The clip chosen for this analysis comes from the movie The Godfather (1972), that tells

the
story of a Corleone Mafia Family. It focuses on the youngest son of the aging Don - Michael
and what he must do to support his father and his business, even if he has to go against his
personal beliefs.
Screening the same clip three times, first normally and then focusing on either just audio or
video, is something recommended by Michael Chion in his book Audio-vision (Chion, 1994).
The scene without the sound is ordinary. Sound without the scene makes no sense at times,
but when watched together they truly highlight each other.
This scene doesnt have any music all the way until the very end, after the main action ends.
It shows the meeting and subsequent conversation between Michael with Sollozzo and
McCluskey, that ends with their death. The most interesting sound is that of an almost
constant background noise that changes with the development of the scene.
This sound object from the very beginning is one of the travelling train. It fades into the
background when the scenery changes from outside of the restaurant to the inside. Its not
immediately apparent whether this sound is diegetic or non-diegetic, but as the clip continues
there is no visible source of it. It changes to sound of the cars driving by. This could either be
just an ordinary acousmatic sound or a representation of Michaels thoughts and his internal
turmoil that progresses with the scene. This sound never matches the imagery and in his book
Chion (1994, p.216) calls this an audiovisual contract, that is a kind of symbolic contract that
the audio-viewer enters into, agreeing to think of sound and image as forming a single entity.
What raises above all of is the opening of the bottle by the waiter. This foreground noise
(signal) is very pronounced, to the point of exaggeration. The screeching of the opener being
burrowed inside the cork, clang of the metal touching the glass and at the very last the
signature pop. These sounds are not necessarily what one would hear when opening a bottle
in real life, yet they work together. It can be explained with synchresis (based on
synchronisation and synthesis), which according to Chion is:
the forging of an immediate and necessary relationship between something one sees
and something one hears at the same time (Chion 1994, p.224).
According to Chion (1994) synchresis allows for numerous combinations of possible sounds
with possible images, but random associations may not induce it. Nonetheless it works very
well in this example.
Whenever Sollozzo is talking to Michael the train rises in volume and camera shots are just
close ups of Michaels face, completely contrasting each other. This confirms the train equals
thoughts theory even further.
After that the conversation rises above the noise of the train again. Whats interesting to note,
is that the other foreground noise that can be heard is that of some random mans footsteps
and a ding of a telephone. This is one of the longest shots in the whole scene, additionally
from birds eye view, yet the sounds are those of a close up.
The clip continues on with the conversation between two men switching to English. Before
Michaels speech was quite meek and his behaviour reluctant, but when he switches

languages he starts demanding and becomes confident. When hes talking one cant hear any
of the train or cars from before. The moment Sollozzo finishes replying to him (denying what
he wants, that is a guarantee of his fathers safety) the train comes back.
After being check for the hidden weapons Michael leaves for the bathroom and the volume of
the train goes way up, cancelling practically all other sounds, which gives the sense of
urgency and intensity. This happens as the emotions of the main character change and
adrenaline surges. Then when hes looking for the gun and his mind is clear, the noise goes
down again. Instead another sound object bordering on signal rises, that is the sound of
falling water, possibly rain. Its not quite clear since this sound is also non-diegetic
acousmatic element without a visible source.
Then when he finds the gun again the train comes back, steadily rising in tone to the point
where it is literally the only sound in the scene, nothing else to be heard, reaching its peak
when Michael faces away from the camera, fixes his hair and visibly tries to calm himself
down and makes his decision.
The moment he goes back to restaurant, he looks completely calm and the train goes all the
way down, giving way to the sound object of the cars again, which is just the usual
background noise from outside combined with the diner sounds (conversations, radio, etc).
What comes next is the most intense moment of the whole scene. Michael sits down and
Sollozzo continues their conversation, insisting on the opposite of what Michael wants. The
train starts getting louder, urging, while camera zooms in on his face. Sollozzos voice gets
completely tuned out and when the noise gets almost unbearable it stops. The next thing that
can be heard is a jarring sound of the pistol being shot and a dull thud of a body falling on the
floor. The train cant be heard anymore. Its the moment of clarity when the character knows
what hes doing. That is all the way until he kills the second man, because after that his
doubts and the train come back.
The next shot is from a different point of view. It shows the scene in its entirety, with the few
people present scattering. The sound of the train cant be heard now because Michael is not
the focus of the shot anymore. There is only silence now, with the exception of his hurried
steps and the dropped pistol.
After he exits, the music enters the scene for the first time. Its very dramatic and highlights
what the entire scene that happened before was about.

References
Chion, M. (1994). Audio-vision. 1st ed. New York: Columbia University Press.
The Godfather. (1972). [film] United States: Paramount Pictures.