one of the most studied and celebrated films ever made. It is both a study in effective filmmaking and an analysis of our culture. Finally, it is hugely entertaining. The film has impacted cinema and even real life in substantial ways.

Reading #1: On Website: “Godfather Intro/Overview” Identify the 3 most important sentences in the reading, individually

Background Adapted from Mario Puzo’s trashy hit novel. Intended to be made very fast, and very cheap. Francis Ford Coppola was signed to direct because he was young, Italian, and would be inexpensive

Coppola and George Lucas founded American Zoetrope in San Francisco, devoted to small art films.

Production Coppola refused to make a “mobster” movie, said he would make a movie about family. Careful of stereotyping and offending the wrong people, the movie minimizes Italian stereotypes. At no point is “mafia” or “cosa nostra” said.

Key Themes For Analysis The values of the Film The narrative use of violence The perspective of story-telling The role of women as reflections of the narrative Representation of family

And Now To The Characters…

Reading #2 Identify 3 most important sentences, individually.

View the Bonasera sequence and consider the following questions: Task – Bonasera Scene What tone is set by the Bonasera sequence? Consider the contribution of framing, lighting, pace, and subject /themes of the dialogue. What do we learn about the aspirations of the Italian immigrant community? What do we learn about the Don from this sequence?

Task – Wedding Sequence What moments confirm the film as a gangster movie? How does the opening point us to the central characters?