“The Sopranos” premiered 20 years ago today (January 10, 1999).

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by AKA, Jan 10, 2019.

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  1. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Not to mention the pay phones they keep calling each other from in the first seasons.

    I remember an episode of the Sopranos being the first time I ever heard of a burner phone ("You use it once & toss it.") which became so commonplace in the Breaking Bad era (which can also look dated with the flip phones).
     
  2. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Drive? Drove?

    “Drived” is definitely not correct.
     
  3. JackG

    JackG Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ
    This was filmed all over my county. Here are a couple shots right up the block I took walking my daughter to school one day.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  4. DigMyGroove

    DigMyGroove Forum Resident

  5. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    I'm not understanding all this fukakta commentary about how the series looks 'dated'. By this definition, ANYTHING filmed prior to the invention of an iPhone can be considered dated, so what? Since it hasn't been established whether 'dated' is a good or bad thing, what exactly is the point? For some reason this is making me think of how younger generations avoid B&W film, an equally ridiculous notion. Think of all the amazing work not being seen because it's not in color. Is the current generation that shallow that if a phone or car isn't current it takes them out of the moment? I'd like to think not, but nothing surprises me anymore!
     
  6. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    It's not so much dated as just a little amusing how some things have changed. For instance, in one of the first episodes, they are all excited about getting DVD players because they are the hottest new technology. And like I mentioned, seeing them use payphones to avoid being bugged is funny. I don't think there was much after the first season or two though.
     
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  7. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    That's not how I read it. He just called the final section of the show "the death scene". Doesn't change my favorite theory, that it wasn't Tony that got whacked when the screen went black - it was us.
     
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  8. I just binged this on HBO this week. Phenomenal show & extremely consistent quality of both narratives and production value. And whoever cast this show absolutely nailed it. Gandolfini is remarkable, as is pretty well the entire cast. And that finale is gold...
     
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  9. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    I see what you did there.
     
  10. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    I could not agree more with this.
     
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  11. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    So should all “old” series be digitally updated to not look outdated?

    The whole concept of this is ridiculous. “The Sopranos” is a series of its time. It should judged on its merits, not its time period. The stories, the acting, and directing is either good or it is not.
     
  12. GregM

    GregM The expanding man

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    I totally agree that things changed, especially with regard to the cinematography. In the first season or two, there was a smaller budget and some amateur choices for postproduction and possibly equipment. The contrast was a bit pumped up, and it was not to my liking. But as the series wore on and the budget was ramped up, the show took on a more cinematic look and feel. By season 6 I think Chase had fully achieved his goal of having each episode feel like its own movie. As for the use of pay phones, it continued throughout the entire series. That was how Tony's people found Phil Leatardo near the ending...they narrowed down the gas stations he frequented to only those that still had a payphone.
     
  13. Brian_Svoboda

    Brian_Svoboda Senior Member

    Location:
    Virginia
    I have and read this book, and it’s not *quite* as clear-cut as that. What Chase was talking about was an earlier concept for the ending, apparently to have occurred in a prior season, that would have parodied the title sequence: Tony drives through the Lincoln Tunnel en route to a sitdown with Johnny Sack, and the screen turns black, suggesting he never made it home alive. Chase claimed to have rejected the non-ambiguity of that approach. His comments in the book are much more akin to the DGA piece, where he acknowledges placing elements suggesting that it *might* have happened — the now-infamous POV shots, “Members’ Only Guy’s” visit to the bathroom (which Chase acknowledged was a conscious homage to “The Godfather”) — but Chase never quite punches the ball across the goal line. Query whether Chase’s ambiguity and coyness are a fig leaf, to protect the artistic vision (and, when it was made, the millions and millions that would have come from a sequel film). But that same ambiguity seems no less intended than all of the elements that Chase consciously introduced to suggest that Tony was killed.
     
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  14. GregM

    GregM The expanding man

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    The ball was punched across the goal line in every sense except graphically showing America's best loved family at the time ending in a bloodbath, which would have been tasteless. I don't think there is much room for interpretation or ambiguity except perhaps what other family members aside from Tony were killed, and who the "insider" in his own family was to enable the hit. Who knew about Holstein's? There's a finite list.
     
  15. Brian_Svoboda

    Brian_Svoboda Senior Member

    Location:
    Virginia
    I’m with you on the scene; when I talked about the “goal line” I meant the Sepinwall/Zeitz interview. If Carmela sued the life insurance company to pay on a policy, under a “preponderance of evidence” standard I think she would win.
     
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  16. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    IMO it speaks to the cultural phenomena that was the Sopranos. That, to this day, there's still vigorous debate about whether TS was killed or not. Tony's dead as a doornail!;)
     
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  17. Brian_Svoboda

    Brian_Svoboda Senior Member

    Location:
    Virginia
    What I meant to say was — I’m with you in spirit, but I’ve gotta counsel!
     
  18. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    If I had to list the best episodes, I would go with:

    The Knight in White Satin Armor (it is amazing how much happens in this episode)
    Long Term Parking
    Another Toothpick
    The Happy Wanderer
    Pine Barrens
    Second Opinion
    Denial, Anger, Acceptance
    Unidentified Black Males
    Whitecaps
     
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  19. GregM

    GregM The expanding man

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Those are excellent episodes, for sure. But one could argue even Isabella (for starters) is better than any of them. It's amazing how some subplots would accelerate while others would drag on and not resolve until you least expect it. Chase has said that he would force the writers to reject the first 2-3 ideas they had and challenge them to elevate. I think that helped the show avoid becoming predictable or derivative.
     
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  20. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    shame we lost the boss...still so sad.
     
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  21. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    Amazon usually has the complete Series BD box with UV's for $49.99! incredible buy...
     
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  22. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    I don't know why people think we're complaining. All I'm saying at least is that it's amusing to see how long ago it was. It doesn't seem that long.
     
  23. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I watched this in 2011 and had to rent the DVDs from Blockbuster Video. Few people here had HBO until recently due to confusing Canadaian licensing laws that made it very expensive to subscribe to. I first heard about the show on a music message board where people were talking about things like sitting around all day “binging” on The Sopranos and eating pancakes, which sounded so strange at the time when you’d never seen a TV series before.
     
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  24. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    In reality, it wasn’t for that long ago, but technology and other aspects of society have changed. Any show with any age on it is going to display this through automobiles, fashion, or technology. It’s inevitable.

    No one said you were complaining btw.
     
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  25. WagesofFear

    WagesofFear Member

    Location:
    Califor-nye-ay

    IMO, nothing really looks dated until you hit the 80s.
     
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