|
from: Hbo Home Video
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780783115702
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
ISBN: 0783115709
Label: Hbo Home Video
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
Number Of Items: 5
Publisher: Hbo Home Video
Release Date: December 12, 2000
Running Time: 680 minutes
Sales Rank: 4980
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1999
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
The Sopranos, writer-producer-director David Chase's extraordinary television series, is nominally an urban gangster drama, but its true impact strikes closer to home: Like 1999's other screen touchstone, American Beauty, the HBO series chronicles a dysfunctional, suburban American family in bold relief. And for protagonist Tony Soprano, there's the added complexity posed by heading twin families, his collegial mob clan and his own, nouveau riche brood.
The series' brilliant first season is built around what Tony learns when, whipsawed between those two worlds, he finds himself plunged into depression and seeks psychotherapy--a gesture at odds with his midlevel capo's machismo, yet instantly recognizable as a modern emotional test. With analysis built into the very spine of the show's elaborate episodic structure, creator Chase and his formidable corps of directors, writers, and actors weave an unpredictable series of parallel and intersecting plot arcs that twist from tragedy to farce to social realism. While creating for a smaller screen, they enjoy a far larger canvas than a single movie would afford, and the results, like the very best episodic television, attain a richness and scope far closer to a novel than movies normally get.
Unlike Francis Coppola's operatic dramatization of Mario Puzo's Godfather epic, The Sopranos sustains a poignant, even mundane intimacy in its focus on Tony, brought to vivid life by James Gandolfini's mercurial performance. Alternately seductive, exasperated, fearful, and murderous, Gandolfini is utterly convincing even when executing brutal shifts between domestic comedy and dramatic violence. Both he and the superb team of Italian-American actors recruited as his loyal (and, sometimes, not-so-loyal) henchmen and their various 'associates' make this mob as credible as the evocative Bronx and New Jersey locations where the episodes were filmed.
The first season's other life force is Livia Soprano, Tony's monstrous, meddlesome mother. As Livia, the late Nancy Marchand eclipses her long career of patrician performances to create an indelibly earthy, calculating matriarch who shakes up both families; Livia also serves as foil and rival to Tony's loyal, usually level-headed wife, Carmela (Edie Falco). Lorraine Bracco makes Tony's therapist, Dr. Melfi, a convincing confidante, by turns 'professional,' perceptive, and sexy; the duo's therapeutic relationship is also depicted with uncommon accuracy. Such grace notes only enrich what's not merely an aesthetic high point for commercial television, but an absorbing film masterwork that deepens with subsequent screenings. --Sam Sutherland
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
I was converted to the Sopranos over a rainy summer vacation in Summerside, PEI. A&E was airing the show at 10:00 am Atlantic time. I was drawn into the story lines about Adriana LaCerva and Meadow Soprano, and Anthony Jr., to a lesser extent. I think that's because I work in a high school, so I would want to see how Meadow's and Anthony Jr's teen lives were portrayed. I'm 29, so I am attracted to Adriana's fancy clothes and accessories. As soon as we got home, one week later, I rented the entire ... Read More
Rating:  -
I have watched this over and over again with the same enjoyment that I experienced about 8 years ago when watching it on HBO. And if you are a huge fan of the Sopranos, just like I am, you will also want to get a copy of this. I am a student of Spanish so I also enjoy watching this DVD in Spanish. I noticed that the audio is also dubbed in French so if you are studying French and you are a Sopranos fan, then you will definitely want to invest in this.
Rating: -
The Sopranos Season 1 was the very beginning of the what was to become an icon, larger than life. In Season 1, like many series, the writers were finding their groove and the cast was working out their characters. A lot of what goes on or begins in season 1 storyline-wise, character-wise, plays a large part seasons to come. Sort of the beginning of a croched blanket.
If you are new to the Sopranos, I HIGHLY recommend it. Season 1 is a little slower going, but even with the quirks, ... Read More
Rating: -
Its the sopranos, its #1, its perfect. Amazon is the only place to get a good deal on it.
Rating: -
First, let me say that I'm an avid Sopranos fan. I put the first-season DVD on my Amazon wish list and was thrilled when I was given it as a gift. I have a hearing problem and always use closed captioning while watching TV and videos. I have been disappointed to find that some DVDs that list CC don't actually have it. Unfortunately, The Sopranos: First Season is one of them. Yes, I do know how to use the DVD menu to select closed-captioning, but the only options listed are for quality of sound ... Read More
Browse for similar items by category:
|
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces
