JCC Amph Bada Bing! Soprano's Movie "The Many Saints of Newark" Discussion

Edie Falco's return as Carmela Soprano for 'The Many Saints Of Newark' was cut from the movie

It's funny that I was recently thinking to myself about how they might open the new movie; the possibility that they might feature a scene with the original cast crossed my mind - where the whole notion of the prequel movie was a flashback. Of course I could understand how that'd be outright sacrilege to show the cast without Tony, so it makes sense that it was canned. It's just too bad Falco was on the set for nothing.

 

I'd love to see the Edie Falco scene as its own isolated, deleted scene, but I think I'm also glad they aren't doing some sort of "present day" framing device for the film. I don't really want to see the world of The Sopranos post-"Made in America," and I think it is probably in The Many Saints of Newark's own best interest that it tells a relatively contained story with Dickie Moltisanti as the central figure within the confines of its own runtime.

 

I don't even know where you'd get to see the deleted scenes if you wanted to. I don't recall HBO Max having any Special Features mode for their movies where you may go through behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes, etc. as you would on a released Blu-ray.

 

This isn't an HBO Max original film, it's a Warner Bros theatrical release that is now part of WB's HBO Max day and date 2021 release structure. It's going to get a home media release in a few months like any other theatrical film would.

 

Yeah but that doesn't mean that so many people will go out and buy the home media release of it. It'll be released early next month on HBO Max at the same time as the theatrical release; and then will likely wind up on HBO's cable channel by December or sometime early next year.

 

Carmela as the new boss?

 

You know, I didn't even think about Janice before watching this video. Will she have a decent part to play (younger version) in the prequel?

 

I imagine a small part for Janice.

 

Rewatched "For All Debts Public And Private." Figured that one is probably... relevant.

Catching The Many Saints Of Newark in a couple hours now.

 

Just saw Many Saints of Newark. I took my 13 yr old son who's never seen the Soprano's. He said it was a good movie right after the credits started. I really liked it. Don't want to go into details and discussion since it literally just released. Saw it in a restored downtown Theater in Tulsa OK, besides me and my son only one guy was in the theater. It was an 11:30 AM showing.

 

Spoiler

I revisited The Sopranos' season four premiere, "For All Debts Public and Private," before going to the theater to see The Many Saints of Newark, and I am so glad that I did. Taken together, the two weave together as a sort of tapestry, in some ways very obvious and expected, and in other ways that I honestly never could have seen coming.

The ending of this film, the way it provides context for Dickie Moltisanti's death – one of The Sopranos' biggest mysteries and main sources of debate among fans – and boils it down into a petty squabble over absolutely nothing and relegates Tony himself to a complete non-entity in that particular scheme, is pure David Chase operating right within in that "Made In America" hard-cut-to-black mode. This film's revelation is going to upset some people big time, but you know what? That's the most The Sopranos thing I can possibly imagine and I absolutely loved it.

I loved the whole movie, really, both as a story standing on its own two feet and as a companion to its parent series.

 

I may see it today.

 

I plan on watching it this weekend.

 

Spoiler

I loved the movie. Even though I didn't just re-watch any particular episode. I made it a point to watch both season 6's over the summer to jog my memory some. So there was definitely things that I remembered like Johnny getting arrested at the fair and the bee hive hair do getting shot. I think there was one other. Seeing those scenes was a nice way to mix the two separate pieces.

I think it fit in perfectly that Jr had Dicky killed. Mainly because how badly Jr took it when the rumors were spread about him and well I don't know if you can say that on this site...So Jr taking things personally that's Jr. I also loved his new neighbors in the ending. Several parts of the movie made me laugh out loud and some scenes I closed my eyes so I didn't have to watch. Great movie, very Sopranos.

 

Spoiler

Upon first viewing was a little disappointed, but I did enjoy the references and future tie-ins. I’ll probably appreciate the movie more when watching again.

