“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jesus). Although the church is a large part of the lives of the Corleone family, they are far from living in the light of Jesus Christ. In fact, their existence is so dark and shrouded in shadow that sometimes it is completely hidden from the view most people have from the church.
The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather part II (1974), based on the novel by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a very dark movie. Every element in the story (encompassed in both The Godfather and The Godfather part II) is portrayed in a way that is shrouded in darkness or empties an element of darkness. Whether using actual lighting techniques or embodying the dark evil of the business, Coppola has captured a very dark and sinister era.
There are several examples of people simply living in the dark, with out Christ’s shining light. Connie did not know Jesus and could not be comforted by Him in her time of hurt. She even missed her abusive husband, probably because she was in the dark as to what she could feel if saved, she did not know the alternative to her present situation, even if that situation was horrible.
Kay is also in the dark. In the beginning of the movie, she is in the dark as to what the family does for its business, but as the movie progresses and Michael takes over the position of Godfather, she is drawn in to the darkness of knowing, beginning to understand the evil that permeated the Corleone family. In part II it ultimately drove her away. She always had a sense of the darkness, but unlike many of the other characters, she made an effort to move towards the light of the outside world, if not the light of Jesus.
All of the scenes, even in the church, were very dark. There are shadows everywhere. The scenes inside the Nevada house were especially dark, to the point of obscuring the faces of the characters. While the house scenes could have conceivably been dark because of the closed blinds, every shot in the flash back sequences in part II were dark. Inside and out, the style of shooting admitted very little light. Every shot of Vito’s New York apartment was very dark, no natural light, except for the scene when he gets the rug, but that scene is overshadowed by the dark manner of acquisition of the rug. The viewer is left in the dark as to exactly how the taking of the rug was justified, even by mob standards.
In addition to the interior shots being literally in the dark, every outside scene was shot with a vignette that truly darkened the entire feel of the period scenes. On top of the period sooty chimneys, dim bulbs, drab clothing, and steamy-sooty trains, the vignette shots added another level of grime that felt dark. Besides the technical darkening, the very idea that came from many of the characters could only come from a mind that is itself very dark.
The massacre (or taking care of business) occurs during a baptism service which is very morbid. Only the most sinister mind would think to have such business conducted while simultaneously lying bald faced with in the church. In the flash back opening of part II, we see another very dark event, a murder committed at a funeral… a funeral being held for the victim’s father no less. As all the people are dressed in black, the Corleone boss kills a child to prevent him from plotting to avenge his father, who the same boss had recently ordered killed. In a very twisted, and dark. attempt to save her youngest sons life, the stricken widow and mother pleas with the boss to spare her son because he is so small. The visit results in the woman being shot in cold blood at point blank range by one of the boss’s muscles. Even though the scene takes place in broad daylight, the overwhelming aura of the happenings is very dark. It is depressing to see such tyranny so uselessly used to advance the interests of one man. The absence of any Christian presence is the absence of any saving grace.
In part II, when Vito realized what it would take to become the boss in the neighborhood, there was a very interesting use of lighting within the scene where he carried out his plan and killed Don Fanucci. In addition to the interesting hueing and vigneting discussed earlier, we see the supposedly light depiction of Jesus being paraded through the dark streets contrasted with the dark figure on the roof tops, back to the semi bright sky, watching the Don walk down the street, all happy, proclaiming the puppet show “too violent for me!” Into the dark hallway where death lurks, the Don went, in the dark as to what awaits him. As Vito waits, he turns out the light, as he will soon put out Don Fanucci’s light. But when the Don arrives and sees the light out, he taps it, coaxing it to burn again, as he pushed Vito to taking over. It was Don Fanucci who, upon being killed, made room for Vito to become the new boss of the town. As the light went out on Fanucci’s life and the light came back on in the hall, the light came on for Vito Corleone’s career.
The Godfather, though a great movie within the gangster-mob genre, is even darker than many such movies within the same genre. The Godfather is so dark, on many different levels; it competes with its peers for darkness achieved in production techniques, darkness of character, and darkness of dastardly deeds.
A. Goodman Productions 