The Godfather Poster analysis

The Godfather is considered the most traditional gangster/mafia film ever made. It set the bar for gangster films to come and created its own codes and conventions.


When looking at the poster, our eyes are firstly drawn to the film title. It is in a bold, posh style font coloured white on a black background. The posh font is used to associate tradition and shows that the mafia has a history and is timeless. The use of the puppet strings above the writing also shows how the mafia has power and control and can 'pull the strings' of society. This has become an iconic image in the gangster genre. The fact that the font is white upon a black background allows it to stand out and be the whole focus point of the poster. This is a regularly used marketing strategy that directs focus at the films title in order to increase popularity.

Our focus is then directed towards the picture in the poster. We are shown a man wearing a black tuxedo with the traditional red rose on the lapel. This further highlights the feeling of tradition and timelessness of the mafia. We then see that the person in the picture appears to be holding and stroking a cat. This shows us the contrast between what the gangsters do and the world in which they are in. One side is a man that has a history of crime and violence and the other is a peaceful, domestic animal that is full of innocence and vulnerability. It shows that even gangsters cannot ignore their primary instincts.

At the bottom of the poster we have the films tag line. Instead of using a simple statement as most other gangster films do, this poster has an actual quote from the film. This gives the audience a small taster of the sort of content and dialogue the rest of the film will contain.

-James Banister