Doors, windows, mirrors

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2005)

In contrast to part 2 this is more loosely structured and sometimes less climactic and also seems more improvised. But thanks to the enormous effort put to detailed cinematography and camera-work it lends itself more to repeated viewings. (One example: when Vito is about to be shot there's a poster on the grocery store announcing a fight of Jake LaMotta thus foreshadowing the assassination attempt).
Probably the most interesting is the light and dark contrast between the outer, ordinary world and the inner, godfather world. Even when these two worlds meet in one shot they are still strictly separated by showing two rooms in a way where you watch one world from the other (the end shot e.g. where Kay is seen in one room and the men in another: then the door shuts).
Very effective use of mirrors (reflection), doors (separating worlds) and windows (showing perspective). From the back-to-back shots and other shots where an object obscures the picture we can see where many modern filmmakers get their ideas (Kar-Wai for example).
Coppola has himself watched Antonioni very well: Scenes where only buildings or spaces are shown to create an alienating effect or just loneliness combined with tension (hospital scene). Or characters disappear and only a static shot of the room is seen to signify emptiness (fight between Connie and Carlo).
Especially the end scene is well edited and composed: But they even improved on that scene just two years later.