Godfather Opening Scene Analysis

(Up to 3:55)

At the beginning of 'The Godfather' the pace is very slow and the movie stays on a black screen whilst music is playing in the background, the title of the film then slowly fades in with puppet strings above the 'father', this gives the impression of someone pulling strings and being very deceiving, which may give the audience an idea already of what events may occur. The colours used in this section are only black and white which goes well with the slow pace of the opening unlike a brighter more lively colour would.

As the title fades away gradually, the music stops and we hear a voice saying the words "I believe in America", this gives an idea of where the film is set in and what the plot of the movie may have something to do with, the black screen slowly fades into a close up shot of a man in formal wear, the use of low key lighting at this point helps create mystery and tension in the scene. For the next few minutes, the camera stays at a relatively close up shot of the man who is talking, however the camera is very slowly zooming out from a close up shot to an over the shoulder shot of the man he is talking to. The mans identity is not yet revealed but subliminally tells the audience that he is of importance and may be of high authority.

The man is heard telling a story about his daughter being mistreated which indicated that he requires help from this mysterious man - this gives the audience the idea that this mysterious man is in fact 'The Godfather', he also stays in the shadows for this part which adds to the mystery of his identity. The audience can tell that he is of high power as people seem to be begging for his help. No music is heard in this entire scene either which creates a mysterious and unnerving feel to the scene.

The man then walks out of shot and back into shot next to the godfather and whispers in his ear. A close up shot of the godfather reveals his face for the first time, the dialogue also shifts to him and the scene then is focussed primarily on him. The camera then cuts to a long shot of the room with a man seen standing with his hands down on the desk opposite the godfather saying "i'll give you anything you ask" this indicates that the godfather has a lot of power and people will do anything for his help.