American television has always been famous for its high-quality television series, shot on a variety of topics. In particular, already in the 90s, their level was not much different from art cinema. And the reason for this was solid funding from large television channels that were not afraid to invest large sums of money in the production of series. And one of the most iconic television projects of those years, undoubtedly, is the "Soprano Clan".
This cult series was filmed in the genre of crime drama. It dealt with modern mafia groups. It is noteworthy that by that time period this genre was going through far from the best of times. Of the really high-quality projects of such a plan, it was possible to single out only the “Bronx story”, “Carlito's Way” and the third part of the great Godfather franchise. So the "Soprano Clan" became a kind of breath of fresh air for this genre, which had time to pretty much fed up many viewers. And the main reason for the success of the series was the presence of such a colorful character as Tony. It was he who fell in love with millions of viewers around the world and became one of the most recognizable anti-heroes in the history of television. Next, we will talk in detail about this fictitious criminal. You can learn a lot of new facts about his biography, and you can also better understand the character of the protagonist of the series "Clan Soprano" - Tony.
The plot of the series "Clan Soprano"
But first of all, it makes sense to briefly recall the plot of the film about Tony Soprano. Events unfold in North Jersey. It was there that a large and influential criminal group settled, whose leader at the moment is a man named Tony Soprano. By nature, he is quite cruel and quick-tempered. It is for this reason that no one runs the risk of crossing his path. He firmly holds the family "business" in his hands, having subordinate to the most devoted gangsters who are ready to carry out any of his orders.
Tony Soprano also tries to do everything possible to give his family everything that is needed. In particular, he keeps children as far away from criminal showdowns and pays for their education. He also has a beloved wife, from time to time with whom Tony has conflicts. But soon the situation worsened. And the reason for this was unexpected panic attacks that began to prevail against a seasoned gangster. And to understand everything that is happening, he begins to secretly visit a psychotherapist, sharing with him all his experiences. But can a simple doctor help Tony overcome the crisis and return to a normal life? And what will happen if someone from his criminal circle finds out that the mafia leader is visiting the “brainwave”? Ahead of the main character will be waiting for numerous criminal showdowns, as well as problems in his personal life, which will not be easy to solve.
Lead actor
The role of Tony Soprano was played by actor James Gandolfini. For him, participation in the series "Clan Soprano" became the pinnacle of his career. It was because of this role that he, until the end of his life, became a hostage to one single image, failing to fully reveal his creative potential. Like many other cast members, James was of Italian-American descent. It also became an advantage for him during the casting. The producers decided to invite the actor to audition after seeing his episodic role in the popular crime thriller "True Love", shot according to the script of the notorious Quentin Tarantino. As a result, Gandolfini amazed the producers with his acting and immediately received the coveted role of Tony Soprano. To better match with his character, James was forced to gain an extra 12 kilograms.
Prior to this, the actor played mainly small roles that did not allow him to fully demonstrate all his talent. However, after the “Soprano Clan,” James still managed to take his place in Hollywood. In particular, in the same year, with his participation, the famous film "8 millimeters" was released, in which Nicholas Cage, incredibly popular in those years, also starred. This was followed by a successful Mexican, in which James Gandolfini had a chance to share the screen with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. No less successful for him was the appearance in the neo-noir of the Cohen brothers "A man who was not there." However, after that, his career in feature films quickly declined. Among the more or less successful works, one can only highlight the criminal films “Dangerous Passengers of Train 123” and “Casino Robbery”. The actor managed to try his strength in a new role only in 2014. It was then that he played a major role in the dramatic film "Enough Words". She was well received by both critics and viewers. That's just to live up to the premiere of James Gandolfini was not destined. On June 19, 2013, the actor died in a hospital from cardiac arrest.
Tony's biography
Next, we propose to talk in detail about the biography of the character Tony Soprano, which turned out to be no less fascinating and worthy of attention. From the series, we find out that in the 60s little Tony lived with his sisters Janice and Barbara in Newark. Mother and father also lived with them. Even then, the head of the family was engaged in far from the most legal activity, occupying a prominent place in criminal circles. All this allowed the family to live in abundance. However, Tony repeatedly witnessed a showdown. This is what played a key role in the formation of his personality.
