First look at ‘Sopranos’ prequel…

[Wiseguy]

Watched Franzese's Mob Movie Monday on it and... a few things.

1 Every criticism he levied onto the film, from the way women are treated poorly, to the dialogue, to Italian-black relations etc all could just have easily applied to the Sopranos.

2 "David Chase, you make me wish I was still in the mob so I could meet you." When he says things like that it gives credence to those who believe his religious thing is BS. Yes, it was a joke but still, if he was as repentant as he claims he wouldn't say stuff like that. Matter of opinion, I reckon.

3 I'm not really a fan of it, I seen it and ok, if they make more movies I'll see them too. But Franzese claims he found the movie offensive in the way Itals were depicted, the focus on race relations in 1967 and I'm dumbfounded, its not like the Sopranos romanticized their characters and in fact they all did pretty scumbag things; not to mention "Unidentified Black Males" who get blamed for everything in that episode; Franzese must have missed all of those references from Ralphie taking a dildo up his ass to Tony's run in with officer "affirmative action cocksucker" to countless other examples.

4 He brought up rotten tomatoes and I suspect he looks at the user reviews to get a feel on what fans think so he can curtail his narrative to them. Makes me suspect that had Many Saints received world-wide acclaim his turn would be very different and he'd be likening Joel Bernstein/Johnny Soprano to how his father actually was.

See, your little friend upstairs didn't do you any favors by bringing your into this house. Now, I don't know what the fuck she was thinking but we'll get to that later.

[InCamelot]

Watched Franzese's Mob Movie Monday on it and... a few things.

1 Every criticism he levied onto the film, from the way women are treated poorly, to the dialogue, to Italian-black relations etc all could just have easily applied to the Sopranos.

2 "David Chase, you make me wish I was still in the mob so I could meet you." When he says things like that it gives credence to those who believe his religious thing is BS. Yes, it was a joke but still, if he was as repentant as he claims he wouldn't say stuff like that. Matter of opinion, I reckon.

3 I'm not really a fan of it, I seen it and ok, if they make more movies I'll see them too. But Franzese claims he found the movie offensive in the way Itals were depicted, the focus on race relations in 1967 and I'm dumbfounded, its not like the Sopranos romanticized their characters and in fact they all did pretty scumbag things; not to mention "Unidentified Black Males" who get blamed for everything in that episode; Franzese must have missed all of those references from Ralphie taking a dildo up his ass to Tony's run in with officer "affirmative action cocksucker" to countless other examples.

4 He brought up rotten tomatoes and I suspect he looks at the user reviews to get a feel on what fans think so he can curtail his narrative to them. Makes me suspect that had Many Saints received world-wide acclaim his turn would be very different and he'd be likening Joel Bernstein/Johnny Soprano to how his father actually was.

Agreed

[Amershire_Ed]

I don’t love it as a stand alone movie. But watching after going thru the series definitely adds important and entertaining context.

One thing I love about it is it shows you how much younger Tony is than everyone else in his crew. He really was the “boy wonder” as Raymond says in season 1. I also think it adds meaningful context to the Tony and Chris’ relationship. I *do* think the Christopher narration was a little heavy handed.

[Amershire_Ed]

Also the other thing I realized is that they could do like 4 more of these. Chase will never do it, though. They could do a whole prequel on the “unrest of ‘83” where Pussy steps up for Johnny Boy.

[RamshackleMan]

Also the other thing I realized is that they could do like 4 more of these. Chase will never do it, though. They could do a whole prequel on the “unrest of ‘83” where Pussy steps up for Johnny Boy.

Yeah, Chase is in his eighties, right? We could all keel over at any given second, but his odds are better than
most. Let's see if he's still alive after a season of this new series they're going to do, let alone any more movies.

