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The Many Saints of Newark

cdgalwegian

Production is currently underway on “The Sopranos” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark,” and first look photos of a young Tony Soprano has surfaced on Comingsoon.net. Michael Gandolfini, son of the late James Gandolfini, is playing the young version of the character his father originated in “The Sopranos.”
https://www.thewrap.com/the-many-saints-of-newark-michael-gandolfini-sopranos-prequel/

"Alan Taylor (“Thor: The Dark World”), who helmed 9 episodes of the groundbreaking HBO series, is directing the film co-written by “The Sopranos” series creator David Chase and Lawrence Konner."

The Sopranos, probably on everyone's top 5 list of best tv series ever: James Gandolfini's son will certainly have big shoes to fill. Bada bing!

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Thelonious Monk

Whoever Ezra Miller is looks like a mannequin, I'd f*ck him if I was drunk enough, pretty boy.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117927002#Comment_117927002

An actor with literally a fraction of I mean the minutest of acting experience....not great casting...Michael Gandolfini knew his father, the actor, he didn’t know Tony Soprano... so pointless... get in an actor ffs

Keir Gilchrist

Ezra Miller

Both I think mid 20’s younger looking and have a ‘young Tony’ look... and have received critical acclaim for everything they’ve done so far.

ronano

It's been over a decade since I watched sopranos, I'd agree with the above that the film can't stand on it's own to non fans. It'd probably be a weak 3/5 for ppl going in with no background knowledge. For what it was I enjoyed it, a stroll through sopranos history and dickie was really interesting. The race angle seemed to go nowhere which by the end felt pointless

PIORUN

I wasn’t mad about it. Some of the fan service stuff made me cringe and I could see it coming a mile off ie “ your sisters c*%t “ and “ he would never make varsity “. Paulie painting his nails and Silvio in general !

I see sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117940707#Comment_117940707

Can you not edit posts to correct spellings anymore 🙄

*tough

I see sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117940702#Comment_117940702

Fair enough, I liked it, each to their own.

It's a though ask making a movie based on a great show in fairness, they did a better job than I thought they would.

Any chance of a Wire prequel? Omar's story?

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117940687#Comment_117940687

On the ending, they left it to a bit of cheesy scene to be honest that added nothing. The perfect moment was a scene earlier where Tony is looking out the window of Holstens and the camera is panning away, then the theme should of hit, that would of been amazing.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117940648#Comment_117940648

I don't think the film can stand on its own, it's not particularly memorable, especially the dialogue. It hits a note with a Sopranos fan as they know the supporting story and cast. The Dickie moltisanti story is pretty much a mystery to sopranos fans though, all we really knew from the series was how he was killed. So for a non sopranos fan they can watch it without having to watch the series but I just don't think it's interesting enough.

I see sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117940628#Comment_117940628

I think it's just showing that his play to go it alone worked and he's come out on top?

Was a bit strange, I was waiting for more post credit scenes after that appeared but that was it.

I thought the ending was excellent though with he theme tune starting.

BobbyMalone

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117940648#Comment_117940648

That's the thing, though - I'm not sure it can stand on its own, but would be very interested to hear people who have never watched the Sopranos and what they think of it.

FullBack Jam

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117940628#Comment_117940628

I've never seen a minute of The Sopranos. Had no intention of watching this, as presumed you'd need to have watched the Sopranos series to be able to get in to the film.

If its a case that the film can stand out on its own, I'll give it a watch.

BobbyMalone

I thought it was grand - enjoyable for a Sopranos fan, but I would love to see what someone who had never seen the show thought. The beginning was a bit all over the place (introducing the characters, but it felt a little bit like hand-holding), what seemed like a part that would be a major crux of the show turned out to be completely pointless, and the reveal was a bit meh, even for a Sopranos fan (I can only imagine what a non-Soprano fan would've thought).

A lot of the characters only make sense as characters if you're a fan of the show. There was nothing to add to Paulie, Pussy, or Sil (except Sil becoming even more of a caricature than, tbf, he was in the show anyway).

Anyone care to comment on the extra scene during the credits? I'm assuming I'm missing some nod to the show?

I see sheep

4/5 for me, thought it was excellent. Livia was brilliant, should get a show of her own!

Only thing that threw me a bit was the ages of the crew, at the start is that Pussy's father or Pussy? And same for Silvio

orecir

Really enjoyed it and the cast was perfect.

Would love to see more be it films or even a prequel TV series.

Shred

I enjoyed it and think it's one that might get better on subsequent viewings without the first time experience of looking out for the various nods and winks to the series. I thought it looked gorgeous on the big screen too (a pretty full screen 6 in Vue*).

*Special thanks to the plonker who moved to sit right beside my wife when a large group arrived and asked him and his missus to move down...plus the pair of tools to my left; one of which kept taking out his phone out at various points and talking loudly throughout - man I already miss the quieter, lower capacity Covid screenings 😤. Oh and as for the token "can I see your Covid cert" on the way in where the guy just looked at it and said ok...🙄

rob316

We even got to see Johnny Boy walking Tippy! I loved that minor detail.

On another note, I read an interview with Chase and he said he is very interested in doing a sequel to this prequel, filling in the gaps of the rest of Tony's story up to the series timeline. Just when I thought I was out again.....

santana75

I thought the performance of young Tony soprano was spot on. Vera farmiga though, as others have said, was stand out. If her part were bigger she may have been in line for a best supporting actress nod.

rob316

Ok wow, that was a packed 2 hours, I can hardly remember the start.

