The Godfather

The Godfather Film Analysis
1. Name of the Film: The Godfather
2. Director: Francis Ford Coppola
3. Screenwriter: Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
4. Year Made: 1972
5. Major Stars/Actors: Don Corleone, Michael Corleone, Tom Hagen, Sony Corleone, Kay Adams, Fredo, Johnny Fontane, Amerigo Bonasera, Jack Woltz, Emilio Barzini, Jr etc.
6. Genre: Crime and Drama
7. Characteristics of Genre: (1) Drug crime (2) Violence (3) Low-key lighting
8. Protagonist: Michael Corleone
9. Antagonist: Emilio Barzini, Jr.
10. Central Message: To a large extent, the central message in this particular film is that there is no way for a person to escape his or her destiny as well as responsibilities.
11. In essence, the film is full of dramatic sequence as well as action. It as far as lighting is concerned, it is a film that extensively utilized the dark mode/look. This appears to have been a departure from the past whereby most of the films at the time were all about screen blitz. The dark look/mode is supplemented by the voices of some characters like the Don which are essentially kept low so as to project or portray power and further underline the film’s very dark tone.
12. The dominant soundtrack of the film is sourced from a soundtrack that happens to share the very same name, i.e. The Godfather. The soundtrack is used in what I would call the creation of moments. This is more so the case when it comes to promoting trepidation, and suspense. The viewer is in this case kept engaged via sudden crescendos and occasional measured harmonic/monophonic effects at the opportune moments.
13. The themes I find most interesting in The Godfather are those of power and family. In as far as power is concerned, we witness elaborate efforts by the Corleone crime Family to project power so as to advance its agenda, and also get to see how the said power could at times be fleeting. Next, the relevance of family cannot be overstated in this particular film. This family aspect is used to project key factors such as loyalty, respect, and strong bonds within a larger and more complex criminal enterprise.
14. Although I generally liked the film, I felt that it does in some instances promote gender stereotyping. For instance, we have the scene whereby Johnny Fontane is asked by Don Vito to act like a man – indicating that men are not supposed to be emotional.
15. I would definitely watch the film again. This is more so the case given that I was amazed by its gifted cast and what could only be defined as ensemble performance.