It’s one of the most memorable opening sequences in one of the most critically acclaimed features of our time. After the crooning of some mournful, luscious instruments (courtesy of composer Nino Rota), Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus The Godfather opens with a single, tight close-up. For the next two minutes, actor Salvatore Corsitto unveils a monologue as undertaker Amerigo Bonasera while the camera slowly zooms out to reveal its position of watchful judgment behind another man’s shoulder. When the camera finally switches to the imposing but relaxed form of Marlon Brando’s Don Vito Corleone, the pieces fall into place.
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