[Angelo Santino]

It doesn't stand alone as a film, that's made clear by Chris Moltisanti's voiceover in the beginning. That alone tells you it's a Film that supports the series, which in and of itself is telling about an ongoing entertainment trend- Series are the main hub, not the other way around. In times of past, a series getting a full-length feature would be marketed as the main event, an establishment at relevance and legitimacy for the series. Nowadays the series is the main event and film-offs like Many Saints or El Camino (Breaking Bad film) are just extensions of their established universes.

My only gripe with Many Saints is that we don't see Ercoli DeMeo and the intervals of the Mafia aren't explored. We're left on the outside looking in. But as a Soprano fan, I'd rather there be a film than not be, I'm just not as passionate about it either way. It didn't ruin the series for me nor do I hate the film, I just see it as flawed in many ways.

[Angelo Santino]

MF: "Italians and blacks weren't like that, my father had black associates, I had a few black-African-American friends (Noooo Michael, the "black friend" argument is a loser in today's conversations).

If Franzese wants to have a beef with a series, he should look to his friend Chazz's Godfather of Harlem. That depicts Italians and blacks as being deeply at odds, Bumpy taking on the commission, Joe Bonanno saddened over the death of his son Lorenzo in a black neighborhood which compels him to sell drugs in that area because "every n*** baby born to a doped out mother puts a smile to my face. It makes my heart sing."

And in season 3 Bumpy saves the comission from Joe Bonanno's plot to kill them all and personally banishes him- "You need to get out of town, Joe, and never come back." While the Commission bosses behind Bumpy nod their head in agreement.

Long ago I stopped giving AF about Hollywood's interpretation of history, helped my blood pressure. But why doesn't Michael take issue with that if he's so personally offended on the behalf of Italian-Americans over Many Saints which I don't quite get.

The series had less of a focus on Italians as a demographic and more was rooted in a Shakespearian Family Dynamic. Tony's Oedipus Complex is repeated in the Dickie-Dad-Dad's Young Wife storyline and its dysfunctional, but serves as irony to what Tony would later become. If it sounds like I'm defending this film I'm not, I just see it for what it is: Chase wanted to do a film on the 1967 Newark riots, no one was interested so he had to bring in the Sopranos which probably irked him since he was done with that series and likely felt a failure: I want to make a movie about the Newark race riots and everyone just wants more of that series. He was probably forced to devote a percentage of time of that film to the Sopranos, something which if he had carte blanche, would have focused entirely on the riots.

[Wiseguy]

MF: "Italians and blacks weren't like that, my father had black associates, I had a few black-African-American friends (Noooo Michael, the "black friend" argument is a loser in today's conversations).

If Franzese wants to have a beef with a series, he should look to his friend Chazz's Godfather of Harlem. That depicts Italians and blacks as being deeply at odds, Bumpy taking on the commission, Joe Bonanno saddened over the death of his son Lorenzo in a black neighborhood which compels him to sell drugs in that area because "every n*** baby born to a doped out mother puts a smile to my face. It makes my heart sing."

And in season 3 Bumpy saves the comission from Joe Bonanno's plot to kill them all and personally banishes him- "You need to get out of town, Joe, and never come back." While the Commission bosses behind Bumpy nod their head in agreement.

Long ago I stopped giving AF about Hollywood's interpretation of history, helped my blood pressure. But why doesn't Michael take issue with that if he's so personally offended on the behalf of Italian-Americans over Many Saints which I don't quite get.

The series had less of a focus on Italians as a demographic and more was rooted in a Shakespearian Family Dynamic. Tony's Oedipus Complex is repeated in the Dickie-Dad-Dad's Young Wife storyline and its dysfunctional, but serves as irony to what Tony would later become. If it sounds like I'm defending this film I'm not, I just see it for what it is: Chase wanted to do a film on the 1967 Newark riots, no one was interested so he had to bring in the Sopranos which probably irked him since he was done with that series and likely felt a failure: I want to make a movie about the Newark race riots and everyone just wants more of that series. He was probably forced to devote a percentage of time of that film to the Sopranos, something which if he had carte blanche, would have focused entirely on the riots.

I still can't believe you subject yourself to Godfather of Harlem.

