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The Sopranos - The Complete First Season

The Sopranos - The Complete First Season

List Price: $99.98
Your Price: $74.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greatness
Review: This set is a must have for anyone who is into the Ganster genre. It's not your typical mob series or movie however. It just has it's own flavor and modern twists.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Yet another minstrel show
Review: No other ethnic group has to endure the type of exaggerated negative stereotypes such as those in the Sopranos. Hollywood makes tons of money doing this so it doesn't matter to them if the actual humans who belong to this group are mistreated in real life. Can you think of ANY positive portrayal of Italians by Hollywood? Would you also buy something named "Spear chucker and the Jigaboos"?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's about time......
Review: Overall, its great.The setting, atmosphere, is astounding. The production is amazing. I personally think Sopranos blows Goodfellas, The Last Don, Gotti, and Godfather out of the water. I mean, dont get me wrong, but at 15, I can totally relate to the sopranos much more than the classics. I waited for the day for this to come out of video and my dream has come true.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sopranos Rocks
Review: Someday, The Sopranos will replace air as the most important element to live. If I had a choice between knowing everything in one blinding flash of light, or watching an episode of The Sapranos, I would think about it for a minute and then watch Sopranos

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The show that made me stop watching TV...
Review: Well, that's not entirely true: I have pretty much stopped watching television and no longer get cable (which has made for a very peaceful election and post-election BTW), but it wasn't entirely due to the "The Sopranos". The show did have something to do with my decision, however, because it made me realize just how good television could potentially be (and, by contrast, just how bad and how distressingly formulaic it usually is).

"The Sopranos" is an almost startlingly original show. By now, those who do not receive HBO have at least read/heard enough about the program to have an inkling as to why it's been hailed as such a breakthrough. It does have something to do with the relatively free rein provided writer/producer David Chase by the cable network. On the other hand, the HBO imprimatur is no guarantee of quality (look at the lurid, sensationalistic, and--I admit--compellingly bad "Oz" by way of contrast). Credit has to go to Chase and co. for having come up with something quite special. It goes beyond the originality of the premise--that a Mafia Don can be as vulnerable and as screwed up as the rest of us. That same conceit was the core of the film "Analyze This" and wasn't nearly as well realized.

I think the show's success had as much to do with its authentic characters and locales (not much glamorization, going on here: Tony Soprano may be successful but he's not really big time) and its acknowledgement of moral ambiguity (personified by wife Carmela's perpetual ambivalence as well as Tony's own occasional misgivings). And of course, there's the witty dialog, the perfect casting and the aura of intelligence that the show radiates. Come to think of it, it was the best thing to hit ANY screen (large or small) in 1999.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gandolfini The God
Review: This is the best gangster series to ever hit the screen. I would rate this series alongside the godfathers movies amazing. James Gandolfini is pure brilliance as Tony soprano.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Manages to live up to its hype
Review: For thirteen straight nights in September of 2000, Canadian viewers were treated to nightly, uncut and uncensored installments of "The Sopranos" on free, network television. It was the perfect introduction.

After hearing much hype about this show, I was very intrigued to see what all the fuss was about. After the first episode, however, I felt ripped off. The characters came off as two-dimensional, cliched "goombah" types. Furthermore, their insistence on constantly referring to the great gangster films of Francis Ford Coppolla and Martin Scorcese only underscored this lack of reality. But after viewing a couple more episodes, it hit me: that's the point! These characters aren't old school, authentic Mafioso. They are most definitely contemporary. Post-modern mobsters, if you will. They know every line of Godfather I & II (but of course not III), and allow it to seep into their everyday speech. They are very media savvy. Notice that whenever something newsworthy happens to the 'family' (e.g., Jackie's death; the failed hit on Tony), they find out about it on the 6 o'clock news.

The self-examination theme is stretched even further, with Tony's relationship with Dr. Melfi. The mobster-sees-shrink idea, which was beaten to death in "Analyze This", is actually quite effective here. How does Tony talk about his personal life without endangering the doctor? How does he hide his "weakness" from his mob family? How does he deal with his depression, insomnia, and impotence, in a world where strength is mandatory? Well, needless to say that no easy answers are offered. A refreshing change, that.

Tony Soprano is one of those characters that could easily degenerate into a collection of cliches. But the show's superb writing and the great acting of James Gandolfini never let this happen. Tony exists in the eye of a very powerful hurricane, where the swirling winds threaten to carry him away at any moment. His wife is conflicted about the job his kids are just beginning to find out about; the conflicts between members of his crew are constantly dropped in his lap; and worst of all, his senile mother may or may not be what she appears to be. Gandolfini manages to convincingly play all sides of this complex man, with humour, charisma, and when he needs it, incredible power.

Other standout actors include Dominic Chianese as 'Uncle Junior', the old school gangster with his first taste of power; Michael Imperioli as the confidant and aggressive up-and-comer 'Christopher Moltisanti' ("He'll even be buried in his track suit"); and Nancy Marchand as the matriarchal 'Livia Soprano'. Livia is an interesting character, in that it took me the full first season to fully grasp that her character wasn't some wishy-washy old lady, but actually quite calculating. Or was she? I guess that's a question the second season should answer (I hope we get to see here).

Some of the acting, however, is not quite up to snuff. Little Steven Van Zandt is a collection of annoying tics in his first acting role, Edie Falco gave a much more interesting performance when she was on 'Oz' (although I do see much room for her fed-up housewife to grow), and Lorraine Bracco's 'Dr. Melfi' is, for the most part, just plain boring. She spouts Freudian psycho-pabulum as if it were the gospel. She even manages an emotionless veneer when confronted with danger. Her saving grace (for the viewer and for Tony) is that she looks good in short skirts.

But these are all minor complaints. Overall, the show just kept getting better and better, from episode 1 to episode 13, as the characters became more fleshed out and the dramatic tension increased. Finally, an instance where massive hype yields a rewarding result.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Marone---When do we get season two?
Review: I wrote HBO a few months ago about releasing The Sopranos on DVD. Thank God they listened to me. You can all thank me later. The Sopranos on DVD is the best news since forever.--- Please pray for the souls of Ritchie Aprile and Big Pussy. I thank you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellant
Review: The Sopranos is by far the best programme to have ever been shown on Television. Buying this set will be the best use of money known to man. At first i tried not to buy it, but it pulled me back in.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is without a doubt the best TV show ever! A can't miss!
Review: This is the only show to truly balance drama and comedy in true poetic form. The Sopranos is so profound, especially with the brauvura performances by James Gandolfini and TV veteran, Nancy Marchand.


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