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NFT: Sopranos Fans—Questions about Many Saints of Newark

Essex : 10/20/2024 11:07 pm
To recover from today’s nightmare, I finally got around to the Sopranos prequel and I had two questions comments.

1. Why did people hate it so much? I thought the whole thing was kind of unnecessary, but I did think it was well done. The Sopranos was many times a slow burn TV show and the movie followed suit. I really didn’t hate it and thought the movie was not great, but also nothing crap like the Star Wars prequels etc. sl

2. Not really sure why Junior killed Dickie.? Was it because he laughed at him when he fell, he was closer to Tony, he thought he needed to knock him off for advancement. I just never understood why. My one major criticism was that is a huge deal in the Sopranos universe and to do it so quickly like that without exploring and explaining it made the slow burn of the movie a little not worth the payoff in the end, imo.

But overall, I thought it far from perfect and flawed (like the need to bring all the Sopranos characters back for some mention/cameo), but pretty enjoyable nonetheless. Just remember all the hate and had such low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised.
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Banks : 10/20/2024 11:33 pm : link
It felt like a parody of the sopranos. Silvio and paulie act ridiculous. Silvio apparently had a toupe, walks like a 60 yr old man, and apparently much older than Tony even though the series established he grew up with Tony, Jackie, and Ralphie.

Uncle junior was also made to be a clown. Sure, he is comedic in the series, but his age plays a part in that. I can't see anyone taking this guy seriously enough to be a capo. The show did portray him as petty, but he also believed in the old school ways. His having dickie killed didn't seem believable from the character in the show imo
RE: .  
Essex : 10/21/2024 7:54 am : link
In comment 16655381 Banks said:
Quote:
It felt like a parody of the sopranos. Silvio and paulie act ridiculous. Silvio apparently had a toupe, walks like a 60 yr old man, and apparently much older than Tony even though the series established he grew up with Tony, Jackie, and Ralphie.

Uncle junior was also made to be a clown. Sure, he is comedic in the series, but his age plays a part in that. I can't see anyone taking this guy seriously enough to be a capo. The show did portray him as petty, but he also believed in the old school ways. His having dickie killed didn't seem believable from the character in the show imo


Paulie was developed on the original TV series and I get that he kind of was a caricature of that character, but he didn’t have that big a role in the movie. Sil was really not a well developed character on the TV show, not nearly the background or the number of scenes that you got with Paulie, and his character was kind of silly on the show so his movie portrayal didn’t bother me at all.
Laughing at him  
pjcas18 : 10/21/2024 8:20 am : link
was the final straw but not the only reason.

Junior was jealous of how many people (livia, Johnny, even Paulie) viewed Dickie in a positive way and sort of looked down on Junior.

there were multiple small incidents in Many Saints of Newark that led up to it.

and I think it foreshadowed a lot about Junior and Tony's relationship in the Sopranos.
RE: Laughing at him  
Essex : 10/21/2024 8:58 am : link
In comment 16655511 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
was the final straw but not the only reason.

Junior was jealous of how many people (livia, Johnny, even Paulie) viewed Dickie in a positive way and sort of looked down on Junior.

there were multiple small incidents in Many Saints of Newark that led up to it.

and I think it foreshadowed a lot about Junior and Tony's relationship in the Sopranos.


On the show, Christopher and Junior never got along. The first season Christopher and Brennan were hijacking Junior’s trucks and doesn’t Mikey Palmice kill Brennan on Junior’s orders if I am remembering correctly.
I thought it sucked.  
Section331 : 10/21/2024 9:01 am : link
Gandolfini’s kid was brutally bad, just awful. I thought the storyline was weak, the whole thing was ill-conceived and inauthentic.
The bar was so high that it invited criticism.  
bluefin : 10/21/2024 9:11 am : link
Watched it again recently and appreciated it more. I liked how the prison visits with Ray Liotta gave insight into Dickie’s psyche, like Tony’s sessions did with Dr. Melfi. The riots were an excellent backdrop, because it was a pivotal event for Newark. Looking forward to the sequel.
RE: The bar was so high that it invited criticism.  
Essex : 10/21/2024 9:16 am : link
In comment 16655572 bluefin said:
Quote:
Watched it again recently and appreciated it more. I liked how the prison visits with Ray Liotta gave insight into Dickie’s psyche, like Tony’s sessions did with Dr. Melfi. The riots were an excellent backdrop, because it was a pivotal event for Newark. Looking forward to the sequel.

Is there a sequel planned--I had not heard that to be the case.
RE: RE: Laughing at him  
pjcas18 : 10/21/2024 9:22 am : link
In comment 16655551 Essex said:
Quote:
In comment 16655511 pjcas18 said:


Quote:


was the final straw but not the only reason.