So I am a Sopranos super fan, you could of had impressions of characters for 2 hours with David Chase attached to it and I'd of given it 10/10. But I'll try to be a bit objective and judge the movie on its own merit as really this isn't the Sopranos.

First off fantastic performance from Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti. On the character himself, he's a bit of a Tony, a complex personality, a soft side, tries to do a good deed but in reality he's a murderous sociopath, who just like Tony has the charm you cant help but root for. We didn't really know too much about Dickie from the Sopranos so Chase had a blank slate to work with and I thoiught he did great.

Young Anthony Soprano - I've gotta say I absolutely loved this performance. I hear people say hes not believable as a young Tony, but they are totally missing where we are in the stage of his life. This is 20 years before the series, he's not your typical mobster, he went to college for a bit and wanted to be a footballer before he went full time mafia. There is many moments where he displays Gandolfini's mannerisms, facial expressions and its undeniable that the actor is his son. No one else could of pulled this role off.

Supporting cast - this is where if your a fan of the series you are going to feel left down. They are just kind of there in the background, especially Paulie and Pussy adding little to the story. As a fan all you'll want is a scene an extended scence of the characters sitting around with just some great quotable dialogue but it never comes, there is just too much going on for development of other characters. The potrayal of Silvio, if you want an impression is spot on and over the top if anything and just turned into a comedy act, the cinema was in raptures of laughter everytime he appeared on screen. I much prefered the lighter, newer twist on Junior and Paulie. The exception is the potrayal of Livia Soprano, a real high point, we all know Vera Farmiga is great actress but she just totally captured the insane personality of her and you were like "yes that is absolutely Tony's mother".

Fan Service - Chase gave fans plenty of easter eggs where you will grin like a cheshire cat where memorable moments from the series are recreated or played out. And that twist at the end has me thinking of what if Tony had known what really happened to Dickie? My jaw was literally on the floor when that was revealed.

I would love to meet someone who isnt familiar with the Sopranos, watched this and what they thought of it as a standalone film. My opinion would be not much to be honest, there is just too much going on, too many characters that add nothing to the film, unmemorable diagloue and for a mob film that's a real black mark, considering how quotable classics like Goodfellas, Casino etc are.

I would love to see a series come out of this, Chase has created the world again but for a guy jumping to the big screen he just has too much tell for 2 hours. I don't see it happening but you never know and I presume you wouldn't be able to get all this cast back for it.

Overall, an enjoyable 7.5/10

DrumSteve

I thought it was really good, though id echo some of the comments here it probably would have worked better as a series.

The performances were excellent though, the Silvio character really went all in on the impression tbf.

johnny_ultimate

The messy opening left me worried (especially a wholly bizarre framing device), but it settled into a perfectly serviceable if inessential prequel (prequels being inherently inessential). Taylor’s direction is perhaps more televisual than cinematic, but Chase brings enough Sopranos flavour to the mix to keep things ticking over. It certainly feels like it has at least some breathing space for tangents and diversions, even if it’s a season worth of plot crammed into two hours.

The best performances are the ones that aren’t just aping the originals, and I include young Gandolfini in that. His performance is more naive and vulnerable than expected, and all the better for it. Indeed I think the script elegantly avoids the obvious when it comes to Tony’s arc, keeping him at a relative distance from the violence and crime to good effect. Farminga is a great Livia, and Corey Stoll a fresh take on Junior. Silvio meanwhile… hoo-boy. That needed to be toned down at least a few notches, even by the bizarre standards of van Zandt’s original 😅

The White Wolf

Not sure if spoiler discussion is encouraged yet so I'll use tags, it concerns the ending:

cdgalwegian

‘The Many Saints of Newark’ Review:

"Both Gripping Mob Drama and Gratuitous ‘Sopranos’ Fan Service"

https://www.indiewire.com/2021/09/the-many-saints-of-newark-review-sopranos-prequel-movie-1234666245/#recipient_hashed=7567c359c3ddcb9daa7ccb82dc52cb9472f71a658c625c8c4b00f3779495c23b

Sounds like it should have been a series in its own right, but that it is nonetheless a worthy addition The only question for me now is it worth going to the cinema to experience it?.

radharc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117865144#Comment_117865144

Watched it tonight and enjoyed it. But the fears about Gandolfini Jr were on the ball - it just wasn’t believable that we were watching a young Tony Soprano.

The White Wolf

Just to show an example of the meandering, I was looking forward to the race aspect but it was so utterly pointless. It didn't really go anywhere.

santana75

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924837#Comment_117924837

Went to see it earlier and yeah, I'd agree with that. It's solid enough, the acting top notch as you'd expect, some great dialogue but.......I'd describe it as meandering. I don't know what it really was about. Would definitely have benefited from being a series.

The White Wolf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924837#Comment_117924837

That's my feeling also as much as I hate to say it for Mr Chase, this really would of worked better as a TV series as opposed film.

As a big fan of the Sopranos I'm happy enough but does feel like a missed opportunity.

rob316

Reviews are out now. 80% currently on RT

Consensus is could of been great but there is just too much going on, needs a series to do justice to the world Chase has created.

I'm excited for tomorrow, about what I expected.

Did you smash it

The reviews suggest this is nothing special

mr_edge_to_you

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117911048#Comment_117911048

Ah right. I thought it was general release from this week. Thanks!

cdgalwegian

Deleted; wrong forum.