The Godfather (1972 trailer)

The Godfather trailer is considered of a hallmark standard, characterising the crime genre in typical fashion. A convention of which is explicit to the genre and of which is used in the trailer emphatically is the iconography of a suit and tie garments. This is bolstered through the whole duration of the trailer as the only male characters seen without a luxurious suit on, are police officers, of whom are seen in a scene attacking Michael Corleone, who’s only actions towards the officers was addressing them with his concern for his father’s safety. This also brings in a vital binary opposition to any film of the crime genre, crime (family) vs corrupt law force. This is also demonstrated by the police’s dark, and regimented uniforms opposed to the bright, and traditional suits worn by members of the Corleone family. Additionally, the iconography of suit and ties are stretched even further through Sonny’s attempt to deter Michael from entering the family “business”, by exclaiming: “You wanna get mixed up in the family business? You gotta get up close like this and badda-bing, you got their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit.” This directly signifies the pride of which a crime family carries in their suit and tie overalls, of which can also be noted in other crime films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Reservoir Dogs and Donnie Brasco.

Another key motif of specifically a family crime film, is protagonist aspiring to become someway involved with “family business”, of which is always a more sensitive term derived from the family’s criminal activity. This is shown during a key narrative development in which there is a dispute between hot-headed Sonny Corleone against a calm and educated Tom Hagen. Sonny bitterly exclaiming “they (Tattaglia family) shot my father” to which Hagen replies: “the reason to shooting your father was business, not personal!”. The binary opposition business v personal vendetta is also a key ideology of the crime genre and is highlighted in instances such as Heat, Casino and Scarface.  Often the pursuit of a personal vendetta provides the downfall of a character; in the Godfather’s case, Sonny. His hatred towards Carlo, who assaults his sister, spirals towards Carlo’s assistance of the Tattaglia family in setting a trap for Sonny.



Sonny's impulsive character is often a recurring character in crime films as this character's need to satisfy their own desires lead to a form of friction within the main group/family; whether that be a stage of bereavement or internal problems. This signifies that within the crime genre it is often a game of subtleness and calculated movement. Hot headedness will lead to the impending disorder, likening to the demise a section (or entire) of the group. Actor's of who play these roles are often renown for their inner fire, such as, and possibly the most acknowledged to play this role, Joe Pesci (Goodfellas, Casino).


Another correlation to movies in the crime genre shown intelligently in this trailer is the battle on 2 fronts, one being crime family the other being biological. The protagonist balancing this is often shown to be unsuccessful, and we gather Michael is no different, the camera and editing of the trailer cuts from a door being shut to a close up of Michael's wife, Kate. The fact it is not Michael shutting the door signifies this is not a choice Michael wishes to make but reluctantly accepts it is a necessary in order to protect him, the family and Kate herself. The slow fade of black on her face suggests this is an extremely hard decision which Michael must cooperate with. This ideology is portrayed in a larger scale in specifically, A Bronx Tale.