Anyway, while I admittedly still haven't seen The Many Saints of Newark yet, I doubt Chase does anything else in the Sopranos universe. I think this was it.

[Amershire_Ed]

The most common critique of “Many Saints” that I’ve seen is that, while entertaining and enjoyable, it would’ve worked much better as a 5-6 episode miniseries.

But Chase did an interview a couple weeks ago where he made it clear he wanted absolutely nothing to do with TV. He didn’t even want it to be a tv show back in 98. He wanted it to be a movie (a comedy!) and he detested the idea of working with HBO. The only real reason we got the Sopranos in the tv show format is because Analyze This was in production at the same time. And the idea of two comedies in the same year about a mob boss and his psychiatrist just wouldn’t work. Chase had even wanted DeNiro for the lead. Once he knew he couldn’t get DeNiro, (and it was no longer a movie), he wanted to cast Stevie Van Zandt (Sil) as Tony. But once he realized the show wouldn’t be an outright comedy and would have to be darker, that’s when they settled on Gandolfini.
It’s like every step of the way Chase was trying to make the show into something else but outside forces wouldn’t allow it.

[Angelo Santino]

I still can't believe you subject yourself to Godfather of Harlem.

Anyway, while I admittedly still haven't seen The Many Saints of Newark yet, I doubt Chase does anything else in the Sopranos universe. I think this was it.

. I guess I enjoy the series and have long ago learned to turn my mafia-cap off when watching works of fiction. I'm not going to be that guy yelling at the screen during HBO's Gotti that Joe Armone wasn't yet Consigliere while Paul was alive, at least not anymore, lol.

Honestly, I can tolerate fictional films more so than I can fictional history. Two of my favorite mob films are Smokin Aces and Running Scared for some unbeknownst reason. Likely throw in Men of Respect in there as well but that's less action, more modern MacBeth in the underworld noir.

[Angelo Santino]

I still can't believe you subject yourself to Godfather of Harlem.

Anyway, while I admittedly still haven't seen The Many Saints of Newark yet, I doubt Chase does anything else in the Sopranos universe. I think this was it.

. I guess I enjoy the series and have long ago learned to turn my mafia-cap off when watching works of fiction. I'm not going to be that guy yelling at the screen during HBO's Gotti that Joe Armone wasn't yet Consigliere while Paul was alive, at least not anymore, lol. So with Godfather's of Harlem, I guess the actors are good and bring some flair of creativity to it- Vincent "Private Pyle from Full Metal Jacket" D'onnofrio as Chin, Chazz as Joe Bonanno and Forrest Whittaker as Bumpy are a solid cast.

Honestly, I can tolerate fictional films more so than I can fictional history. Two of my favorite mob films are Smokin Aces and Running Scared for some unbeknownst reason. Likely throw in Men of Respect in there as well but that's less action, more modern MacBeth in the underworld noir.

[Nick Prango]

I still can't believe you subject yourself to Godfather of Harlem.

Anyway, while I admittedly still haven't seen The Many Saints of Newark yet, I doubt Chase does anything else in the Sopranos universe. I think this was it.

. I guess I enjoy the series and have long ago learned to turn my mafia-cap off when watching works of fiction. I'm not going to be that guy yelling at the screen during HBO's Gotti that Joe Armone wasn't yet Consigliere while Paul was alive, at least not anymore, lol. So with Godfather's of Harlem, I guess the actors are good and bring some flair of creativity to it- Vincent "Private Pyle from Full Metal Jacket" D'onnofrio as Chin, Chazz as Joe Bonanno and Forrest Whittaker as Bumpy are a solid cast.

Honestly, I can tolerate fictional films more so than I can fictional history. Two of my favorite mob films are Smokin Aces and Running Scared for some unbeknownst reason. Likely throw in Men of Respect in there as well but that's less action, more modern MacBeth in the underworld noir.

