Godfather Sound Analysis

The opening high angle establishing shot of the restaurant sets the scene for what is about to happen, the same shot can also be seen at the end of the clip to provide a closing to the events inside the restaurant. As the car pulls up, there is non-diegetic ominous music that puts the audience on edge. After the music, there is near silence, when entering the restaurant the camera is almost exclusively closeups of the characters, with some wide shots of the whole restaurant interior. The silence in the restaurant is broken repeatedly with intense footsteps, the footsteps are diegetic but they're quite obviously amplified to show the distress that Michael is in. Often when a person is in fear, their senses are heightened so the amplified sounds are connoting to the audience that Michael is worried. It is providing more depth, putting the audience in Michael's head almost.

As the waiter clumps over with his intense footsteps, McCluskey breaks the first word by asking Sollozzo what he thinks of the Italian food at the restaurant. The waiter begins to squeak the wine bottle until a point that it pops open, this diegetic sound is preparing the audience with foreshadowing what is going to happen, a build up until a loud bang and then red liquid. McCluskey is arguably the person with the least power in this situation, and yet he is the first one to speak. It shows how naive he is, and how clueless he is about what is going to happen, as he later states that he has already frisked Michael so he is clean. The audience is then put into the police officer's shoes and plunged into the dark when Sollozzo begins speaking Italian to Michael. Prior to Sollozzo speaking Italian, he warns McCluskey, and the audience in that sense, that he is going to speak a language that won't be understood. The background sound appears to be muffling the diegetic Italian which makes it even harder to decipher.

As Sollozzo mentions business (in Italian) the cash register can be heard which aids the audience in understanding a little about what Sollozzo is talking about. Only the most observant audience will make the connection and it may take watching the scene a few times.