In this scene when Michael Corleone kills Sollozzo and McCluskey the director uses traditional three-point lighting. He carefully controls the shadows on the actor’s faces giving them a very gloomy look. The lighting helped to give the scene a very serious look. The lighting alone let me know that Michael Corleone was up to no good.
The shadows in the film were almost like another character. They were used to effectively tell the story. Michael Corleone and Vito Corleone are meticulous in their planning. They run their family like a grandmaster plays chess. They are always one step ahead of the other families and a play the long game. The clever use of shadows drapes the two in a blanket of secrecy. At any moment they can strike out and destroy their enemies like in the baptism scene where Michael arranges for the murders of all his rivals. The shadows on his face gave him that no good look he had when he murdered Sollozzo and McCluskey.
If the film used high-key lighting it would have detracted from the scene. Michael Corleone is a dark scheming character if his face or the film would have been brightly lit it would have gave the film an action movie feel. In my opinion great gangster films must have a dark look to them. It help the film to stay grounded in some sort of realism.
Resources:
The Godfather (1972, March 15). Killing Sollozzo and McCluskey. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY1S34973zA
The Godfather (1972, March 15). The Baptism Murders. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CDlBLvc3YE
Ruddy, A. (Producer), Coppola, F. (Director). (1972). The Godfather. [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures
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