Analysis of The Godfather

When watching the Godfather, it was easy for me to be put in the place of the setting. Unlike The Diving Bell and the Butterfly angle shots that placed me in Jean-Do’s paralyzed position, The Godfather used props and sets to enhance the setting. The opening setting is a 1940’s Italian family’s wedding. Without words, I was able to tell that I was in a different decade and I could identify that they are wealthy. Through the dresses and suits (typical in the 40’s fashion... and so fashionable nowadays), I was able to tell that the outfits (costumes) are quality material and the number of layers/lace on the actual wedding gown seemed to cost a lot. Plus, the decorations (balloons and flowers) were extraordinarily expensive. I worked in a flower shop for years and I know the price of each stem of calla lily, rose, lisianthus, etc, in the arrangements. These are not cheap flowers, even for now. And since shipping/transporting flowers internationally was not available as it is now, it would have been that more expensive and rare to have these. Besides the expensive flowers, the cars in the driveway also are lined up. It is almost as if everybody has money and they all can afford nice cars. The number of guests is exorbitant as well. I am aware that they have a large family, but they all fit outside the Corleone’s house which makes the Corleone’s live in on a lot of land and have a lot of guests to pay for. The band to entertain the party guests fits along with the decade and also it is a large sized band. Even now, I don’t think I will be able to afford such a large band. The last thing about the wedding which shows that they are wealthy/influential and the people surrounding them are wealthy is the size of the cake. The cake is extremely tall and many layers to it. All of these props may seem unimportant and microscopic, but they all convey the naturalistic idea that this family has power and money. This is one of the opening scenes and it shows that there wealth and affluence to this family. I understood of all that from about 15 minutes of the movie. I understood the time period and the social status.