Scene Of The Week:
Michael's First Kill from THE GODFATHER
Originally I was going to take a scene every week this year and tear it apart and explain how it works, but let's see how this works: Here is the scene, let's discuss it in the comments section. I could probably spend a few pages telling you how much I love this scene, but in the event you haven't seen the two GODFATHER movies (no, there isn't really a third one) - Michael (Al Pacino) is the good, honest, war hero son of Mafia Don Corleone (Brando) and this is his first kill. The great thing about a great movie is that everything gets tied together in a single scene: this is a *plot scene*, it's also a violent scene (and this is a gangster flick), and a character scene, amd a story scene, and... well - let's talk about it!
Translation:
SOLLOZZO: "I'm sorry..."
MICHAEL: "Leave it alone." ( or ) "Forget about it."
SOLLOZZO: "What happened to your father was business. I have much respect for your father. But your father, his thinking is old-fashioned. You must understand why I had to do that."
MICHAEL: "I understand those things..."
[Waiter brings McCluskey's veal, then exits.]
SOLLOZZO: "Now let's work through where we go from here."
MICHAEL: "How do you say... ?" [Then Michael returns to speaking English.]
[After Michael returns from the bathroom]
SOLLOZZO: "Everything all right? I respect myself, understand, and cannot allow another man to hold me back. What happened was unavoidable. I had the unspoken support of the other Family dons. If your father were in better health, without his eldest son running things, no disrespect intended, we wouldn't have this nonsense. We will stop fighting until your father is well and can resume bargaining. No vengeance will be taken. We will have peace, but your Family should interfere no longer."
- Bill
Translation:
SOLLOZZO: "I'm sorry..."
MICHAEL: "Leave it alone." ( or ) "Forget about it."
SOLLOZZO: "What happened to your father was business. I have much respect for your father. But your father, his thinking is old-fashioned. You must understand why I had to do that."
MICHAEL: "I understand those things..."
[Waiter brings McCluskey's veal, then exits.]
SOLLOZZO: "Now let's work through where we go from here."
MICHAEL: "How do you say... ?" [Then Michael returns to speaking English.]
[After Michael returns from the bathroom]
SOLLOZZO: "Everything all right? I respect myself, understand, and cannot allow another man to hold me back. What happened was unavoidable. I had the unspoken support of the other Family dons. If your father were in better health, without his eldest son running things, no disrespect intended, we wouldn't have this nonsense. We will stop fighting until your father is well and can resume bargaining. No vengeance will be taken. We will have peace, but your Family should interfere no longer."
- Bill
posted by wcmartell at 12:15 AM
3 Comments:
I particularly like the train sound effect starting about 3:50.
This symbolizes his increasingly agitated state of mind, the rush of blood, his train-wreck of thought building, building suspense.
Of course, it is in the bathroom, with outside windows, that he would hear a train, so the effect occurs naturally.
That sound occurs again as our anti-hero sits and fumes as the other guy continues to weasel out of responsibility for trying to off the guy's father by saying Italian things like "No harm, no foul, right?"
The sound was set up in a realistic manner, and then repeated when its inner meaning was understood, thus adding sound to the tics in Pacino's face indicating his bubbling volcanic (but semi-controlled) rage.
p.s. That guy is a dead shot.
And so this scene becomes a character building opportunity for Pacino. While forces beyond his control caused a chain (or train) of events, these forces are now rushing him toward violence.
He remains in control of himself, and only needs 3 bullets to kill 2 grown males with centering forehead shots.
No clumsy spray weapon like a Tommy gun for our anti-hero.
He remains in control of himself, which is not how Sonny and Fredo behave, getting to the ultimate question of the film, why doesn't father love me best?
A mob needs control...um...because otherwise it's just a mob?
I love how Michael does the exact opposite of what he was told by Clemenza...he doesn't ask to go to the bathroom, he doesn't come out shooting, he doesn't let the gun slip to the floor unnoticed, he doesn't walk out of the restaurant...etc. This, along with his difficulty finding the gun in the bathroom, make for a very tense sequence.
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