Subtle moments in The Sopranos that YOU only know.
Stole the thread title from the Arrested Development fans. Didn't open that thread, because I've never seen the show, but I instantly felt like the All Time leader in subtle moments among tv shows, deserved such a thread.
Also, I love it when crap like this is pointed out to me, so I'm hoping you guys will bring up a few things I might have missed.
One ground rule for the thread: no discussion of the final scene. It's been done. Over and over and over...
Off the top of my head, to get it started:
--Carmela lovingly helps a recuperating Tony get dressed in a nice shirt for a "business meeting", taking extra attention while doing the buttons for him. Only Tony isn't going to a business meeting, he's going to bang that real estate milf. As she's tearing his clothes off, he suddenly bails.
If you didn't notice the way she was fumbling with his shirt buttons, you may not have caught what triggered his memory of the woman who devoted herself to nursing him back to health, and the guilt he felt for betraying her yet again....so he bailed.
--Tony stays faithful for a while, but Faithful Tony is a tough thing to manage, and it all ends when he gives a stripper from the Bing a ride home, and she blows him while he drives. Where's the subtlety? When it becomes clear that Tony's grunting and scowling isn't another panic attack, but rather an orgasm thanks to a girl we didn't know was in his lap, we realize that music cranking in the car is AC/DC screaming, "Well I'm back! Yes I'm back! Hell I'm back!" Faithful, "Every day is a gift" Tony is gone, and the old Tony is back. Yes he's back. Hell he's back.
--The last line in the Pine Barrens episode (you know, the episode where Paulie botches a simple money pick-up, turns it into possibly a huge issue of contention with the Russian mob, and alienates his top lieutenant, Christopher, utterly embarrassing himself in the process), Tony tells Paulie, "You've got mayonnaise on your chin. Mayonnaise! Mayonnaise!" If you missed the symbolism of that line, he's telling Paulie, "You've got egg on your face."
--The last shot of
, where Paulie asks Johnny Sac to assure him that whatever they discuss won't leave the table. Johnny gives a classic non-answer...then we see the ferry boat taking all that info across the river to Manhattan, while Paulie digs at an empty bowl and gets nothing.
God, I loved that show.
HBO's David Chase documentary must watch for all Sopranos fans.
He does a lot better as an interview subject than the podcasts that he has been on in the last few years. His memory seems to be much sharper.
Also, some good historic footage of Jim Gandolfini and some other nice additions that I haven't heard before including how certain writers left the show and the payments that Jim made to other crew members to the surprise of Edie Falco (not that she wouldn't be on a different wage to the typical cast member).
Also, good explanations re the Employee of the Month episode.
We also receive explanations basically of why the series ended up the way it did with the way that Tony basically took on David's grim upbringing and outlook on life.
Also overall Gibney as a director for this documentary does very well with how he mixes in the flashbacks to the show and the interviews, especially the behind the scenes and the auditions.
I'm glad he chose to leave Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler out as they are just not serious enough for this (maybe Jamie would be but Robert isn't and they are a package deal) and maybe that was a decision by David Chase (to which David then went on their podcast after to promote this as maybe some form of consolation for them).
That was really great. I'd have watched episode after episode of that. I'm a huge sucker for well produced nostalgia bait, and though this had plenty of that, it wasn't nostalgia for nostalgia's sake. I've seen/heard Chase on a couple of podcast episode and he really never seemed to want to be there, but he was great in this, like the above says.
I'd love to see one of these in depth docs for The Wire and for Deadwood. David Simon seems to be doing well, but I don't know much longer Milch has and he deserves his flowers before he goes.
One thing that occurred to me after watching this (loved the way they ended this doc as well) was when Lorraine said that even Jim didn't know how it was going to end and was surprised when he finally saw it. Makes me wonder what more was filmed in the diner. Did they film any fakeout ends?
One thing that occurred to me after watching this (loved the way they ended this doc as well) was when Lorraine said that even Jim didn't know how it was going to end and was surprised when he finally saw it. Makes me wonder what more was filmed in the diner. Did they film any fakeout ends?
I think at the time they did from memory - similar to the Adriana death that they didn't want the ending leaked.
It was interesting in the documentary just how many actors tried out for a lead part but were later re-casted in different roles. For Tony they showed the actors that later played Jackie, Artie, Silvio, Joey Peeps and maybe a few others I can't recall.
For Carmela they had Angie (Sal's wife), Marie (Vito's wife) and maybe a few others I'm forgetting now.
That's what Chase originally had in mind but Lorraine wanted to play Melfi instead. She said after Goodfellas she didn't want to play that same type of character and wanted to do something different. Nancy Marchand who played Livia said something similar - she really liked playing Livia because it was so different than other roles she played in TV and movies.
I just saw Carmela in season 1 of Homicide. She was kind of cute
if anyone wants to feel old, gentle reminder that tony soprano was 37 in season 1
Colin Farrell is reprising the role of Tony in HBO’s The Penguin