Tony Soprano (the series also contains shots from the childhood of the hero) went to school with Artie Bucco and David Scatino. In the future, they will remain his good friends, although they will not deal with the underworld. Together, friends had to go through many not-so-pleasant tests that only strengthened their trust in each other. In high school, the protagonist also gets acquainted with Carmella, who later became his wife. Shortly after graduation, Tony tried to go to college and graduate. The future criminal only lasted there for only a few months. After that, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and put together his own group, which included people like Silvio Dante and Ralph Sifaretto. In the future, the first will become for Tony one of the most faithful helpers and with his right hand. Tony's mentor was his father. However, in 1986 he died of an illness. So this post passed to Uncle Junior, who for many years was one of the key figures in the "family".
Initially, Tony Soprano (the series "The Sopranos") was an ordinary six and tried to do everything possible to gain confidence from other members of the criminal gang. Years later, he nevertheless achieves respect and takes the place of his uncle Junior, who has fairly passed because of his age and illnesses. The team of Tony Soprano included such colorful and charismatic personalities as Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bompansiero, Polly Galtieri and the aforementioned Silvio Dante. For many years, the "family" under the leadership of Tony occupied a prominent place in Jersey and quite peacefully coexisted with other "families". But, as you know, sooner or later between the mafia begins the division of power and the struggle for territory. So the members of the Soprano team repeatedly had to risk their lives and kill competitors in the most cruel ways.
Tony's family life
As mentioned above, Tony met his wife Carmella while still a schoolboy. They fell in love with each other almost immediately, as a result, she became his faithful wife. Years later, Tony Soprano bought a house for himself (address: 633 Stag Trail Road, North Caldwell, New Jersey ). He chose housing, located away from noisy streets and prying eyes. By the beginning of the first season, they already had two children - Madow Soprano and Anthony Soprano the Younger. He strongly supports his children in all their endeavors and allocates money for personal needs. But Tony is not going to indulge too much and be indulgent. He does not need to break anything and shout at the household, if the situation requires it. But most importantly, he is doing his best to protect them from his secret life.
However, with his wife, Tony Soprano is not so smooth as he would have liked. And the reason for this is his many betrayals. Initially, the wife of Tony Soprano, Carmella, tried to close their eyes to them. But soon, many quarrels began to occur between them, which put Tony and Carmella’s marriage at risk. However, throughout the series, they never parted completely, finding a compromise.
Over the years, problems with children have also begun to appear. Anthony the Younger behaved extremely strangely and for a long time could not find a common language with his peers. Because of this, he started having problems with his studies. And once he was almost expelled. And only thanks to the influence of the father, the son could not fly out. Having become older, he also could not get rid of his bad character, continually bringing Tony a lot of inconvenience. There were also problems with my daughter. But here already the reason was her personal life. The main character was extremely demanding of the young gentlemen, because of which scandals reappeared in the family.
Interesting features of Tony Soprano
As you know, many people have their own quirks and principles of life. And Tony Soprano is no exception to the rule. For example, with all his cruelty and composure towards people, Tony simply adores the animal kingdom. An excellent example is the series in which he meets ducks in his yard who settled in the pool. For several weeks he closely watched them and fed them. And when they suddenly flew away, he could not hold back his tears. You can also recall the situation in which Ralphi set fire to the stable in which Tony's beloved horse was located. He became so attached to her that in the end, after all that had happened, he killed Ralphi, saying before this the following: "She was an innocent, beautiful creature, and you killed her."
Tony Soprano is also a big fan of classic heavy rock music. Throughout the series, he listens to the tracks of the groups "AC / DC", "Deep Purple" and "Pink Floyd". As for film preferences, he considers Geri Cooper to be an ideal actor and a model of courage , films with which have long been classic in the United States.
