If It's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling

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Warm, Naïve, and Romantic Oranges

warm Oranges

The Godfather

1972. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert

Duvall, John Cazale, Diane Keaton. Directed by Francis

Ford Coppola. Cinematography: Gordon Willis;

Production Design: Dean Tavoularis.

A Dichotomy

Visceral control over an audience doesn’t get better than in the opening sequence of The Godfather. There is a mystical quality to orange/amber light, and we are under its spell from the first moment we see the color illuminating the heavy velvet blackness in the Don’s study. The look is ominous, but it is deep and rich and the almost religious illumination makes it all the more intimidating—and, perhaps, inviting. We are in the presence of a malevolent but romantic power. The color ...