Coppola essays

Coppola essays Brando's raspy-voiced role (later to be mimicked by a host of impersonators) was difficult in one respect for Coppola in that the actor was 47 at the time, much too young for the aging Mafia don. The problem was solved by makeup expert Dick Smith, who has accomplished similar wonders in The Exorcist (1973) and in Little Big Man (1970), where he aged Dustin Hoffman to 100 years old. Smith added wrinkles to Brando's skin by applying liquid latex, especially around the eyes and nose. A leathery appearance was achieved the same way, along with loose flesh and bags beneath the eyes. He imparted olive skin tones to give Brando a Mediterranean appearance. A special denture was inserted along his lower jawline to make the actor's jaw jut out in a completely different bite and to cause his cheeks to sag. He then stuffed the actor's cheeks with a gummy substance to affect heavy jowls, and it was this device that altered the actor's appearance drastically, giving rise to wild speculation that B rando spent hours stuffing his cheeks with cotton, facial tissue, and newspapers. The film is darkCoppola had cinematographer Gordon Willis deliberately underlight each scene; the mood is dark; and the climax, in which Michael indulges in an orgy of blood vengeance, would simply be horrific, were it not for the ironic melodies of the Rota score, which underline the humane sensibilities of the storyteller and keep us at an appropriate distance. And this points to Coppola's greatest achievement with THE GODFATHER; he simultaneously presents us with two views of the Corleone family. We see it from within, sympathizing with the motives and dilemmas of these very real, attractive and charismatic individuals; and we see it from without, in a state of suspended disgust at a moral code that knows only greed and blood. The Godfather is an insightful sociological study of violence, power, honor and obligation, corruption, justice and crime in America.The film ...