The Many Saints of Newark (spoilers)

[payn]

Any Sopranos fans in the house? I caught The Many Saints of Newark over the weekend on HBO Max. I was really looking forward to it. In some ways, it was worth it. In others, not so much. I think the casting was superb, and the execution was excellent as Chase is known for, but the writing was a bit of a let down. This article in Variety sums up what Im talking about nicely. Aside from missing the major overall theme of Sopranos, I felt like this film tried to do way too much. Many Saints tries cover race relations of the 70's, sexism, mental health, organized crime, redemption, loss, etc.. I think the difficulty the film had in achieving its goals just attests to the power of the format of the series. Sopranos really ushered in a whole new way to consume media and film.

What did you think?

 

[Morrus]

I enjoyed it, but wasn’t bowled over by it. I liked The Sopranos (in fact I just started a rewatch from the start). I feel like it could be a decent pilot for a prequel TV series.

The guy playing Silvio really nailed the mannerisms. I didn’t realise which one was Paulie Walnuts until the credits though. Michael Gandolfini really looks like his dad in brief glimpses sometimes.

A lot of shows claim to be the one that created prestige TV — West Wing, 24, The Sopranos, etc. I think The Sopranos was right up there in the top league.

 

[payn]

I enjoyed it, but wasn’t bowled over by it. I liked The Sopranos (in fact I just started a rewatch from the start). I feel like it could be a decent pilot for a prequel TV series.

The guy playing Silvio really nailed the mannerisms. I didn’t realise which one was Paulie Walnuts until the credits though. Michael Gandolfini really looks like his dad in brief glimpses sometimes.

A lot of shows claim to be the one that created prestige TV — West Wing, 24, The Sopranos, etc. I think The Sopranos was right up there in the top league.

Its true television was changing in the late 90's and many shows contributed to the serial format. I think Sopranos gets so lofted because it was one of the first to both break out of the, you cant do that on network television, and was watercooler popular. Sopranos is when folks begun to see the premium value of subbing up for series as opposed to just first run films.

 

[Jmarso]

Big Sopranos fan. Saw this over the weekend, and was very disappointed. I think the casting was fantastic and the actors did their level best with the script they were handed. Always a pleasure to see Ray Liotta pop in a production like this. Interesting that he got to play twin brothers.

It's wasn't good Soprano's material.
Nor was it good mafia movie material.

I struggled to find a coherent plot anywhere in it. There just wasn't one, as far as I could see. The most enjoyment I got out of it was watching other actors play younger versions of the iconic characters. The scene on the beach... I'm not going to spoil it, but was that one of the most cliche things ever?

 

[payn]

Nothing is as bad as the final scene with the pinky swear. lol