Adult drama, with adult language, and extreme violence
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Sopranos Season 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cert 18 ~~~~~~~ Run Time: 12h: 17m:08s Release Date: October 28, 2003 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Season 4 was a low point for the Sopranos in many fans estimation, and I initially agreed with some of their sentiments unlike earlier seasons I found myself glancing at the clock occasionally during some episodes waiting for the story to kick in. The first time I watched this season I did think that maybe the show had peaked and was on the wind down, bereft of ideas the writers were content to give us endless minutes of Tony and Carmela arguing as their marrige hits the rocks, the subplots such as they were didn't seem to go anywhere. I waited patiently for the Season to get going whilst my finger hovered over FF button on the remote.
The Season eventually did get going and produced some worthy and memorable episodes, but the Show as a whole didn't grip me the way Seasons 1 through 3 did. Maybe it was my expectations that were at fault, the Sopranos had raised the crossbar so high that it was nay on impossible to sustain the momentum. At least that was my initial impression when the credits rolled on that final episode, and perhaps if I hadn't took the time to review this Season I would have put it down as the weak link in the Sopranos armour.
One of the joys of owning any series on DVD is that you can re watch it whenever you choose. So being a faithful reviewer I watched Season 4 again and with hindsight it is indeed up there in the Pantheon along with Seasons 1 to 3. Like a fine wine it has matured very nicely, with Season 5 and half of Season 6 now watched it plays a vital part in the overall saga. To get some idea how this season fits into the overall picture think 'The Twin Towers' in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, at times slow but still pivotal to the overall storyline.
So what apart from the domestic issues what actually happens in Season 4? Quite a lot actually, Christopher develops a serious drugs habit which threatens to destroy his new status as a made guy, not to mention his relationship with Tony. If that wasn't bad enough Adriana discovers her new best friend is an FBI agent. Paulie becomes ever more disillusioned with the way Tony is running things. Johnny Stack (Vincent Curatola) under boss of the New York family has a more prominent role in this season as tensions between the crime families grow which will run into season 5.
The standout character however this time around is Ralphie Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano) a Capo in Tony's crew. He seems to have no redeeming qualities to his personality, a character as twisted and obnoxious as any of those that have graced the small screen. But here again with the Sopranos nothing is black and white when Ralph's son gets injured we see a compassionate side to his nature, but not for long, I for one was cheering Tony on when he finally confronted Ralphie in 'Who ever did this' one of the standout episodes this time around. Other plot lines left me cold, Carmelas attraction to Furio I didn't find convincing, Janice teaming up with Bobby after her affair with Ralphie ended also left me cold. I by this stage have grown weary of her character and find it hard to fathom why Tony's character would allow her within a 1000 miles of New jersey.
The acting, directing and writing are again excellent the show receiving 13 Emmy nominations with James Gandolfini and Edie Falco both picking up Emmy's for best actor and Actress in a drama series, a further award deservedly went to Joe Pantoliano for his role as the toxic Ralphie
Conclusion ~~~~~~~~~
As I have stated before the Sopranos really is a TV on another level, the standard it set itself for writing, directing and acting has never been achieved before on the small screen. When fans are quick to criticise the show for loosing some of its momentum would they rather the show had went out with a bang at the end of season 2 or 3? The violence may be more emotional than physical fourth time around but the show still bites. If I were judging this series against any other television drama then even the weakest episode in this season would be the equal of or better than anything else out there. The fact that I am judging it against Sopranos seasons 1 to 3 means that it comes up short in my estimation, but just!
Special Features: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - 4 Audio Commentaries with writers Terence Winter, Michael Imperioli, Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess and series creator David Chase
- Episodic previews and recaps - Recaps of seasons 1, 2 and 3 - Cast/Crew biographies
Again nothing too special in the Special features, similar to previous 3 seasons, the audio commentaries are interesting but again so much more could have been done to enhance the overall package. I for one would love to see more interviews with the cast discusssing their roles.
Episode list: ~~~~~~~~~~~ For all Debts Public and Private No-Show Christopher The Weight Pie O My Everybody Hurts Watching Too Much Television Mergers & Acquisitions Whoever Did This The Strong, Silent Type Call all Cars Eloise Whitecaps
DVD details ~~~~~~~~~~ Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 - Widescreen
overriding story arc in favour of developing several interrelated plot strands, most of which are then left dangling tantalisingly at the end. This year Tony's many extra-...
overriding story arc in favour of developing several interrelated plot strands, most of which are then left dangling tantalisingly at the end. This year Tony's many extra-...
'The Weight', 'Everybody Hurts', 'Mergers And Acquisitions', 'Watching Too Much Television', 'Whoever Did This', 'The Strong, Silent Type', 'Calling All Cars', 'Elo...
