The Baptism

E878704

"The Baptism" is a pivotal musical cue from Nino Rota’s score for The Godfather, underscoring the climactic intercut sequence of Michael Corleone’s nephew’s baptism with a series of orchestrated murders.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
The Baptism canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf film score track
musical cue
orchestral composition
associatedCharacter Michael Corleone
associatedFranchise The Godfather series
associatedTheme Michael’s transformation into head of the Corleone family
composer Nino Rota
countryOfOrigin United States
depictsTheme corruption of religious ritual
hypocrisy and duality of Michael Corleone
featuredIn The Godfather
filmDirectorOfScene Francis Ford Coppola
hasGenre drama score
film score
includedOnSoundtrack The Godfather: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
includesElement brass
choral writing
organ
strings
languageOfChantElements Latin
medium film music
musicDramaticFunction heightening tension
ironic counterpoint
underscoring montage
musicStyle liturgical-inspired
orchestral
narrativeFunction counterpoint between sacred ritual and violence
intensifies climax of The Godfather
notableFor iconic status in film music history
juxtaposition of religious ceremony and violence
use in cross-cutting montage
parallelActionInFilm assassinations of rival mafia leaders
partOfWork The Godfather (1972 film)
linked to: The Godfather

The Godfather (film score)
primaryInstrumentFamily organ
strings
publisher Paramount Pictures (soundtrack rights holder, context of film)
linked to: Paramount Pictures
releaseYear 1972
settingInFilm church baptism ceremony
tonalQuality ominous
solemn
underscoresCharacter Michael Corleone
underscoresEvent baptism of Michael Corleone’s nephew
orchestrated murders of rival mob bosses
usedInScene baptism and assassination montage

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.