurant as an American, but he walks out as an Italian, engrossed in his family’s affairs and a life of crime.

~ Scene 2 ~

    In this scene, from the second movie, a wide shot is used. This scene is merely a flashback of an event that happened before the first movie. As Michael confesses to his family that he dropped out of collage to join the marines. His brother, Sonny, then calls him stupid because his father had worked very hard to get Michele into a good school, and he believes that Michele is throwing that all away to die for people he doesn’t know. Later in the scene Michel's brothers walk away, leaving Michele there all by himself. This shot is used perfectly because it shows Michel's distance from the family at this point in the movie.

~Scene 3 ~

    In this shot from the second movie, an over the shoulder shot is used, this is perfect for the scene because you are able to see Michele’s face as he grabs his brother Fredo. In this scene Michele expresses to Fredo that he knows he betrayed him and his family. This is a very intense scene as Michele is very serious, and Fredo is caught off guard because not too long ago the two brothers were dancing and having fun at a party. This shot is also momentous because it is able to establish the eye contact that Michele is making with Fredo.

~ Scene 4 ~

    In this scene from the first movie, a mid shot was utilized, in order to mimic the idea of a family photo. This scene was played in one of the first sequences of the movie. It displays Connie, Michael's sister, and her family at her wedding. This scene has an abundance of hidden messaging in terms of the movie, because as you can see, Michele is absent from the photo. Further displaying how he is distant and wants nothing to do with the family at first. Another thing I noticed in this scene is that Fredo is not paying attention, and is looking away from the camera and his family, in fact in the complete opposite direction. Now I am not sure if this was a coincidence or not, but this hints to Fredos betrayal later on in the trilogy. The shot also adds to the liveliness of the photo, because you are able to see everyone’s faces and body language.

~ Scene 5 ~

  

     This is a scene from the first movie, and in this instance a high angle with a wide shot has been used. In my opinion it was the perfect combo for this shot because in this scene Don Vito, Michele’s father and the head of the Corleone family, was being assassinated by two men. As he tried to run away they finally landed a shot on him, and the angle used shows and emphasized how weak and little he was compared to the power of the bullets. The fact that it was also a wide shot allowed the audience to see the shooters and Vito simultaneously. Allowing them to better grasp what is happing in the sequence. Another importance that this scene has in the movie is that Fredo was also there with his father while he was shot, but he was too slow to react to the gun men and eventually his father was shot. Because of this instance Michales trust in Fredo starts its decline and continues throughout the movie.