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I assume that's a Sony release, they've been doing that to a lot of Complete Series (NewsRadio, Dawson's Creek) that previously came in normal cases. I think DVDBeaver called the plastic surrounding the spindles "Box of chocolates packaging," which is dead-on

It is. The only upside to it is that it's not super-thick.

A prequel written and set to be produced by David Chase, The Many Saints of Newark has found a home at New Line.

So I sees this article about a mob boss getting whacked in his driveway in Staten Island, yeah? So 6 or 7 bullets pumped into him but did they have to run him over as well, as an insult? Gambino boss, Frankie Cali, 53. Whaddaya gonna do?

The New Jersey DeCalvacante family, which the Sopranos is based on, is under the Gambinos. And I noticed that the Dacalvacante underboss, and former consigliere, is Frank "Goombah Frank" Nigro. I went to high school with his nephew, who used to talk about how his uncle was mobbed up. I believed him, since I didn't really care, but especially since his uncle got the kid a summer job on a NJ highway crew at age 17 paying a then rather nice $11/hour (min wage was $3.35 and I was making around $4.25/hr as a supermarket cashier). Plus, his highway job meant just loafing around with a bunch of union guys, while a few guys did a little work now and then. Cushy and relatively high-paying and ripping off the taxpayers. I forgot all about this until I saw the not-too-common family name.

Quick googling didn't turn up too much info on Frank Nigro (now 73). Two years ago a NJ mobster living in Las Vegas plead guilty to trying to arrange a murder-for-hire. He kept calling Goombah Frank and another NJ mob guy asking for permission to whack another made-man who he thought had been disrespectful. But they kept hedging and never said yes or no, so the gov't wound up dropping the case against those two. There was an FBI agent posing as a Elizabeth, NJ mobster who Charlie The Hat Stango contracted to do the killing (who subcontracted out to two bikers for a mere $25K), but the go-ahead never came.
Stango got 7 years in jail for his murder plot.

The NJ family and the NY Gambinos have been somewhat neutered as their top bosses were tossed in jail in the late 90's

We have a thread for that

Where?

Well, I was linking to it in this thread as it relates to Scorsese’s latest mob film, but okay, yes, I know we have a thread for the series. I thought you meant someone had already discussed this interview

EDIT I guess it does make more sense to put it here

I'm somehow not surprised he felt that way. Granted, he worked with a good deal of the supporting cast and who knows how many crew guys, etc. But I can see his point that it's not something he can relate to as much. I'd think David Chase wouldn't be too surprised either. I don't know exactly how much props he gave Scorsese, compared to his praise of David Lynch and the influence of Twin Peaks on the show. Not to mention Lynch returning the favor and saying he was a fan of the show.

He also specifically calls out the upper class gaudy New Jersey/Long Island-ness of the show as something he can't identify with. My in-laws grew up in Little Italy in the 50s/60s and actually personally knew several of the real-life people portrayed in Mean Streets, and my mother in law particular saw her life reflected in the film, even though she has no mob ties. The larger culture and its element are obviously just as important as the "gangster" part of these movies.

Similarly I grew up in a wealthy New Jersey suburb in the 90s/2000s and can absolutely identify with Sopranos on many non-mob related levels!

Drucker wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 6:26 pm Similarly I grew up in a wealthy New Jersey suburb in the 90s/2000s and can absolutely identify with Sopranos on many non-mob related levels!

Nice try, Don Drucker

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 6:17 pm I don't know exactly how much props he gave Scorsese, compared to his praise of David Lynch and the influence of Twin Peaks on the show.

David Chase wrote:Goodfellas is the Quran for me.

The show was even ahead of its time with repping Kundun.

I'm with Scorsese in not being able to get into the show the way others have, though for entirely different reasons and I watched the whole thing. The common Sopranos vs. The Wire debate for Best Show Ever has always left me scratching my head at how they can even be comparable. Pine Barrens, though..

There are elements which turned me off, namely violence against women (troublesome for me in some of Scorsese's work too, I can't stand to watch it at all for personal reasons). And the pace could be unbearably slow at times. But there are moments and performances which I won't deny, as well as it's place in changing television dramas as we knew it. But it's a bit like The Beatles, in that I see it more as something which spawned even greater things. Bryan Cranston and Michael Chiklis saying without Tony Soprano their characters on their respective ground-breaking shows would not exist, when Gandolfini died, spoke volumes in that regard.

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 7:38 pm There are elements which turned me off, namely violence against women (troublesome for me in some of Scorsese's work too, I can't stand to watch it at all for personal reasons). And the pace could be unbearably slow at times. But there are moments and performances which I won't deny, as well as it's place in changing television dramas as we knew it. But it's a bit like The Beatles, in that I see it more as something which spawned even greater things. Bryan Cranston and Michael Chiklis saying without Tony Soprano their characters on their respective ground-breaking shows would not exist, when Gandolfini died, spoke volumes in that regard.

The Sopranos wasn't a favorite of mine either - too cartoonish for my tastes - but I never liked The Shield and Breaking Bad was too portentous for me. The Beatles? Along with the Velvet Underground, Dylan and James Brown, they're unimpeachable as the greatest, most influential artists of the '60s, I'm not going to knock them as being overrated.

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 7:38 pm Bryan Cranston and Michael Chiklis saying without Tony Soprano their characters on their respective ground-breaking shows would not exist, when Gandolfini died, spoke volumes in that regard.

Yeah I agree with its relevance, I just hear the argument of the show changing tv drama towards the second golden age of television as a go-to counterpoint for defenders so often, rather than delving into the merits of the show in response to any challenging, that I am puzzled at how that significance of influence in historical context relates to the quality of the content itself, especially measured up to other better shows that dropped around the same time.

I still like the show and won't argue that it has merit, but I'm just puzzled by the effusive levels of praise. However, if I watched it live when it first came out divorced from all the hype perhaps I'd have had a different experience and feelings towards it.

hearthesilence wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 7:46 pmThe Beatles? Along with the Velvet Underground, Dylan and James Brown, they're unimpeachable as the greatest, most influential artists of the '60s, I'm not going to knock them as being overrated.

I won't either, but I can't pretend some of their earlier records stand up on any even footing with their later work. The impact they had on the culture started to match musically with Rubber Soul, and growing further from there.

Getting back on topic, I don't think the show is overrated either, for reasons I stated. Anything else would be my own personal take on it, and violence towards women in gangster movies/TV shows particularly.

Count me in the "best show ever" camp. I've watched the entire series front to back probably five or six times including the original airings. The Beatles analogy is apt in the sense that they too did it first and better than anybody who came after. They both have certainly inspired greatness in others as well but nobody else had Lennon/McCartney or Christopher Moltisanti.

The mob stuff was always less interesting than the family drama, and the cultural references. For the later part alone, I miss that show.

I'd have loved it if the show had way more scenes of Tony and his crew in his office at the strip club. Even the mundane stuff was always attractive to my attention.