[yasr_overall_rating]
There are two strong hurdles to jump in writing a review of the masterful collection of “Sopranos: Behind The Scenes” 3 DVD set. First, I’ve never written a review about a compilation of extra footage so I have no idea how to assess that material. Second, there is such a temptation to lapse into pure laudatory comments about “The Sopranos.”
So, let’s get our facts straight. “The Sopranos” came at a time that was not too terribly long ago, but having premiered in a pre-9/11 world, the series is a landmark of a bygone era. “The Sopranos” has left indelible marks on the medium of television. The strength of the show is lasting. There are many television shows nowadays with particular narrative or filmmaking nods towards “The Sopranos.” Before it, there was a world of television where every note of humor and drama was precisely placed, but “The Sopranos” offered a more encompassing world of emotions like reading literature. But, I want to avoid just praising the series and actually focus upon the contents of this DVD series.
This box set is a very comprehensive collection. There are three discs included. The third disc is a bonus disc, which could have just as easily been called “Miscellaneous.”
The first disc of the series provides a lot of behind-the-scenes footage including interviews. A lot of this footage comes from Seasons 5 and 6 so all of the major plot points of these seasons are adequately covered in this footage. I won’t spoil any of these details regarding the series that fans will find on this disc. Instead, I will say that it covers all of the major action sequences from these times in “The Sopranos.”
The second disc continues in much the same vein. The ending has a good amount of Gandolfini talking. Watching any clip of Gandolfini nowadays is remarkably sad and makes me miss the tremendous actor. I wish there would have been more footage with him in this collection, but it’s my suspicion that he was an extremely private man.
I’d recommend this collection to Sopranos fans and people interested in filmmaking in general. The only potential drawback to this series is that the earlier seasons are less focused on than Season 5, which comprises most of the footage. As a writer, I also would have liked to have seen more information about how the series was written but this set is not to be missed and there’s a lot of good stuff here.
Available now on DVD & Digital
