For the purposes of my analysis I have chosen the restaurant scene from Francis Coppola’s “The Godfather”. The reason being is that the scene is intense and sound design plays an immense role in it. The use of it complements the visuals brilliantly and helps the viewer understand what is happening in the characters’ heads. The scene is full of suspense and a balanced mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds accurately underlines that.
The whole scene is “framed” by the sound from the beginning up until the very end. Upon fading into the scene, we are immediately placed in a classic Italian restaurant with three men having what seems to be a quiet dinner. The first sound we hear is that of a bottle of wine being opened by first creaking and …show more content…
The viewer is subconsciously being told to pay attention to what is going to happen next. After the wine is being served, Sollozzo asks for permission to start speaking in Italian. Speaking in a foreign and different from the film’s language is a common occurrence in cinema but usually it is accompanied by subtitles. In this case, Sollozzo and Michael start talking entirely in Italian and not a single word is translated. It is done intentionally as the Director …show more content…
Words are unnecessary as the fate of both Sollozzo and McCluskey is predestined. We are instead left with more time to observe Michael’s reactions to Sollozzo’s explanation. You can clearly see how hard Michael is trying to stay calm and disinterested throughout the conversation. In this case sound is helping us go through his emotional state. At this point we start hearing some train effects outside which later on will embrace the whole scene. There is also a man who casually walks as the camera switches angles and goes to a telephone in which he puts coins in. The sound effects of the coins being taken in by the machine might be interpreted as a hint of an upcoming payback action.
Al Pacino’s brilliant acting becomes apparent when his character finds it hard to continue the conversation in Italian. Michael looks down nervously but tries to keep his calm at the same time. At this point of time, the director has decided that we should have understood how he feels by now. That is to say, the rest of the dialogue carries on in English.
After excusing himself to go to the bathroom, Michael leaves the table with a clear idea in his mind. Upon entering the restroom, we can hear the sound of a train passing by. А clearly non-diegetic
The whole scene is “framed” by the sound from the beginning up until the very end. Upon fading into the scene, we are immediately placed in a classic Italian restaurant with three men having what seems to be a quiet dinner. The first sound we hear is that of a bottle of wine being opened by first creaking and …show more content…
The viewer is subconsciously being told to pay attention to what is going to happen next. After the wine is being served, Sollozzo asks for permission to start speaking in Italian. Speaking in a foreign and different from the film’s language is a common occurrence in cinema but usually it is accompanied by subtitles. In this case, Sollozzo and Michael start talking entirely in Italian and not a single word is translated. It is done intentionally as the Director …show more content…
Words are unnecessary as the fate of both Sollozzo and McCluskey is predestined. We are instead left with more time to observe Michael’s reactions to Sollozzo’s explanation. You can clearly see how hard Michael is trying to stay calm and disinterested throughout the conversation. In this case sound is helping us go through his emotional state. At this point we start hearing some train effects outside which later on will embrace the whole scene. There is also a man who casually walks as the camera switches angles and goes to a telephone in which he puts coins in. The sound effects of the coins being taken in by the machine might be interpreted as a hint of an upcoming payback action.
Al Pacino’s brilliant acting becomes apparent when his character finds it hard to continue the conversation in Italian. Michael looks down nervously but tries to keep his calm at the same time. At this point of time, the director has decided that we should have understood how he feels by now. That is to say, the rest of the dialogue carries on in English.
After excusing himself to go to the bathroom, Michael leaves the table with a clear idea in his mind. Upon entering the restroom, we can hear the sound of a train passing by. А clearly non-diegetic