Doors, Scarlet (2), and Script

Already a few articles on this.

Mr.McGuigan brought up this subject so many times during the movie that I figured that there would be a website somewhere discussing this (on the slightly more humorous side, while googling "doors" in the Godfather the results were almost completely FAQ's and walkthroughs for the Godfather game).

The first result...was sparknotes. I'm not sure if the use of sparknotes is controversial or not, but it did clear some things up for me.

What is written here, though, is really not much different from Myah's blog entry.

After reading the paragraph concerning doors, I felt really enlightened--I was just thinking, why didn't I make the connection before? The last scene is, as Mr.McGuigan would put it, a sledgehammer in the face about how doors divide women from men, and aren't/shouldn't involved in their matters.

Also, while looking for doors, I found this. It's long, but I've read barely one paragraph and already I feel like it will help us understand the movie better. It's almost like watching the moving again...with more detail, however there are some details in the movie that are not in the script as well.

Edit: I finished reading it, and it seems that this script has many variations- for example, according to the script, the "accident that was no big deal" is a crater from a bombing attempt, not a wrecked car.

It's also incomplete. There's a transcript here, but it's not as detailed.

I really wish there was more to that other script...it's more fun to read than the transcript...

but if you wanted to know what Sollazzo and Michael were saying in the restaurant in Sicilian, the transcript has the translation, wheras the script does not.

personally, I think the script is worth a read. Although it's long and incomplete, it's good for review and more details.

There already are things that I hadn't noticed in the movie written out in the script- such as how smitten Connie really is towards Carlo during their wedding.

I have scanned over the first few pages and the script says that Kay's reaction to the bustle of the wedding scene in the beginning is like "a young and lively thing in a gift shop". She seems extremely curious and I find myself relating her as a "woman with no morales" (loose modern interpretation of the scarlet woman) a lot during the wedding scenes. She seems overly curious and joking while talking to Michael and his family, and doesn't seem to care about sticking out with her red dress.

also, I looked up Hecate (relates to Katherine, which relates to Kay). In Greek mythology, she is the goddess of witchcraft, magic, the night, moon, ghosts, and necromancy, according to this.

She seems to be expressed both negatively and positively. this article says that although modernly she is expressed as a hag stirring a couldron, she is a beautiful and once revered goddess. She is a goddess who "helps us make transitions and new beginnings" (according to the above linked article).

I can link this a bit to Kay- she made a statement in the opening scenes, and then seems to be part of Michael's new beginning as the godfather when he asks her to marry him.

Also...the last thing we see is her face as the door closes.

Oranges?!

I found a link!

I was reminded to look this up when Mr.McGuigan was explaining it to us.

I recall him saying that "people say there's this theme of oranges" so I suspected that meant that there were other people noticing this in the movie. The orange theme even seems to spread into part 2 and 3...

Do you understand this..."theme" of oranges and death? Personally, I didn't really see the resemblance until Mr.McGuigan mentioned it during the end of the movie with the orange patch.

link suggests that "The presence of the orange [when The Godfather dies] was no accident-- oranges in all three Godfather movies suggest a death may occur."

It's really useful to look up themes on the internet- many people agree with these "coincidential" themes!

Not a long post, but I'll add to it. I just want to get the oranges out there!

In other unrelated news...does anyone know how I can get font colors to actually publish as a different color without me having to go into HTML mode? It doesn't work when I use the composer.

Name Hunt

I want to be a little more informative instead of listing and analyzing things we already know in this post...so...well, I'm going to do a name hunt!

One problem I have is connecting the people to their names... I can't connect their faces with their names and histories...

I don't want to be travelling around different websites, so I used "Behind the Name"most. If i didn't find it there, I used Google. Names have many alternate meanings, so I'm just throwing things out there.

People we know about:

Corleone: Most likely after the city in Italy.

Bonasera: "Good evening" in Italian?

Santino(Sonny)....:kind of ironic, huh...

Michael: I'm guessing this name has a lot of meanings.

Connie: (there are tons of redirections from this link). Basically it boils down to being "constant/unchanging"

Carlo: not sure if this has any bearing to the plot, but a "man"....I suppose he is. with the whores, and all...

Paulie: alternate name for "paul" meaning "small" or "humble" in Latin.

Sandra: alternate for Alessandra which is an alternate for Alexandra which is an alternate for Alexander, meaning "defender of mankind".

Tom Hagen: one definition says it is a alternate for "thomas", meaning "twin". it's greek. In Hebrew, "Tom" means "honest".

As for hagen...well, he does seem very much in control.

Nazorine:....I don't even remember who this person is anymore. the link is the closest name I could find.

Enzo: look and see for yourself. if you go with "heinz" and follow all the redirects, you get "home ruler" (home & ruler). If you follow "Lorenzo", then you get "from Laurentum", an ancient Italian city. if you follow "Vincenzo", you get "to conquer".

Luca Brazi: ...not sure. didn't get very good results.

Kay Adams: for "kay" I'd go with the first link, since Kay is American. I think "Adams" is a generic American last name, though if you were to go with the definition for "Adam"...wait a second, adam and eve? and...the scarlet woman? could there be a connection? (temptation?)

and... wait a second! the meaning of "adam" could also mean "to be red"...is there something going on here?

