Week Two Blog: The Godfather
Lighting
Identify the type of lighting used in the film (traditional three-point, high key, or low-key) and assess the impact of the lighting used to establish the theme.
The type of lighting used in the opening scene for The Godfather is dark or low-key lighting. This scene demonstrates this technique as it opens, and the camera focuses on Amerigo Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto) speaking to Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). The lighting is very dim in the room around Bonasera with only his face receiving light. This technique provides an uneasiness to the scene and contributes very much to the dark theme of the movie.
What are the benefits of the style of lighting used?
The low-key lighting being used is usually done so for horror films or scenes that are intense in nature (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). This opening scene sets the tone for the movie as one that will have a dark and mysterious nature to it.
How does this technique contribute to the theme?
One of the many themes of The Godfather is suspense. While it belongs to the crime drama genre with violence and action throughout the film, it also has an almost horror film feel to it. It does not have the intention to scare anyone but the violence in the movie almost comes out of nowhere. The betrayals and double crosses by the characters leave the audience wondering where the next turn will come in the film. So the low-key lighting in the scenes assist with this direction by leaving one in anticipation (Poland, 2015).
How was the lighting technique suited to the genre of the film?
The low-key lighting technique plays well with The Godfather for a couple of reasons. The first is that since the movie is being told from the perspective of a mafia family it shows them in two different ways (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). In the opening scene, the low-level lighting sets the tone for a movie that along with its violence will also be suspenseful and mysterious. At the same time while the meeting is taking place in Vito Corleone’s study just outside in the yard the wedding celebration of his daughter Connie (Talia Shire) is also taking place. It is shot in bright sunlight and contrasts with the dealings taking place in the study. The cinematographer Gordon Willis compares the contrasting views many have of the Corleone family (Corliss, 2014).
Compare how the scene would play if different choices had been made.
If the lighting were different in the opening scene of The Godfather, it would not have the same effect. This can be illustrated in another scene also at the wedding celebration where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is speaking to his date Kay Adams ( Diane Keaton) about the family business. Michael tells her story where an individual is threatened at gunpoint to get his signature on a contract. While the story is horrific, it does not produce the same sense of foreboding since it is being told in bright sunlight and not in a dark setting that would elicit different emotions.
References
Corliss, R. (2014). Remembering Gordon Willis, the Cinema’s Prince of Darkness. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=c4dcabbb-9970-4b32-911e-9f5488ed36ba%40sessionmgr112&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=96206719&db=crh
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
Poland, J. L. (2015). LIGHTS, CAMERA, EMOTION! AN EXAMINATION ON FILM LIGHTING AND ITS IMPACT ON AUDIENCES’ EMOTIONAL RESPONSE. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=834933f3-9cfe-489f-9b2c-256c7d8373a5%40sessionmgr114&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsndl.oai.union.ndltd.org.OhioLink.oai.etd.ohiolink.edu.csu1437562969&db=edsndl
english225ajb 