Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos

Just as 'The Sopranos' was a masterful combination of writing, directing and acting, so too is this documentary. I thought it would be good, but I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

Setting it in Melfi's old office set was a master stroke. The audition clips were fantastic; especially watching other actors read the lines that would become so iconic and so identified with the actors who eventually played those characters.

We got some real behind-the-scenes insight into the enigmatic James Gandolfini. When the director, Alex Gibney asked David Chase, upon hearing that Gandolfini had died (at age 51), were you surprised? Chase's one-word response was chilling: No.

My biggest complaint was that there was very little of Junior, and absolutely no Dominic Chianese. I would have also liked to have seen Steve Schirripa, John Ventimiglia, Vince Curatola, Federico Castelluccio, Max Casella, Joe Pantoliano, Steve Buscemi, Ray Abbruzzo, David Proval, Aida Turturro and Sharon Angela. Also, a brief 'In Memorium' of all the actors who have passed.

And then the ending...!!

As a devoted fan of 'The Sopranos' - my all-time favorite show - I thought there wasn't much left for me to discover. But HBO's new two part documentary 'Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos' offers fresh insight, focusing primarily on the mastermind behind the series, David Chase, especially in its first half. Chase (1945) is a compelling figure: intelligent, introspective, and a natural storyteller. Director Alex Gibney ('Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson', 'Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room') places Chase in a metaphorical psychiatrist's chair, allowing him to speak candidly about his upbringing, his eccentric mother, dreams, death, and how these themes shaped 'The Sopranos'. Chase recalls his time in college down south, which he disliked, though he was exposed to European cinema by directors like Godard, Bergman, and Fellini. "I saw '8½', and I don't think I understood it, but it blew my mind", he reflects. This experience ignited his desire to become a filmmaker, leading him to study at Stanford's film school. The documentary even shows part of his student film - a gangster story with an attempted Godard flair, which is amusing in its ambition. While Chase's destiny wasn't in film directing, he found his calling in television. He worked on successful shows like 'The Rockford Files' and 'Northern Exposure', but his true breakthrough came when HBO greenlit 'The Sopranos' in 1998. The series became a cultural phenomenon, and Chase infused it with deeply personal elements, including therapy sessions and his tumultuous relationship with his mother. Other talented writers like Robin Green and Terence Winter also contributed significantly to the show's depth. In 'The Offer', a recent series about the making of 'The Godfather', we learn that Coppola saw the film as a commentary on capitalism. Similarly, 'The Sopranos' carries an underlying critique of America's decline. As Chase puts it, "Americans have gotten so materialistic and selfish that it made a mob boss sick." That vision, combined with Chase's storytelling genius, is part of what makes 'The Sopranos' so enduringly powerful.

I found myself tearing up, thinking about all the great scenes and characters, and most of all about the creative process. This series didn't just happen. It came together with a lot of hard work by everyone involved.

My wish is this: that Alex Gibney, or someone, will do a follow-up like Wise Guy, about The Wire. Perhaps David Simon could be the focal point, perhaps Ed Burns, perhaps a dozen other people, but like The Sopranos, The Wire created a world foreign to the viewers, that became so believable that you became part of it.

Hearing about David Chase drawing 13 lines down a page, then adding the character names, then creating a story arc for each-then bringing it into the Writers room to create 13 teleplays-it sounds simple but is fascinating. Then, the actors. James putting a sharp stone in his shoe to make himself angry, Andrianna finding out she was going to be killled at the end of the season, Pauli Walnuts and the hair. So much went into it, and the result was fantastic.

Excellent documentary on the greatest TV drama series ever made. 10/10

A documentary on the TV series The Sopranos: it's origins and development, making of the pilot, Season 1 and subsequent seasons, how the main characters were cast, the creative and filming processes and the public response. Told largely through interviews with creator/showrunner David Chase.

The Sopranos is, for me, the greatest TV drama series of all time: a fantastic combination of family drama, crime drama and general human drama, a perfect mix of character engagement, clever plot and action. This documentary, directed by renowned documentary-maker Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, The Looming Tower, amongst others), expertly captures the development of the series and the creative processes behind it. David Chase's history is also examined - this has a large bearing on the many of the themes and plots in The Sopranos.

The casting decisions are very interesting and demonstrate how a perfect person for a part can be found and a career made simply by chance. The number of unsuccessful interviewees and why they didn't succeed (and, for some, how this possibly turned out to be a good thing as they ended up in another, more iconic, role) is also quite illuminating.

We also see the other end of the character/actor arc, as characters, and thus actors, are written out of the series. This was quite poignant in some cases.

Highly engaging as we experience the highs and lows with David Chase and some of the cast and crew.

A must-see for Sopranos fans and for anyone who likes to see how high-quality entertainment is produced.

The verb beginning part it shows a lot of David Chase's history, and it shows pictures of him as a young man and he Tough he only stands about 5 foot eight. I guess reading an interview. I research this that Tony Sirico said "if there's any man I would fear it's David Chase" Not saying that Chase is the ultimate bad ass sociopath but he did look like a tough guy even for being a little dude scrappy. I mean I'm born in 1980 but I could just tell by looking at them back then he was a tough guy. I'm sure a lot of stuff they wrote about they did on the show and I think ultimately this is a great documentary that shows that maybe David Chase Was actually Tony soprano.