Junior was jealous of how many people (livia, Johnny, even Paulie) viewed Dickie in a positive way and sort of looked down on Junior.

there were multiple small incidents in Many Saints of Newark that led up to it.

and I think it foreshadowed a lot about Junior and Tony's relationship in the Sopranos.



On the show, Christopher and Junior never got along. The first season Christopher and Brennan were hijacking Junior’s trucks and doesn’t Mikey Palmice kill Brennan on Junior’s orders if I am remembering correctly.


Sure but I meant the relationship between Junior and Tony. Shit, Junior let Livia convince him to put a hit on Tony - it all goes back to the Many Saints of Newark. Junior had a thing for livia and was jealous of almost everyone.

Christopher had no idea about Junior and his father.

RE: RE: RE: Laughing at him  
Essex : 10/21/2024 9:27 am : link
In comment 16655594 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
In comment 16655551 Essex said:


Quote:


In comment 16655511 pjcas18 said:


Quote:


was the final straw but not the only reason.

Junior was jealous of how many people (livia, Johnny, even Paulie) viewed Dickie in a positive way and sort of looked down on Junior.

there were multiple small incidents in Many Saints of Newark that led up to it.

and I think it foreshadowed a lot about Junior and Tony's relationship in the Sopranos.



On the show, Christopher and Junior never got along. The first season Christopher and Brennan were hijacking Junior’s trucks and doesn’t Mikey Palmice kill Brennan on Junior’s orders if I am remembering correctly.



Sure but I meant the relationship between Junior and Tony. Shit, Junior let Livia convince him to put a hit on Tony - it all goes back to the Many Saints of Newark. Junior had a thing for livia and was jealous of almost everyone.

Christopher had no idea about Junior and his father.

No, my point was that I think the creators used the obvious dislike that Junior had for Christopher in season one as a launching point into the Dicky/Junior feud/jealousy of the prequel. Christopher thought a cop killed his dad, but Junior knew what he did. I was just making a minor connection between the show and the movie.
I think expectations going in are important  
The Dude : 10/21/2024 12:08 pm : link
If people were looking for something close to the original, you're set up for disappointment.

To me it was a decent HBO straight to TV movie about characters you know. I give it a C+/B-. Hard to imagine that they would be able to knock it out of the park, but maybe I'm just being a hater in my expectations.
I thought it was entertaining  
pjcas18 : 10/21/2024 12:30 pm : link
but I also thought the Deadwood movie was entertaining.

obviously neither as good as the show they were based on, but seeing and learning plot details about characters you grew to "know" and became comfortable with is nostalgic for some.

I liked El Camino too.

Maybe I have a low bar. Certainly none of those three was award winning, but enough to get me to watch and not incessantly complain about them like some people.
One of the worst movies  
LG in NYC : 10/21/2024 1:06 pm : link
I ever watched. I think I left it on b/c I was on a plane and had nothing else downloaded but oh my, it was bad.

The (over)acting was laughable... I love Ray Liotta but oofa, I don't want to remember him in this schlock movie.

The only other movie I can recall disliking this much (and I did turn this one off) was 'Mr Saturday Night' with Billy Crystal.
Apropos of Nothing  
GruningsOnTheHill : 10/21/2024 7:13 pm : link
I didn't watch The Sopranos when it was in production--I was working out of the country--but I've watched all the episodes a few times over during the past few years. I grew up in South Orange and never really went back after I graduated HS in the mid-1980s. I'm fascinated with The Sopranos, as it reminds me of a New Jersey that isn't there anymore...a great Italian deli called Cuozzo's Market on South Orange Ave that I used to stop into while walking home from school; apparently the whole block is townhouses now.

If they come out with a Many Saints of Newark prequel, I will watch every episode even if it's not quite The Sopranos.
RE: RE: The bar was so high that it invited criticism.  
bluefin : 10/21/2024 7:43 pm : link
In comment 16655579 Essex said:
Quote:
In comment 16655572 bluefin said:


Quote:


Watched it again recently and appreciated it more. I liked how the prison visits with Ray Liotta gave insight into Dickie’s psyche, like Tony’s sessions did with Dr. Melfi. The riots were an excellent backdrop, because it was a pivotal event for Newark. Looking forward to the sequel.


Is there a sequel planned--I had not heard that to be the case.

Last I read is that Covid postponed development, but I think the potential $$ will pave the path to getting it done.
I thought it was fine  
Mike from SI : 10/21/2024 7:47 pm : link
and the hate way over the top.
I always thought The Sopranos could’ve developed a prequel series  
bceagle05 : 10/21/2024 9:45 pm : link
on the level of Better Call Saul to Breaking Bad. I found the flashbacks to Tony’s childhood during the series very interesting. Sucks that they chose to cram everything into a mediocre movie.
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