 

Spoiler

Been thinking a lot about "Made In America," and Tony's final conversation with Junior in which he remembers absolutely nothing. Really anchors home just how futile and senseless all of this is, and makes it all the more fitting that Junior's rationale for killing Dickie is equally senseless.

And who better at taking something so utterly senseless and using it to further put Christopher under his thumb than Tony Soprano? Tony may end this film throwing the speakers out of the window and rejecting this lifestyle (bravo to Chase for not making this movie the Tony Soprano origin story), but he's still the man that Christopher went to Hell for.

 

I enjoyed it. Haven't seen the series since the finale, so any of the references to the show had to be pretty transparent. I mean it was fairly easy to recognize who was who (their younger versions) even without the name drops. I'd have to rewatch the series to understand and realize all of the references to Dickie Moltisanti.

Spoiler

A good portion of the film gives the perspective of Leslie Odom Jr.'s character, Harold. We see the connections he has to Moltisanti and his crew, but IMO it seemed to delve a bit too much into Harold's character; and unless there's a sequel at some point, we'll likely never hear of Harold again. I'm glad Janice was featured in the film. Sure she had a small role of course, but you start to see why she flies the coop early on. It was interesting that there's only one scene that you see baby Christopher (the one that's shown in the trailer); and you never see him again. Carmela is in for a cameo role; which is better than nothing. So it's finally revealed how Dickie really died. Junior hid the truth all along; at least I don't recall any hints during the series that he put the hit on Christopher's father. I don't even recall Junior's relationship with Christopher during the series. Did he ever look at him with....regret/remorse? I mean he was just as much disrespected as an older man as he was in his younger days, so maybe not.

 

I enjoyed it, yet found it also somewhat unsatisfying, despite some great casting and great performances. I think, for me, I was left feeling this was BEGGING to be a miniseries - a lot of interesting ideas, interesting threads, and interesting characters that ultimately couldn't be developed or given the time they deserved. As a result, while I basically enjoyed what we got, I kept thinking "Wow, this could have been so much MORE".

Spoiler

I also found the ending to be strange. So Tony's uncle (sorry, blanking on the name, desptie him being a great character!!!) decides to draw back from Tony, realizing he will inevitably be a corrupting influence on his nephew. Tony is understandably hurt, and fed up, and talks about not wanting to be a "part of this" anymore, tossing the "hot" speakers his Uncle cajoled him into taking. Then his Uncle is killed and Tony decides to embrace a life of crime? The pinky-swear thing was about Tony staying OUT of trouble. It seems to me, if anything, this would push Tony in the OPPOSITE direction...

 

As a casual sopranos fan who watched the series all at once years later on HBO Plus or HBO Now - whatever the streaming service was called before like a year ago - this was an enjoyable visit back to the world of the Sopranos.

I think this could have been a great mini-series. At the same time this was a huge gamble. The movie works. I think a longer version would have worked even better. But if the movie didn’t work - a longer series would have been a disaster. Wise to error on the side of caution.

Maybe a new series or mini-series can come from this now that they tested the waters and we see what it looks like. I think fans of the series would be ready for more now.

 

Sounds like a young Tony TV series is a possibility. Although I just read that it only made 5 million and got a C plus Cinemascore. Not good. Venom 2 made 90 million.

 

If this is a test / secret pilot for a TV series the box office might not be so important as the numbers on HBO Max. Even if this wasn’t intended to be streaming premier when it was created - eventually it would have gotten to HBO.

I’m hopeful.

 

It all comes down to the actors, ESPECIALLY Michael Gandolfini; if they're willing to commit to a series moving forward. Even though it's unbelievable, Michael Gandolfini wasn't even the first choice for David Chase; he really had no acting experience before and it seems only recently learned about the full story. If they can convince the actors in the movie to commit to a series; even a relatively short one that spans Tony's early rise to power where Silvio and Paulie don't look down on him anymore as just Dickie's nephew but his own force to be reckoned with, then that could really be a hit for HBO. It's obvious people want more Sopranos.