The Sopranos (HBO) TV Show • Page 72

This is the Looper thread right

 

I have now watched The Sopranos

 

Oh yeah. Name all the sopranos then.

 

Tony
Carmela
Meadow
AJ
Livia
Johnny
Junior
Barbara
Janice
Ercole

 

Nearing the end of Season 4. Furio is climbing higher into my list of favorite characters, which means that he'll probably die soon. His little thing with Carmella (even though nothing has happened) can't end well for him. The scene where he comes back from Naples to be Tony's driver again and tells Carmella he's gonna wait in the car for Tony and then when Tony comes out and Furio is crying he tells him to "get over it" when Furio lies and says he's sad for his father only to then transition to Tony crying in Dr. Melfi's office about his dead horse is hilarious. "It's like some fucking asshole is stalking the whole human race" I believe were Tony's words.

Between the horses getting burned alive and Chris sitting on the dog, no animal is safe in this show.

Chris is in rehab, Ralphie is finally dead, and Adrianna is tangled up with the Feds. Things are getting intense.

 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRymjS2Q/

 

Season 4 finale, wow. There's the explosive fight/breakdown between Carmella and Anthony that I've been waiting to see. I always figured there was no way their marriage makes it to the end of the show unscathed, though there's still plenty of time to reconcile. Her finally telling Tony about Furio was a long time coming.

Lines are being drawn even more between New Jersey and New York. Even though Carmine agreed to Tony's terms, Johnny Sack still wanted the hit to go ahead. Tony calling it off at the last minute seems to have burned that bridge between him and Johnny since it seems like the latter wanted Carmine to go even more than Tony did. I assume that will be a major conflict for next season.

Junior got a mistrial. I don't think he makes it to the end of the show tbh

Chris is out of rehab, and the move he pulled on the guys he paid to kill Carmine was brutal. Welcome back, I guess.

Season 5 starts tonight!

 

Whitecaps is so good, a masterclass in acting. I don’t think we often see husband-and-wife performances as powerful/tormented as Gandolfini’s and Falco’s anymore, and they put it all out there in that episode.

 

Yeah the way she was near hyperventilating from one moment to the next was crazy, felt very realistic

 

A breathtaking episode of television

 

my fiancé is watching Sopranos for the first time, he’s starting season 2 tonight! He’s absolutely loving it

 

Whitecaps is the best episode outside of the last few to end the show. Both actors were drawing from levels of deep personal pain.

 

How so?

 

Their screams are really visceral, and they are doing things you hadn't heard in four seasons. We have heard Tony yell and berate people before, and we have seen him argue with Carmela, but there is a sense in his voice that he knows he has lost. When he initially comes home and is begging to enter the bedroom outside the door, there is a real vulnerability there. Carmela is completely without inhibitions, as we had always seen her keep her composure even when dealing with Tony's infidelity or other issues. If they were two men, they would have torn each other apart.

Tony's charge at Carmela when he learns of her lust for Furio is extremely moving, both an indication of his brutal nature but also a reminder that he does have his limits and control. Carmela has been around long enough to know what kind of response a man in that world is going to have, and she risks it anyway because she wants to hurt him after years of suffering in silence. They are really going after each other, and ironically it is only out of great appreciation and trust between two actors that you can go to those limits in the scene.

 

The scenes between Tony and Carm are some of the best in the series. Everything is always so loaded and you FEEL it.

 

Oh I took your phrasing of "drawing from deep levels of personal pain" to mean that the actors themselves were going through something rough in real life so it made the scenes extra poignant, but I agree with all this lol

 

I mean James Gandolfini put himself through some serious shit to play Tony. it's pretty heartbreaking to read about honestly

 

I didn't even know he died like a decade ago until after I started the show, really a sad loss

 

I'd like to read more about it, actually. Is there any specific article or interview that you think best discusses that?

 

I think this article was the one I read about it. talks about some stuff like him putting rocks in his shoes or hitting himself in the head before a take to get in character, really sad stuff

that being said all the actors who worked with him have called him incredibly compassionate and generous, even though he was troubled

https://www.indiewire.com/2013/07/h...ries-from-televisions-third-golden-age-36937/

 

I know James' health was always a concern to other cast members, he was pretty reckless about what he consumed up until the end which was clearly a consequence of his unhealthy habits.

My dad was the same, (although my dad was a long time smoker too) died at 60 of a heart attack. Lived a damn enjoyable life though.


I remember reading James' last meal was a bunch of fried food and lots of alcohol.

 

It is unfortunately a byproduct of it being a mob show and who his character was. Overweight men in the Mafia is not a surprise, and as his power grows it was in character for him to grow too. It isn't to blame the show, but it also wouldn't have happened with most other roles.

 

When you finish the series, go back and watch the first episode. The pilot was shot around 9-12 months before the second episode and Tony is noticeably slimmer and his voice is more articulate. After the show was picked up David Chase told James to put on some more weight and go heavy on a New Jersey accent

 

oh hey what up Steve Buscemi

also if Furio going back to Italy is the last we see of him I'll be sad