AVS Discussions
Movie and TV Discussion => New Movies => Topic started by: Barry on October 03, 2021, 04:41:09 PM
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We might be at the beginning of another golden age.
Most people don’t know that movies did not have First Amendment rights until 1951 so censorship from the states was rampant. Broadcast television had five sensors, The FCC, The National Association of Broadcasters; Sponsors, the Network and the local station. Syndicated television of the 1980s, including such shows as Baywatch and Star Trek TNG eliminated censorship from the last three. And shows were always limited to fit the one or two hours exactly
Basic cable was always careful not to provoke Congress into giving the FCC censorship powers over it but it did give us more adult content. On Broadcast TV went from the Untouchables in the 1950s, to Hill Street Blues in the 1980s and then NYPD Blue. These shows were always presented from the good guys point of view. And that brings us to the Sopranos on HBO in 1999.
The Sopranos was not the first show to incorporate adult themes such as violence, nudity, sex, harsh language, and so forth. But it was the first show to do it so well and to get a huge audience. It changed commercial television. And it did it by giving us the bad guys point of view. The Sopranos did not have the same amount of episodes every year and it even missed a couple of years and I didn’t have an exact time frame for each episode. It told the story whether it took 50 minutes or 70. And it didn’t have individual episodes it was one long story broken up into chapters. This show, and others like it on subscription cable seems to be the format of many of the shows on streaming television. But subscription TV, such as HBO MAX opens the door for direct purchases by people like us and ratings, length, time, just doesn’t matter anymore. And we’re seeing an awful lot. It’s probably true that movies will still open in movie theaters but we know now they will all come to streaming in a month or two.
Although the movie begins a bit earlier it is set mostly in 1967, The Many Saints of Newark, is a prequel to the Sopranos. Actually it’s a bit more or less than that. Although many of the famous soprano characters are featured as their younger selves they mostly have very little to do with the plot. Tony Soprano here is a minor supporting character. The purpose is for him to be an observer and see what is happening around him. And he is learning the ways of the mob. The mob here is in competition to the new mobs being created by the African-American community. The movie concentrates around the life of Dickie Moltisanti, Tony’s mentor and a rather heartless person. In fact most people here, many that you met on the Sopranos in the younger selves, our heartless and death and murder seems to be a common part of their lives. Of course what is interesting here is that Tony Soprano is played by Michael Gandolfini the son of the original Tony. It is a small part. The mobsters here don’t live in a grand style like they did in the Godfather. This movie is closer than to Goodfellas and also has in the starring role Ray Liotta from that movie. But Goodfellas, dealing in about the same time frame with the same type of people, is a much better movie. I do not think this movie will be of great interest to people who have not seen the Sopranos.
I give the movie 3/5 stars. I found it interesting but not terribly compelling. I saw it on HBO streaming on my Apple TV amp. As with all 4K pictures on these apps they are not as good as the discs. So I give the visual and audio 7/10. The more I think about it, the more I feel this is a TV movie Not one that I would run out to the theatre to see. I am interested in your opinions.
Video:
Controller McIntosh MX170
Amplifier (lt/rt) McIntosh MC1.25KW
Amplifier (center) McIntosh MC-611
Amplifier (5 channel) Krell S-1500
4K Disc Player Panasonic UB9000
CD/SACD Player Esoteric K-01XD
HDTV Cable Verizon
Streaming Video Apple TV
Speakers Revel Ultima Salon 2
Center Channel Revel Ultima Voice 2
Rear & Back Revel W 990
Atmos Ceiling (2) Revel C763L
Sub-Woofers SVS SB-13 Ultras
4K Video Projector JVC DLA-RS3000
Video Screen Stuart StudioTek 130
Wiring: Shunyata
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In case you think that Hollywood’s Hayes office, and the later motion Academy ratings were done for moral reasons this will advise you otherwise. This is about Hollywood and it’s always about money.
Before the Hayes office, states were allowed to set up their own censorship boards for movies. The Supreme Court had ruled that movies did not have First Amendment rights but they were business properties and therefore can be regulated by the state. Each state had its own rules and regulations and it often force the movie companies to make 10 or 15 different versions of the movies. This editing process cost a fortune. By setting up the Hayes office they were able to generally release one version of a movie and save a lot of money. This is a general statement orphaned southern movies would not allow scenes with black performers in them and they had to be edited out. This was even true as late as James Bond’s Live and Let Die.
Of course everything changes and in 1952 the Supreme Court ruled that movies did have First Amendment rights. It took a decade but Hollywood then established their rating system. Primarily though, it was still so they could only produce one movie and not edit it for each state.