The Godfather opening sequence analysis.

The film The Godfather starts with a black screen with cryptic non diagetic mood music, which the fades into a man narrating a diagetic monologue, the scene starts off with a head shot that backtracks slowly into a medium close up which morphs into a dirty single as the anonymous person begins to enter the shot, it almost turns into an over the shoulder shot. Although the man in the first scene seems to be the main focus of the film as the backtracking occurs he loses his title and seems more inferior to the man that takes up most of the screen he seems to be the superior one in the conversation as he becomes lager in size compared to the man, we don't see the the mans face which creates a sense of mystery and leaves the audience perplexed. 

The room the men were in was large yet dimly lit room, which connotes that it it's an anonymous place and quiet dangerous may be also the colour black connotes oppression and menace ( which also relates to the extreme close up scene of the man whispering to Corleone). whilst in the medium shot (dirty single) the person opposite the one facing us gestures towards the man (facing the camera) and someone presents him with a small glass, this may signify the importance and respect people have for the person, the glass looks like a shot glass (alcohol) alcohol is often taken when people want to mask anxiety and or depression, this may seem as if the person who gave it to him is saying that i will mask your sadness and get rid of your depression, it may be a way of empathizing with the man in front of him.

further on in the opening sequence we know the name of the person ho takes up most of the medium shot as it is said by the man facing the camera (Michael Corleone) we then for the first time hear the mystery person which turns out to be a man with an new yorkers/ Italian accent which connotes him being passionate and or cunning as Italians are seen stereo-typically to be quiet passionate people, we then see Corleone after the man whispers his plans the shot used here is a medium close up as it includes the shoulders as well as just the neck up, the man gets out if his seat to talk to Corleone which suggest again that he is the superior as opposed to the other three in the room.