Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek 06.24.09: The Sopranos - Got Yourself a Movie
Posted by Jordan Bruns on 06.24.2009
How would one of television's most popular and innovative shows work as a movie trilogy? Here is m hypothesis...
Welcome to this week's Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek! Sometimes I get really bizarre ideas and want to share them with people. I generally get two reactions. My ideas either fill them with hope, or I'm asked to leave the party...
Well, this week, one of my bizarre ideas is going to see the light of day here on 411. I'm not a huge fan of modern television, and will freely admit that. Still, I admit though, that some TV shows have hooked me from the beginning, and I can't help but wonder. What if some of my favorite shows became movies... or better yet, I'll pretend that they are movies so I don't have to deal with such trivial details as who would play who in the film adaptation.
I've always been a huge fan of The Sopranos, and one of the things I love about it is it's a TV show that unfolds in a very cinematic fashion. Every episode is like its own little movie... sometimes I wonder whatThe Sopranos would be like as a movie. For the sake of argument and fantasy, here are my thoughts...
My Mad Ramblings
It was one of the most groundbreaking shows on television, and it's popularity brought HBO legions of new subscribers as well as its place as a network with formidable TV programming. There has long been talk of a Sopranos movie, either a prequel or an epilogue that ties up all the loose ends. Well, the thing is, David Chase doesn't like to tie up loose ends, so I doubt we'll ever see that one. And it just wouldn't work as a prequel. So I doubt a feature film based on TV's version of the Corleones would work very well. What a lot of people don't know, however, is that David Chase originally conceived The Sopranos as a feature film.
In hindsight, it's hard to imagine how he would have been able to condense 86 hours of television into a two-hour feature, but let's imagine, if you would, The Sopranos as a movie trilogy. Obviously, a number of subplots and storylines would have to be omitted, and certain creative licenses would have to be taken, so as a movie trilogy, The Sopranos would not be what it was as a television show- it would have to be much more fast-paced, and more focused on the underworld themes, and the brutal, realistic violence would no doubt be more cartoonish on film, unless it was handled by someone like Martin Scorsese. But Scorsese likely wouldn't take on the project. Then again, this whole idea is strictly hypothetical, isn't it?
The Sopranos isn't a movie. There's no way a movie, or even a series of movies, in this particular hypothetical, could accurately re-produce the story that unfolded over the course of six and a half seasons. However, should someone undertake the bold yet seemingly disastrous task of turning an iconic TV series into a movie trilogy, this would be the best way to go about it.
The first film would consist of the major storylines from Seasons 1 and 2 and, although condensed, would be able to maintain many of the same plotlines. The first act would introduce Tony Soprano, his anxiety and depression, his mommy issues, and most of the other chief characters. The second act would deal with deal with Uncle Junior and mother Livia's scheming and attempted assassination of Tony, and the film would climax with Tony seeking retribution against his enemies and stripping his uncle of all his power and influence. It would end with Tony officially being sworn in as the new boss of the DiMeo Crime Family, which would henceforth be known as the Soprano Family. At the very end, Livia dies, and Tony is secretly relieved to be rid of an uncaring mother who longed for his demise.
The second movie would deal mostly with the events of seasons 3 through 5, though certain elements would have to be contained. Therefore, the first act would see the rise of Christopher in the ranks of the family, his struggle with addiction, the disintegration of Tony and Carmela's marriage, and the beginnings of the Adriana/FBI storyline. In the second act Christopher would be shipped off to rehab as Tony is kicked out of the house, and in the end Adriana would meet her death via Silvio Dante, Christopher would be clean and seemingly ready to assume his role as heir apparent, Tony and Carmela would reconcile, and Johnny Sack would go directly to jail without passing "Go!" or collecting 200 dollars. Of course, the ending would be a cliff-hanger that invoked Tony's near-fatal shooting at the hands of his demented Uncle.
The third and final film in the trilogy would rightfully deal with the events of Season 6, where everything goes to hell for Soprano and co. Christopher's conflicting agenda and relapse into drugs would force Tony to make a fateful decision regarding his beloved nephew, and Tony himself would have to deal with a severely weakened family thanks to Phil Leotardo's plan to "decapitate" the Sopranos, a plan which leaves one of Tony's top guys dead and another in a coma from which he is not expected to emerge. But no matter what happens, Tony does not get shot in the final scene- although David Chase's ambiguous ending would leave little to be desired for a movie audience. Therefore, I propose this for the new and improved final scene... Tony sits outside Satriale's with Paulie, newly named Capo of the "cursed" Aprile Crew. Christopher's dead. Bobby Bacala is dead. Silvio's a vegetable. Dr. Melfi has written Tony off. Uncle Junior is a senile old man living in a nursing home... things are looking bleak. Tony sighs to himself as he realizes that grumpy, angry, treacherous Paulie is all that he has left from his glory days as the king of North Jersey.
That's it for this week's Mad Ramblings. I welcome comments and feedback. Until next time...