Running scared is a good one. Also Find me guilty 2006, Knockaround Guys, kill the irishman, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Things to do in Denver when you’re dead, 10th & Wolf a 2006 film about the Philadelphia crime family, Brooklyn Rules 2007 , Miller’s Crossing, Suicide Kings 1997, Killing Them Softly, Chicago Overcoat, Staten Island 2009, Un Profete are good mob movies worth watching that aren't popular. Find Me Guilty is a really good one. Has Alex Rocco as Tumac Accetturo. Killing Them Softly is criminally underrated. The two or three scenes James Gandolfini has are great, he out acts Brad Pitt and that’s pretty tough to do. Un Profete is a good French film about a Muslim who ends up working for the Corsican mafia in prison. Chicago Overcoat is a B movie with Frank Vincent, Armand Assante and Katherine Narducci but it's solid.

[Villain]

Thanks guys for all of your opinions on the Sopranos movie and believe it or not, I trust all of you, which means I aint wastin time on that bullshit project. Cheers and thanks again

[Wiseguy]

I still can't believe you subject yourself to Godfather of Harlem.

Anyway, while I admittedly still haven't seen The Many Saints of Newark yet, I doubt Chase does anything else in the Sopranos universe. I think this was it.

. I guess I enjoy the series and have long ago learned to turn my mafia-cap off when watching works of fiction. I'm not going to be that guy yelling at the screen during HBO's Gotti that Joe Armone wasn't yet Consigliere while Paul was alive, at least not anymore, lol. So with Godfather's of Harlem, I guess the actors are good and bring some flair of creativity to it- Vincent "Private Pyle from Full Metal Jacket" D'onnofrio as Chin, Chazz as Joe Bonanno and Forrest Whittaker as Bumpy are a solid cast.

Honestly, I can tolerate fictional films more so than I can fictional history. Two of my favorite mob films are Smokin Aces and Running Scared for some unbeknownst reason. Likely throw in Men of Respect in there as well but that's less action, more modern MacBeth in the underworld noir.

I loved Running Scared.

[Angelo Santino]

I still can't believe you subject yourself to Godfather of Harlem.

Anyway, while I admittedly still haven't seen The Many Saints of Newark yet, I doubt Chase does anything else in the Sopranos universe. I think this was it.

. I guess I enjoy the series and have long ago learned to turn my mafia-cap off when watching works of fiction. I'm not going to be that guy yelling at the screen during HBO's Gotti that Joe Armone wasn't yet Consigliere while Paul was alive, at least not anymore, lol. So with Godfather's of Harlem, I guess the actors are good and bring some flair of creativity to it- Vincent "Private Pyle from Full Metal Jacket" D'onnofrio as Chin, Chazz as Joe Bonanno and Forrest Whittaker as Bumpy are a solid cast.

Honestly, I can tolerate fictional films more so than I can fictional history. Two of my favorite mob films are Smokin Aces and Running Scared for some unbeknownst reason. Likely throw in Men of Respect in there as well but that's less action, more modern MacBeth in the underworld noir.

Running scared is a good one. Also Find me guilty 2006, Knockaround Guys, kill the irishman, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Things to do in Denver when you’re dead, 10th & Wolf a 2006 film about the Philadelphia crime family, Brooklyn Rules 2007 , Miller’s Crossing, Suicide Kings 1997, Killing Them Softly, Chicago Overcoat, Staten Island 2009, Un Profete are good mob movies worth watching that aren't popular. Find Me Guilty is a really good one. Has Alex Rocco as Tumac Accetturo. Killing Them Softly is criminally underrated. The two or three scenes James Gandolfini has are great, he out acts Brad Pitt and that’s pretty tough to do. Un Profete is a good French film about a Muslim who ends up working for the Corsican mafia in prison. Chicago Overcoat is a B movie with Frank Vincent, Armand Assante and Katherine Narducci but it's solid.

How about The Palermo connection with Jim Belushi, in a non-comedic role of an Italian-American mayoral candidate traveling to Sicily to learn about the Mafia.