{"id":8307,"date":"2014-10-23T15:20:49","date_gmt":"2014-10-23T22:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=8307"},"modified":"2022-01-02T22:14:47","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T06:14:47","slug":"review-sopranos-series-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2014\/10\/review-sopranos-series-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sopranos: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u201cThe Sopranos\u201d <\/strong>is clearly one of the best television series ever created and throughout its 6 (and a half) seasons, it maintained quality through direction, writing and especially the acting both by not only James Gandolfini but Edie Falco as well. This \u201cComplete Series\u201d set is thankfully well put together as most of the features have been ported over.<\/p>\n

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“The Sopranos”: The Complete Series<\/span>
\n(1999-2007)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Crime, Drama
\nWarner Home Video | TVMA \u2013 4980 min. \u2013 $279.98 | November 4, 2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n <\/b>MOVIE INFO:<\/span>
\nDirected by: <\/strong>Various
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>David Chase (created by)
\nCast: <\/strong>James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Dominic Chianese, Steven Van Zandt, Tony Sirico, Robert Iler, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Aida Turturro, Drea de Matteo<\/p>\n
\n

DISC INFO:<\/span>
\nFeatures: <\/strong>Episode Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Digital Copy
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>28<\/p>\n

\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (DTS 2.0), German (DTS 2.0), Spanish (DTS 2.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.78
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Latin, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>Various
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE SERIES<\/strong> \u2013 5.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Note: <\/strong>This isn\u2019t going to be a normal review, considering the numerous write-ups, and also to keep this review within a reasonable length, of this show, I\u2019m just going to touch base on my thoughts of the series on the whole rather than running down season by season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sopranos\u201d<\/strong> not only is one of the best shows ever made but it also transformed pay cable television leading the way to other series like \u201cDeadwood\u201d and \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d to name a couple.<\/p>\n

From season to season, the quality of work rarely faltered and while there were a couple so-so episodes, including the controversial series finale, \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d<\/strong> for the most part could be relied upon for solid entertainment not to mention top notch performances headlined by the late and great James Gandolfini, built and born for the role of Tony Soprano and his quirks and intricacies. Not to be outdone, Edie Falco is fantastic as the, to an extent, dutiful wife who probably took the largest strides in the series, finding an inner strength missing early on. Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Melfi works so well opposite Gandolfini while Tony Sirico, who I think is\/was a real-life mob guy, is mesmerizing, in a terrifying kind of way, in each scene he\u2019s in.<\/p>\n

Also have to add kudos to some of the minor regulars from Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Tony\u2019s tenacious daughter, Robert Iler as his wayward son and the rest of his crew from Michael Imperioli to Steven Van Zandt, not to mention Tony\u2019s extended family which, in the case of Janice as played by Aida Turturro, is just as messed up as the mob boss.<\/p>\n

Here are the season breakdowns (synopses from the back covers):<\/p>\n

Season 1:
\n<\/strong>Meet Tony Soprano: your average, middle-aged businessman. Tony\u2019s got a dutiful wife. A not-so-dutiful daughter. A son named Anthony Jr. A mother he\u2019s trying to coax into a retirement home. A hotheaded uncle. A not-too-secret mistress. And a shrink to tell all his secrets, except the one she already knows: Tony\u2019s a mob boss.<\/p>\n

Season 2:
\n<\/strong>For Tony Soprano, there\u2019s no such thing as business as usual. Balancing the demands of his immediate family with the demands of his other family \u2013 Paulie Walnuts, Silvio Dante and Big Pussy Bonpensiero \u2013 means walking a tightrope no self-respecting mobster should have to walk. With his mother and uncle plotting against him, his older sister Janice wreaking her own special kind of havoc, and the very real threat that one of his closest allies is wired by the FBI, Tony needs the support of his psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, more than ever.<\/p>\n

Season 3:
\n<\/strong>Some suburban households have two cars. Some have two homes. But Tony Soprano has two families. This could be why the FBI is going to such lengths to wiretap his home. Why the son of his dear late friend Jackie Aprile is causing him such agita. Why a Russian housekeeper is searching for her missing leg. Why his son is vandalizing school property and his daughter is getting her heart broken. Why his wife is both consulting a psychiatrist and confessing to a priest. And it\u2019s also why Tony is still seeing Dr. Melfi for his anxiety attacks. It isn\u2019t easy heading up the mob in New Jersey. But that\u2019s what puts dinner on the table for the two families of Tony Soprano.<\/p>\n

