Editing: blog task

THE GODFATHER: BAPTISM SCENE



This scene from the climax of the 1972 film "The Godfather" details the baptism of the main character's godson, as well as the murder of the last 5 dons of New York. The masterful use of cross-cutting in the climax of the film help make this one of the most effectively dramatic editing sequences; further emphasised with the chilling organ score and the religious verses.

At the beginning of the sequence, the cuts are slow and work to bring the camera closer and closer to the protagonist - Michael - and his godson. We start very far away, distant from the baby, perhaps invoking the audience's desensitisation to the sins of the mafia. As the baby's bonnet is undressed by the hands of Michael and Kay, a cross cut matches them to the hands of a man preparing to murder.

This is the first starkly juxtaposing cut in the sequence; there is a  sharp contrast in tone between the hands preparing a new life and the hands preparing death, and yet the cut is almost subtle in the way it seamlessly matches the pairs of hands. This editing technique is utilised throughout the sequence, effectively demonstrating the parallels between the two lives of Michael to the audience. As the gun is prepared, the camera cuts further and further away from the handler. This similarly bridges the two lives of Michael together, distancing the audience from the murders he has ordered while they occur ominously at the same time of the baptism.

It then cuts from the preparation of the gun to the cold and distant expression of Michael; This may highlight that he is has the inevitable deaths he ordered pondering on his mind. While this happens the religious organ in the back gets subtly louder, anticipating the christening as well as the murders.

There's a close up shot of the priest's hand, essentially dragging the camera towards the baby's head as he goes to touch it. The baby is calm and silently wriggling when the camera settles on it. The next cut is another parallel edit, this time of a barber squeezing out shaving cream, preparing to use it on one of the men ordered to commit the murder. The same pan over to the subject is utilised, except the calm and tranquillity of the baptism is instead filled with an unsettling foreboding. The contrapuntal Bible verses and religious organ that bridge over the visuals further accentuate the uncomfortable and hypocritical nature of the entire baptism.

A brief cut to another man preparing a uniform on a bed is interrupted by another similar shot of the priest's hand blessing the baby. It then cross cuts to the same man carefully handling a bag containing a gun and a police badge. It then cuts to a medium close up of the man, now wearing a police's hat and the uniform. The fairly quick cuts create a sense of swiftness and efficiency while the baptism goes on, and the use of costume makes the audience unsettled as they are aware this man is not a real police officer.

Next, the director utilises a high angle shot of a man climbing up a set of stairs. He is dressed in a suit and is holding some sort of package, effectively creating enigma codes as to what exactly his role is. He gets higher up the stairs - and closer to the camera - which effectively parallels the rising organ music that continues to bridge over the juxtaposing narrative.

When it cuts back to the church, the priest continues to bless the baby. The priest then asks Michael if he believes in God, by which he responds "I do." The audio of Michael responding to the priest's vows bridges over to what is effectively a montage of fairly quickly paced cuts building up to the killings. The sound bridge creates a brilliant dichotomy between good and evil, as Michael takes the responsibility of being a godfather in terms of both the mafia and religion.

We get another cross-cut back to the baby - and then a brief cut to that same wide shot of the church from the beginning of the sequence - before cutting back to the build up to the crimes. The sound bridge has continued and this time we hear the baby crying along with the chilling religious verse and booming organ, building up to an impactful climax.

After this, the priest asks Michael "Do you renounce Satan?" as the music pauses and we settle on Michael's expression for a moment. Suddenly, a cross cut to a group of men coming out of an elevator accompanies a sound from the organ as they're brutally shot. We then cut back to Michael who says he does renounce Satan, and as the audience processes the irony of his statement another man is murdered.

The pattern of cross cutting from murder to murder creates an extremely chaotic emotional pay off to the intense build up created throughout the entire sequence. It ends with fast cuts from the many dead bodies and Micheal's expression as the baby finishes getting baptised.