-EDIT-

Looked up "Catherine" like Mr. McGuigan suggested. There are many meanings, but if you refer the name to "Hecate" then the meaning refers to a goddess involved with demons, tombs, the underworld...

Senator Cauly: A minor character—I didn't find anything.

Johnny Fontane: ....not sure...apparently fontane is a alternate for "fountain" in either french or italian.

Fredo: frederico->frederick-> peaceful ruler, alfredo-> alfred-> "elf" and "counsel" combined.

...I don't know if these meanings are important or not...

Woltz: well, I looked up walter: "ruler of army". [and...correction...he was the one who got his horse killed.]

Virtigio Sollatzo (Solvatzo): I'm going to guess and say virtigio means "virtuous" or something. as for sollatzo (not sure about sp), i didn't find anything, but a similar derivative is salvatore->salvador-> "savior".

Khartoum: (I just got something about how it's a city in Sudan)

Tattaglia: I just got a bunch of godfather stuff on google.

Clemenza: I know he should've been higher up on this list as we met him earlier, but I couldn't find anything at the time. Anyway, it's a derivative for Clement, apparently, meaning "merciful, gentle". I suppose this fits as his place as Michael's potential mentor.

Vitelli: possibly an alternate for Vitale, meaning "of life/vital". Can also be an alternate for vitello->vito->vitus->life [so, basically the same meaning].

Apolonia (or was it Appolonia? or Apollonia?): Remember how we discussed how she might be "the goddess" in Michael's hero's journey? well, "Apollo" is the god of light/the sun in Greek mythology.

Finally finished! These are all the characters so far. There are two or three characters I left out- they were either really minor or I couldn't find anything.

Please add your input if anything's wrong or whatnot.

This counts for something like 2 posts…seriously.

The Scarlet Woman?

We've talked about and looked up a little about her during class, and I've dug for a little background information.

Concerning the Godfather and the Scarlet Woman... Kay Adams seems to be in a red dress in all of the shots of her. All three scenes with her she seems to be wearing a red dress- confirming that there is something going on. This proves that Kay is meant to be "the scarlet woman" in this movie.

I've looked up a little bit more about the scarlet woman. Kay doesn't seem to be that bad of a person, but there is a lot of negative connotation with the scarlet woman. Most sources say that the scarlet woman is basically a prostitute, though one source I found said that Saint John had a vision of this scarlet woman with an inscription of Babylon on her forehead (the scarlet woman is also related to babylon)....and some other things about being drunk with the blood of saints and being the church...a prostitute/false church.

However, this source also says that by around 1700 it just referred to a woman with loose morals.

One very thorough (and religious) source I found states that, in the end, she was burned as a tool of Satan.

I don't know- does Kay have some ulterior motives?

What do you think? innocent lack of morales or ...this deeper meaning?

Class Discussion

Discussing a little about Melisa's post (again)... As I was scanning through this (her post), I thought about the American dream- and then thought about Bonasera. What happened to him? A lot of characters seem to come and go- quite a few have died already.

Speaking of the American Dream, a website I read the other day had stated that there was this 'become successful' idea, however it became corrupt over the years, turning into 'move to America, get rich quick'. This relates a little to Bonasera's situation- He tried so hard to become 'American' yet life in America seems to not be as good as it's put out to be- his daughter is abused.

Also, does anyone else find themselves focusing more on the plot than analyzing camera angles and such? Whenever I watch movies, I just find myself focusing on the plot...

After discussing things such as lighting and camera angles during film class, however, I think that maybe I can gain more practice thinking outside of the plot. It's fun to find all these hidden "easter egg" archetypes, literary features, etc. which seem to enhance the movie once you know them.

Archetypes in the Godfather

After the section of The Godfather we saw today in class, I was surprised how much the plot seemed to turn into focusing on Michael. At the beginning of the film, he doesn't seem like an important character at all- rather, the Godfather is the main point of focus.

After he had been shot, however, he has been pushed almost completely out of the plot! The audience has hardly been able to see him, and he hasn't talked at all. Michael, who is a bit of an unknown, ambiguous character, suddenly 'joins in' on family matters (accepting the call?)

There are a number of events which seem to suggest that 'Michael is the hero'- he first rejects his family, then agrees to 'join' it, is mentored, and then receives a 'magical weapon'. If Michael does end up being the 'hero', he will probably play a big part in the plot.

Personally, I'm a little curious as to what becomes of him, though, since apparently he has to go on vacation for a year, and that might mean that he can't become involved in the plot...

Foreshadowing in "The Godfather" Scene

Agreeing and adding to Melisa's statements, there is subtle (forgettable, but still very noticeable) foreshadowing in the scene where Luca Brazi is killed. In the scene where he is entering the building, the audience sees Luca Brazi through glass, and then as the camera focuses on the fish on the glass, the audience notices the fish. Even though this foreshadowing isn't that subtle, when the viewer focuses on the plot, the fish seem to be quickly forgotten. The reference isn't returned to until Sonny recieves the package of fish, signifying that "Luca Brazi sleeps with the fishes". I think it's interesting how this piece of foreshadowing signifies that 'this is the place where Luca Brazi will sleep with the fishes'- like a premonition before death.