In terms of personal qualities, one can distinguish the attitude of Tony Soprano towards his family, which he puts above all else. He also refers to his criminal team, which includes exclusively close and loyal people. For their sake, Tony Soprano, whose photo you have the opportunity to see in the article, is ready to give his life if necessary. He also never forgives betrayal and lies. And if Tony finds out that you betrayed him, then be sure that he will soon deal with you without a small share of regret. In one of the episodes, he kills his long-time friend nicknamed Pussy, who began to collaborate with the FBI and merge information. Around the middle of the series, Tony Soprano also did not regret his school friend, who lost a round sum of money in his underground casino. But this time, Tony did not have to resort to harsh methods, as the man laid hands on himself.
Key supporting characters
Undoubtedly, the most striking figure in the series is Tony Soprano. But in the background, you can also notice many important figures that are worthy of separate mention. We present you some of them.
Christopher Moltisanti
Another important character in the Soprano Clan series is Christopher Moltisanti. Tony replaced his real father, and also brought him to the "family", in which Chris began to occupy a prominent place. Initially, Tony entrusted him with minor tasks, without involving him in serious showdowns. However, having seen the aspiration of a young man, he nevertheless made him a full-fledged member of the team. That's just the nature of Christopher was an incredibly rude, envious and hot-tempered man, which repeatedly led to irreparable consequences not only for himself, but also for Tony Soprano.
Due to the rapid advancement in the "family", a craving for unintentional violence began to arise in him. Repeatedly, he did things without hesitation, leaving behind a lot of corpses. For the time being, Tony and his subordinates tolerated Christopher's antics. However, soon their patience snapped. Further worse. Christopher was seriously addicted to hard drugs, which finally aggravated the current situation. Throughout the series, I met Adriana La Serva for a long time, and was also fond of acting, writing scripts and cinema as a whole. For some period of time refrained from using narcotic substances and alcohol. This helped him to become a little more restrained and self-confident person again. That's only after a serious verbal skirmish, he still breaks down. One of the main episodes in Christopher's life is the birth of an illegitimate child. Because of drugs, he almost lost his life himself, being with his child in a car. Seeing all this, Tony can't stand it and kills Christopher.
Libya Soprano
Special attention should be paid to Livia Soprano, who was the mother of Tony. From the very first episodes, it becomes clear that she has long been out of her mind and cannot adequately perceive reality. Mother Tony Soprano literally annoys all household members, and then completely begins to pose a threat. All this forces the main character to give his mother to a nursing home. The character appeared on the screens in the first and second seasons. It was planned and further participation in the plot of Libya Soprano. However, in 2000, actress Nancy Marshand, who played this role, suddenly died.
Janice Soprano
Another prominent figure in the series is Tony Soprano's sister, Janice. She appears in the series not so often. However, even during this period of time, she manages to deliver a lot of trouble to an experienced mafia.
Tony Blandetto
This character appears around the middle of the Soprano Clan series. The role of Tony Blandetto was played by the notorious Hollywood actor Steve Buscemi, whom you could see in the films “Reservoir Dogs”, “Air Prison”, “Fargo” and “Big Lebowski”. This actor is not the first time to play criminals, in the role of which he looks incredibly convincing. However, Blandetto, who is the cousin of Tony Soprano, is not without a comic component. In particular, Blandetto, trying to return to the criminal world after a long prison sentence, now and then gets into trouble, from which for the time being the protagonist pulled him out. As a result, one of the murders he committed almost completely unleashes a large-scale war between two influential criminal groups. So the appearance in the plot of this character was an extremely successful idea. Buscemi, as always, brilliantly played his part and was remembered by the audience.
Selected Quotes by Tony Soprano
A character such as Tony has become so iconic that some of his statements are parsed into quotes. Consider only some of them, the most famous.
Tony Soprano once said: "What and how will be - I decide! And if you don’t love me anymore, I’m very sorry, but this is nonsense because you may not love me, but you will respect me!"
Back in Tony’s mouth, the following words were embedded: “All friends let you down sooner or later. Family is the only support.” Strongly said, right?
It is also impossible not to disagree with another statement by Tony: " The more you lie, the less chance you have to stop . "