Actually watched 'The Sopranos' for the first time just before the final season was about to end, when at the age where watching 15 plus certificate films and shows was allowed. It left a big impression on me even then, back when my knowledge of film and such was actually pretty limited (am still learning). Especially for the very much missed James Gandolfini, the unyielding storytelling (if by late teens standard a little too much at times) and the complexity of the writing.
'The Sopranos' is often on lists of the greatest shows ever made and one of the few to be near-universally acclaimed everywhere, and it is a distinction that is richly deserved. It really is that masterful and it not only is every bit as wonderful as remembered but also even better, due to understanding more of the material and themes and appreciating uncompromising approaches to tough subjects a lot more. Watching 'The Sopranos' feels so much more than watching a television show, it's like watching an epic grand opera and there is really not much to add to what has already been said.
Gandolfini plays an enormous part in what makes 'The Sopranos' so brilliant. He is absolutely masterful as one of the most iconic and most complex TV characters to have ever existed, full of chilling intensity but also equally powerful nuance. All the cast are fabulous in their fascinatingly written, compellingly real roles as well, coming over as real people with strengths and flaws and not caricatures. The chemistry scintillates throughout between the whole cast, every emotion in all the universal and relatable issues covered embodied.
Writing is also of exceptionally high quality, very hard boiled with a lot of gritty edge but with enough subtlety to avoid heavy handedness. It never felt soap operatic or heavy in melodrama, and the crackling energy of it and the amount of thought probing and emotional complexity there is is non stop. The storytelling is consistently transfixing in one of the few shows to exist to not have a bad season or an episode that disgraces the show, faltering only a little with the abrupt feeling latter stages of the final episode which was not enough to ruin what was absolute perfection up to then. The atmosphere never holds back and hits hard while not being in your face or gratuitous, nothing feels glamourised or sugar-coated.
Production values are tremendously stylish and cinematic worthy, while the music fits beautifully throughout. Direction is pacey and tight, while sympathetic enough in more intimate parts.
Summing up, one of the greatest shows ever made and a work of art. One of the easiest 10/10s given so far this year.
'The Sopranos' is often on lists of the greatest shows ever made and one of the few to be near-universally acclaimed everywhere, and it is a distinction that is richly deserved. It really is that masterful and it not only is every bit as wonderful as remembered but also even better, due to understanding more of the material and themes and appreciating uncompromising approaches to tough subjects a lot more. Watching 'The Sopranos' feels so much more than watching a television show, it's like watching an epic grand opera and there is really not much to add to what has already been said.
Gandolfini plays an enormous part in what makes 'The Sopranos' so brilliant. He is absolutely masterful as one of the most iconic and most complex TV characters to have ever existed, full of chilling intensity but also equally powerful nuance. All the cast are fabulous in their fascinatingly written, compellingly real roles as well, coming over as real people with strengths and flaws and not caricatures. The chemistry scintillates throughout between the whole cast, every emotion in all the universal and relatable issues covered embodied.
Writing is also of exceptionally high quality, very hard boiled with a lot of gritty edge but with enough subtlety to avoid heavy handedness. It never felt soap operatic or heavy in melodrama, and the crackling energy of it and the amount of thought probing and emotional complexity there is is non stop. The storytelling is consistently transfixing in one of the few shows to exist to not have a bad season or an episode that disgraces the show, faltering only a little with the abrupt feeling latter stages of the final episode which was not enough to ruin what was absolute perfection up to then. The atmosphere never holds back and hits hard while not being in your face or gratuitous, nothing feels glamourised or sugar-coated.
Production values are tremendously stylish and cinematic worthy, while the music fits beautifully throughout. Direction is pacey and tight, while sympathetic enough in more intimate parts.
Summing up, one of the greatest shows ever made and a work of art. One of the easiest 10/10s given so far this year.