The violence, corruption, and crime associated with the mafia are all considered shameful, inhumane, and unacceptable in the eyes of society. Contrary to these accepted negative connotations of the mafia, Francis Ford Coppola tells the tale of a mafia associated with honor, power, and unity in his 1972 film, The Godfather. The film chronicles the inner workings of the Corleone crime family, a fictional mafia power based in New York City. More specifically, The Godfather documents the transformation of Michael Corleone, son of Don Vito Corleone, from civilian to mafioso, from an outsider to a contributor.
From the beginning of the film, Michael’s “civilian” status renders him an outsider and outcast to the family. His relatives are all tied through the daily happenings of the family business, while Michael’s lack of desire to be involved in these affairs separates him from the rest. This, however, does not last. Then, Michael’s character takes a turn in the opposite direction when his actions secure his place in the mafia. From this instant on, Michael is no longer an outcast individual, rather, he is a significant part of the unified whole that is the Corleone mafia family. This critical scene takes place almost exactly halfway through the film. The timing of this scene is worth noting because it serves as a critical turning point, which divides the film (and Michaels character) into two major parts- First, Michael’s life as a civilian and the business of the Corleone family prior to his involvement and second, the business of the family with Michael as a key contributor. The weight of this vital scene of the film is expressed to the audience through the strategic use of sound with the support of the mise en scene and camera techniques. Coppola along with cinematographer, Gordon Willis, and sound mixer, Walter Murch, utilize both conventional and non-conventional film techniques in order to stress the weight of this significant scene, which goes against dominant ideologies and sentiments relating to the mafia by portraying it as an honorable organization. I will discuss the specific filmic conventions used in this ten-shot sequence, such as the use of the non-diegetic sound of a train and the layers of meaning behind this choice, as well as the use of the close up, and the ways in which they contribute to the meaning of the film.
In this scene, Michael has arranged a meeting with Virgil Sollozzo, a drug dealer working with another mafia family, and a corrupt policeman who supports Sollozo’s business, Captain McClusky, at a small restaurant in the Bronx. Sollozzo has ordered the assassination of Vito Corleone for his refusal to support his drug business. At this meeting, Michael plans to murder these two individuals in an effort to protect his father’s life and honor. A gun is to be planted in an old-fashioned toiled in the bathroom of the restaurant. By murdering these men, Michael is making the decision to give up his life of innocence to join his family in their business of violence and crime, which he has resisted for so many years.
Shot one starts at 1:27:23, halfway through the film. This is a wide shot, which shows Michael walking away from the Sollozzo and McClusky at the table, toward the bathroom with intentions of retrieving the weapon to murder the two men. About three seconds into this first shot, the faint sound of a train is introduced without any sign of a source. This sound bridges into the second shot, which shows Michael entering the bathroom. The sound persists and escalates as he searches with his eyes for the hiding place of the weapon until finally he reaches it and the noise fades out. In this shot, the camera is positioned back in the stall, providing a close-up of Michael walking toward the camera, moving in the direction of his goal of preventing his father from being harmed. This camera placement provides a simple mise en scene consisting of bare walls, the stall doors, and Michael himself. The close-up creates a cramped space within the bathroom, which is slightly overwhelmed by the noise that we hear, both diegetic (the toilet, pipes, and clanking or him digging through the space) and non-diegetic (sound of the train). As he approaches the toilet where the weapon is hidden, the camera pans to the right, keeping the frame of the close-up, allowing the viewer to move with Michael on his mission. Upon finding the hiding place, he begins searching for the gun. When he doesn’t find it instantly, his movements become frantic and in a bit of a panic. From this close-up, we cut to the third shot, a wide shot of Sollozzo and McClusky at the table. Here, it is practically silent with the two men sitting at the table, eating. There is almost no noise at all here as compared to the second shot and the space of the room is wide open and uncluttered. This drastic change in sound level adds to the stress of the situation. Now, we cut to the fourth shot so that we can rejoin the search for the gun. Again, the noise level instantly picks back up when we are in the bathroom and this quick and drastic change in the level of sound increases anxiety yet again. Finally, Michael finds the gun and pulls it out of its hiding place with caution, studying it. The moment he grasps the gun, the train starts back up, reminding us of the pressure and stress that Michael is feeling. This anxiety begins to build again because now that the gun is in his possession, the plan to kill for the mafia and end his life as a “civilian” is becoming a reality. A reality that he never dreamt he would experience.
