SSC Film Studies

The Godfather: Sound Analysis

This sequence begins with a close up of Michael Corleone face.  Michael is with Sollozzo and McCulsky in an Italian restaurant. Also, when the waiter opens the bottle of wine, it makes a loud pop noise, this foreshadows the gunshot noise because Michael is debating whether to shoot him or not. The clatter of cutlery is intensified and we can hear the till register opening and closing, this makes the audience know that Michael is alert and on edge. This is diegetic sounds because Michael can hear it. Michael and Sollozzo start to speak in italian, this is because the mafia is a form of secrecy so it shows that the audience doesn't have to know what they are talking about.

Michael then goes to the bathroom to get the gun to shoot Sollozzo, but when he gets up Sollozzo pats him down to see if he has a gun, whereas he doesn't know that Michael is hiding a gun in the bathroom. When Michael walks away his footsteps are emphasised, the director does this because it intensifies the tension in the scene. When Michael is in the bathroom, it is a high angle when he is walking in the door he looks trapped and it makes the audience feel sorry for him because he isn't a killer.