Opening Sequence Analysis – The Godfather Part I

The opening sequence commences with a title frame stating the title of the film ‘The Godfather’. There is a hand controlling a section of the word ‘Godfather’, which similarly symbolises the control that the Godfather has over everyone else as he aims to be superior. The typography used here includes a while bold font on a dull but direct black background. These colours totally oppose each other (Levi-Strauss – Binary Oppositions Theory) but it has a great impact by subliminally sending a warning to the audience that this is an emblematic Gangster orientated film with a ‘rise and fall’ structure. Correspondingly, the title fades away and the audience is left with a plain black screen, emphasising the connotations of the colour black. Black could connote authority whereas the bold, white text may have been provided to stand out and be noticeable, which justifies the main character in this film. Furthermore, there are no improvident effects which have included in this title frame, and this may go to suggest that the Godfather is ingenuous, but alternatively has a point to prove while he’s climbing the ranks.

The title frame and the deliberately unhurried jazz soundtrack both fade out and cut into the scene where a male voice-over begins with the phrase “I believe in America”. Already this gives us an insight as to where this scene/film may be set (America). He continues to talk about the harsh violence which his daughter encountered one night, and this is a thriller signifier as we instantly know that the narrative will include a lot of corruption and crime; this is one of the main conventions of the gangster genre. At this point in the scene, the mise-en-scene is pitch black with the male’s

white collar being the single element of lustre. This can also relate back to the title frame of the contradicting colours, once again the theory of Levi-Strauss – Binary Oppositions comes into play with it’s many connotations. Due to these two colours appearing a number of times throughout the film, the audience can grasp a clearer understanding of the temper that the film is trying to portray (by using the Cultivation Theory).

The scene then proceeds to zooming out at a constant pace, and we observe a technique used by the director of an over-the-shoulder shot showing two people in the room. This is effective as the audience wondered who the voice-over male was conversing with earlier (Barthes – Enigma Code). The shot now reveals a completely dissimilar mise-en-scene to the one in the previous frame. The colour brown gets exposed with the wooden table in sight too, making it seem as though they are situated in an office. The same male is given a drink (in all probability an alcoholic one) by another male, and here is where the flaws of the protagonist are showed – through his emotions and his drinking inclination. As the camera proceeds to alter angles, we see three characters in the room who are all dressed in suits. This aspect of their appearance may connote authority and wealth, which all gangsters aspire to have. Also, when the camera zooms into the third character, a red flower appears on his suit. This could connote of disguised danger as the colour red frequently represents a threat.

Similarly to the previous frame, the third character is introduced and focused on. The room appears to brighten up a touch – the lighting use is unsophisticated as it merely shines through the slatted blinds. As mentioned before, the mise-en-scene is primarily made up of the colour brown which

could connote wealth and professionalism as this seems to be an office-style scenery. The opening sequence then freezes on a static screenshot of this third character and the soundtrack begins to play again which cues the rest of the title frames. The soundtrack appears to be less jazzy at this point as it is more high-pitched and invigorating, which reflects on the scene and gives the audience the impression that there is much more to expect (Barthes – Enigma Code).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2PobklvATU