Now that Michael has the gun, we cut quickly to the fifth shot and the train cuts off. This shot is practically identical to the third- a wide shot of the two men at the table in the main dining room. This time, however, the noise level in the room seems to be a little louder and at a more natural level. The sixth shot shows Michael walking toward the door to exit the bathroom. The camera pans to the left, keeping the frame of the close-up, as he exits the stall and approaches the door. Now the train starts up again and quickly becomes louder and louder. As was the case earlier, the use of the pan here allows us to take every step with Michael without any pauses or hesitations- the viewer is completely in his shoes and feeling his emotions. Just before he reaches the door, he stops to collect himself and the train becomes overwhelming. It seems as though it couldn’t come any closer. The feeling of imminent danger is upon us as the train seems to be very close until it begins to soften as Michael collects himself. As the train fades, we follow Michael out of the bathroom into the seventh shot with the sound bridge bringing him back in the presence of his two enemies until they see him and the sound fades completely.
The seventh, eigth, and ninth shots utilize the shot-reverse-shot technique with the seventh shot being an over the shoulder over Michael’s shoulder with the two men at the table in front of him, the eighth being a close-up of Michael’s face, and the ninth starting with another over the shoulder facing the men at the table. Still during the ninth shot, Michael walks toward the table to rejoin his enemies and the camera pans ever so slightly left to subtly emphasize the focus on Michael and his actions. We then cut to the tenth shot taking us through 1:29:17, starts with a close-up of Michael taking his seat. Once he is seated, not more than a second into the shot, Sollozzo begins speaking to him in Italian, however the viewer is not provided with subtitles. This forces us to focus our attention elsewhere. Michael is clearly preoccupied and we know by what. His body language reflects his nervousness and discomfort, which is further emphasized when the camera begins to zoom in on his face and we can see that he is gulping and shaking slightly. He is deep in thought, wondering when the opportune moment to carry out the plan is! Now the sound of the train starts back up as we continue to zoom even more into this close-up. The level of sound increases slowly at first, but as we zoom in closer and the anxiety builds, the train starts roaring and it spirals out of control until it is the loudest and feels the closest that it has been, screeching around a dangerous turn. The mood is chaotic and stressful until finally, Michael’s expression goes from nervous to a look of determination and certainty. Based on this last shot, we know that Michael decides to follow through with his plan and does in fact shoot Sollozzo and McClusky, securing his life as a mafioso.
In his interview with Michael Jarrett, Walter Murch discusses the three main rules of sound editing. He explains that quality sound editing will affect each of the following: emotion, story, and rhythm. The first two go hand-in-hand as Murch states, “you choose sounds that help people to feel the story of what you’re doing.” Francis Ford Coppola and Murch utilized the non-diegetic sound of a train in order to speak to each of these three rules of sound editing.
Why did Coppola choose the sound of the train? Would any escalating noise have supported the stress and anxiety Michael’s struggle just the same? Or is there more meaning to the train than meets the eye, or more appropriately, the ear?