Season 4:
\n<\/strong>It\u2019s tough times in Jersey for Tony Soprano. The sluggish economy hasn\u2019t been good for the family business. Carmela is angling for more financial security. Some longtime lieutenants aren\u2019t happy with Tony\u2019s recent decisions. A rival boss wants a bigger piece of the suburban pie. A Soprano is actually heading to trial for the first time in decades. At least one child seems to have lost interest in higher education. And the ducks aren\u2019t coming back anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Season 5:
\n<\/strong>His separation hasn\u2019t been working out. His nephew\u2019s fianc\u00e9e has become a distraction. His paroled cousin is giving off bad vibes. His business rival is looking for payback. His therapist isn\u2019t buying into the \u201cTwo Tonys.\u201d It\u2019s enough to send any mob boss over the edge.<\/p>\n

Season 6, Part 1
\n<\/strong>New challenges abound for Tony Soprano as his life grows increasingly complicated. Now that he and Carmela are back together, they must face the reality that their kids are no longer children, but not yet grown. And with Johnny Sack in prison, the always-tense relations between the New Jersey and New York families are strained even further.<\/p>\n

Season 6, Part 2
\n<\/strong>In the final nine episodes of the series, Tony continues to muse about his second chance at life while facing a myriad of immediate, stress-inducing crises at home, at work and from the law. Caremela, AJ and Meadow each make choices that promise to change the face of the Sopranos\u2019 domestic life. Meanwhile, at work, Tony comes to doubt the allegiances of many of those closest to him. No one \u2013 not Paulie, Bobby Bacala, Silvio or even Christopher \u2013 is above suspicion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This large, 5-pound, box set has each season, including the two-part sixth season, housed in HD Keep Cases with the bonus disc in an HD slim case on its own. Each season set slides into a sturdy cardboard box over which a thinner cover slides over.<\/p>\n

Season One \u2014 3.0\/5
\nAudio Commentary<\/span><\/strong> with \u2018The Sopranos\u2019 with creator\/writer\/director David Chase and filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich<\/p>\n

David Chase Interviewed by Peter Bogdanovich (1:17:34; SD)<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Chase chats, at length, about the series about everything from the opening title sequence to casting, locales and such.<\/p>\n

Family Life (4:11; SD)<\/strong> and Meet Tony Soprano (3:32; SD)<\/strong><\/span> are old promotional featurettes with archival on-set interviews.<\/p>\n

Season Two \u2014 2.0\/5
\nAudio Commentaries<\/span><\/strong> on \u2018Commendator\u2019 with Episode Director Tim Van Patten, \u2018From Where to Eternity\u2019 with Episode Director Henry J. Bronchtein and Producer Ilene Landress, \u2018The Knight in White Satin Armor\u2019 with Director Allen Coulter and Landress, and \u2018Funhouse\u2019 with Director John Patterson<\/p>\n

The Real Deal (4:54; SD)<\/strong><\/span> looks at how close the show comes to real life wise guys with interviews by authors and others.<\/p>\n

A Sit Down with The Sopranos (14:11; SD)<\/strong><\/span> is a selection of interviews with the cast about their characters and the series.<\/p>\n

Season Three \u2014 2.0\/5
\nAudio Commentaries<\/span><\/strong> on \u2018The Telltale Moozadell\u2019 by Writer\/Actor Michael Imperioli, \u2018Pine Barrens\u2019 with Director Steve Buscemi and \u2018Amour Fou\u2019 with Creator David Chase<\/p>\n

Behind the Scenes Featurette (3:50; SD)<\/strong><\/span> is a short production featurette containing on-set interviews by the cast and crew.<\/p>\n

Season Four \u2014 1.5\/5
\nAudio Commentaries<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 \u2018The Weight\u2019 with Writer Terence Winter, \u2018Everybody Hurts\u2019 by Writer\/Actor Michael Imperioli, \u2018Whoever Did This\u2019 with Writers Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess and \u2018Whitecaps\u2019 with Creator David Chase<\/p>\n

Season Five \u2014 1.5\/5
\nAudio Commentaries<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 \u2018All Happy Families…\u2019 with Director Rodrigo Garcia, \u2018Sentimental Education\u2019 by Director Peter Bogdanovich, \u2018In Camelot\u2019 by Director Steve Buscemi, \u2018Cold Cuts\u2019 with Director Mike Figgis and \u2018Long Term Parking\u2019 by Actress Drea De Matteo<\/p>\n