First of all, the scene is set in the Bronx, where one would be very likely to hear the sound of an elevated train passing above a restaurant. In this sense, the train is an appropriate choice and supports the realistic nature of the choice. On a different level, the sound of the train is used to contribute to the depth of the story while instilling the appropriate emotions within in the viewer. This sound and the way in which the level of the sound is manipulated allows the viewer to feel what Michael is going through emotionally throughout this life-altering experience. Graeme Turner discusses sound as a signifying practice on page 83 of his work, Film as Social Practice IV by stating, “music swelling at the point of a romantic clinch is not manipulation but recourse to even more direct means of communicating with the audience.” Although Coppola doesn’t use music in this shot sequence, this statement is not only true of music. Any source of sound can serve as a means of emphasizing the mood and the emotions involved in a scene. This quote speaks directly to the use of sound in this ten-shot-sequence. The repetition of the sound of the train relates to this idea of speaking directly to the emotions of the audience beyond what is possible using dialogue and diegetic sound alone. By using a sound with an unseen, or external source, the audience is caught off guard. The repetition of this sound allows the audience to associate the emotion of anxiety or stress with the sound of the train approaching. Just as Turner discusses music “swelling” at the climax of a romance, the use of the sound of the train here is directly related to the intensity of the plot at that moment.
The history of the railways and its connotations emphasize the different layers of meaning in the scene. Murch discusses this history and it’s connotations in the interview by saying, “over time people have had a lot of associations with trains…trains were the thing that talked to you about travel. If you wanted to go anywhere, you went on a train. The whole idea of moving from place to place in the world was dominated by that sound.” This use of the train in terms of the association with travel and getting from point A to point B, or going from “place to place”, relates directly to Michael’s transition from being a civilian to becoming involved in the mafia. He is going from point A, life as an outsider who is uninvolved in the “family business”, to point B, becoming a key player in the Corleone mafia family. This transition or “travel” is represented metaphorically by the use of the sound of the train.
In the early years of the locomotive industry, different railways served a number of purposes, carried different goods, and worked independently of one another. As this industry developed and expanded, the individual railways started to collaborate efforts and eventually joined forces to form larger locomotive companies, which had a number of functions including the transport of goods in addition to a form of transportation for people. These large companies proved to be much more powerful and practical. Keeping in mind this transformation that took place within the locomotive industry, the train in The Godfather forms a very relevant parallel to the change that is taking place in the character of Michael Corleone. Similar to the individual railways, Michael acted as an individual separate from the mafia. An outsider to his family, he was considered a “civilian” and an ivy-league pretty boy who had nothing to contribute to his famly. He swore to never participate in the family business and was personally opposed to the practices of the mafia. Despite this moral opposition to the ways of the mafia, he clearly possesses a great deal of respect for his father and the rest of the family. When his father’s life is threatened by other mafia families, Michael takes it upon himself to protect his father’s life and the family’s honor. In order to do this, Michael plans to shoot and kill the two men responsible for threatening his father’s life. In forming this agenda to commit murder, Michael is essentially planning to give up his life of innocence in order to conform to the ways of the mafia and become a part of the family business. The theme of collaboration is seen through Michael’s transformation, just as it was seen in the evolution of the railways. Just as in this evolution of the railways yielding a positive outcome, Michael’s conforming to the ways of the mafia is portrayed in a positive light, going against the dominant ideologies relating to the mafia as an organization with negative connotations.
Finally, the sound of the train by its nature keeps a certain rhythm. While this rhythm doesn’t play a primary roll in developing the scene, it still follows the rules of sound editing and provides consistency throughout the scene.
This use of the sound of the train proves to be very effective in instilling the appropriate emotions in the viewer, however, it is even more influential when coupled with other filmic techniques such as the mise en scene. The dichotomy between the cramped bathroom with overwhelming sound and the open, silent dining room and the cuts between these two settings creates a tension, which contributes to the feelings of anxiety and stress. The space in the bathroom is so little that the room seems to fill with noise very easily, conveying the overwhelmed state of our protagonist. This relationship between sound and mise en scene is most effective at the end of shot 6 when Michael stops and reflects on the situation at hand. His head is in the center of the frame and holds 100% of our focus due to the lack of other visual stimulation and the train that seems to be coming right at us based on the sound. An interesting thing to think about is the way that Coppola approached this idea of reflection. Coppola could have included a shot of Michael collecting himself by looking in the mirror as would be a natural thing to do. The use of the mirror would physically represent Michael’s moment to reflect on his plan and how his life will change if he follows through with it. While the shot would make sense in the context of the scene, it would also take away from the powerful use of sound and make the feelings associated with the use of the train less influential. Rather, Coppola allows the sound and the character’s body language to speak for itself. This affects the viewer in a subtle fashion, whereas the use of the mirror would be making too direct of a statement and would most likely force emotion rather than encouraging it to happen naturally. The simplicity of this relationship between the mise on scene and the sound does not distract the viewer from the plot line and allows them to feel what Michael is feeling in a way that is organic rather than forced.
Similar to the mise en scene, certain camera techniques serve to compliment the use of sound in this shot sequence. Willis utilizes both the pan and the close-up in multiple shots in this sequence. Although the pan is effective, the close-up serves multiple purposes and adds to the depth of emotion. Walter Benjamin discusses this effect of the close-up shot in his piece, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. Through the use of the close-up “…an unconsciously penetrated space is substituted for a space consciously explored by man”. Additionally this technique gives the viewer a more focused look at the gestures and mannerisms of individual characters that would generally be overshadowed by larger scale happenings within the scene. “The act of reaching for a lighter or a spoon is familiar routine, yet we hardly know what really goes on between hand and metal, not to mention how this fluctuates with our moods…The camera introduces us to unconscious optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses.” This idea of “unconscious optics” speaks directly to shots two and four. Michael is frantically searching for the weapon that will determine the fate of his character and his father’s life. We know that he is simply reaching into the hiding place and feeling around for the gun, however the use of the close-up reveals much more to us. We see his jerky motions, the shaking of his hands and his nervous posture. Even more significant, we are able to see his facial expression of fear and uncertainty paralleled with his shaking hands and uncertain movements.
The close-up is used along with zoom in the final shot before Michael shoots the individuals threatening his father. The use of zoom on the close-up not only brings us closer to the Michael physically, however it also conveys the sense of peering into his mind and thinking through his actions with him. By invading that personal barrier of space, particularly in an area as vulnerable as his face, the audience easily feels what Michael is feeling and knows what his next step is after the tenth shot. We see this technique in a previous scene when Michael first decides that he will take it upon himself to kill his father’s enemies and end the threat to his life and honor. The repetition of this technique not only brings us emotionally closer to Michael as our protagonist, but it also frames the situation from beginning to end. We zoom and break this personal barrier in the initial planning process, we see the plan develop, follow the execution of it, and finally, we break that personal barrier once again in order to feel what Michael is feeling in the moment before his life is changed for good.
One final thing to note deals with the movement of the characters and the camera throughout the ten-shot sequence. During the sequence, we follow Michael out of the dining room, into the bathroom, out of the bathroom, and back into his chair at the table. During this time, the camera moves in order to show us Sollozzo and McClusky at the table at various times, however, these characters themselves never physically move. This dichotomy of Michael’s constant motion and change of location throughout the scene contrasted with the static position of the other two men further represents the change that is taking place in Michael’s character.
When people think of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film, The Godfather, they think of a film about the Italian-American mafia. While this is an accurate association, the film is not about the mafia as a whole, rather, it documents the transformation of an individual, Michael Corleone, from an independent civilian to a key player in the Corleone mafia family. This focus on Michael is shows through strategic sound editing with the support of various cinematography techniques and the mise en scene. These filmic conventions serve to both document and glorify this transformation. The Godfather makes the statement that Michael’s cross over from soldier and college-graduate to Mafioso, which occurs in the above shot sequence, is a positive happening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nrsMj4MWQ4
WORKS CITED
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Film
Theory and Criticism. Eds. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press, 2009. 665-685.
Jarrett, Michael, and Walter Murch. "Sound Doctrine: An Interview with Walter Murch." Film Quarterly 53.3 (2000): 2-11. Print.
The Godfather. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Paramount Pictures, 1972.
Turner, Graeme. Film as Social Practice. Fourth Edition. London: Routledge, 1988. 83.
No comments:
Post a Comment