Season Six, Part 1<\/strong> \u2014 1.5\/5
\nAudio Commentaries<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Join the Club\u2019 with Cast Members Edie Falco, Robert Iler and Jamie-Lynn Sigler, \u2018Luxury Lounge\u2019 by Writer Matthew Weiner, \u2018The Ride\u2019 featuring Writer Terence Winter & Actors Michael Imperioli and Tony Sirico, and \u2018Kaisha\u2019 with Creator David Chase<\/p>\n

Season Six, Part 2 \u2014 2.0\/5
\nAudio Commentaries<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Soprano Home Movies\u2019 with Actor Steven R. Schirripa, \u2018Remember When\u2019 by Actor Dominic Chianese, \u2018The Second Coming\u2019 by Actor Robert Iler and \u2018The Blue Comet\u2019 with Actors Stevie Van Zandt & Arthur Nascarella<\/p>\n

Making Cleaver<\/em> (8:24; HD)<\/strong><\/span> goes behind-the-scenes of making the movie-within-the-show.<\/p>\n

The Music of \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d (16:32; HD)<\/strong><\/span> has Davis Chase and others discuss the music on the show.<\/p>\n

Bonus Disc \u2014 5.0\/5
\nDefining a Television Landmark (45:32; HD)<\/span><\/strong> explores how \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d came to be and how it transformed the television landscape. It includes new interviews with cast, crew, celebrities, filmmakers, critics and academics, as well as archival footage.<\/p>\n

Supper with \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d: Part I and II (1:14:59; HD)<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Sit down with creator David Chase and the cast and crew as they discuss their collective experiences on the series, and the scenes that had everyone talking. This was very enjoyable and in the style of the old series, \u201cDinner with Friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lost Scenes (21:42)<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Here we get scenes from all six seasons.<\/p>\n

Two-Part Interview with David Chase (43:21; HD)<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Hosted by Alec Baldwin, David Chase once again discusses the groundbreaking series.<\/p>\n

Digital Copy<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 Inside the bonus features case is a redemption code for the entire series.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

VIDEO \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Each season of \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d<\/strong> arrives on Blu-ray, with seasons 2-5 for the first time, presented in its original broadcast 1.78 aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. For the most part, the series does look good, although the first season has a darker setting doesn\u2019t often look amazing and even oversaturated, and I suspect even some edge enhancement was used (for season one) but during the daylight scenes at least, colors are bright and well balanced. The remainder seasons tend to look better though still not perfect. I also noticed that there were some minor dust marks that would crop up from time to time, but nothing distracting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

AUDIO \u2013 4.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Every episode gets a nice, though not altogether perfect, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Where this lossless track succeeds is with the music\/soundtrack as well as dialogue levels which mostly come through the center and front speakers however it seems the rear speakers, although gets some usage for ambient noises, is fairly low key. These are still relatively dynamic tracks, especially which each additional season, and certainly an upgrade over the DVD releases.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

OVERALL \u2013 4.75\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d <\/strong>is clearly one of the best television series ever created and throughout its 6 (and a half) seasons, it maintained quality through direction, writing and especially the acting both by not only James Gandolfini but Edie Falco as well. This \u201cComplete Series\u201d set is thankfully well put together as most of the features have been ported over and includes 3 hours of bonus material never released before. That, along with the solid transfers, makes this a fine pick-up, although the price is steep so not as easy of a decision especially for those who already own the DVDs…<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Movieman
\n<\/em>Published: <\/strong>10\/23\/2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Sopranos\u201d is clearly one of the best television series ever created and throughout its 6 (and a half) seasons, it maintained quality through direction, writing and especially the acting both by not only James Gandolfini but Edie Falco as well. This \u201cComplete Series\u201d set is thankfully well put together as most of the features … Continue reading “The Sopranos: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[3259,3254,3260,3252,15,3258,2148,3253,3257,3251,3255,3256],"class_list":["post-8307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","tag-aida-turturro","tag-dominic-chianese","tag-drea-de-matteo","tag-edie-falco","tag-james-gandolfini","tag-jamie-lynn-sigler","tag-lorraine-bracco","tag-michael-imperioli","tag-robert-iler","tag-sopranos","tag-steven-van-zandt","tag-tony-sirico"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8307"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28003,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8307\/revisions\/28003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}