It's a TV progrum, a movie.
Fantastic show and underrated for sure, I just wish half of it wasn't a police procedural with those two other detectives (which did have good cases, don't get me wrong) and focused solely on the main plot drama.
Tbf, it's not like the glorified crew did any homework. They act like complete retards and earn the disrespect.
A lot of descendants who've never been to their "homeland" are like that. Like the children of Indian immigrants who are convinced it's a glittering paradise because of the way it's described to them. Or black people who think Wakanda is a real country.
I am pretty sure they were just putting on airs for the other guys because going to the "homeland" is supposed to be this big important experience for anyone in the Italian American Mob. Saying you had a bad time would reflect badly on this collective idea and rather than the rest of the mobsters realizing the Italian mob simply isn't capable of truly experiencing Italy the way their forefathers did, they would probably deflect by thinking something was wrong with Tony and Paulie (like they weren't real Italians or something like that).
They didn't need to go to Italy for that experience though. All they had to do was cross the river to NYC. Tony might rule the roost in Jersey, but he's still minor league compared to Luppertazzi family. At one point they say there's like 200 full fledged members of the family which is way more than everything Tony has at his disposal, made men, associates, soldiers, allies, everyone. There is simply so much money at Carmine Sr and Jr, Johnny Sack, and later Phil's disposal and the Esplanade is just one of their projects. It's the biggest thing in the world to the Sopranos and it's just one of a dozen projects of that size for NYC at any given time. I'm of the opinion that the whole reason they didn't just show up and take over Jersey was the attitude of why bother? Jersey is just the small time so why make the effort? Tony thinks he and Johnny Sack are the same level until Johnny flat tells him after he becomes boss that they aren't going to meet like they had been because it's no dignified. Paulie thinks Carmine Sr thinks the world of him just to find out he isn't even known. Push comes to shove, the Jersey crew is just a joke at times to the NYC crew and when they become real complications, they just get crushed.
That's not exactly true. NY was invested in Soprano family business like construction, gambling, and loan sharking. They saw the Soprano family as making so much money that they were constantly trying to absorb them. Like Johnny Sac moving to New Jersey. Or Feech moving his cars through NY instead of Tony's normal car operation. They were making enough money for NY to seriously go after them not just ignore them like they were nothing.
It's because they all die before taking over NJ. Carmine Sr. dies, Johnny goes to prison (and dies), Phil gets his head blown apart. If Tony dies in the end it opens up the NJ territory to go to a NY family for good. But it took the deaths of multiple bosses to get it. We see at least three NY bosses make plays for NJ and either back off or get killed.
They aren't small time at all. NY only says this as a power play. It's not reality. And NY does make constant efforts. Tony is literally part of NY's boss succession and brokers meetings for them during war. Carmine meets with Tony to announce he is not going to pursue being boss. Phil is the only one to openly hate NY and this is only after Tony B kills his brother Billy.
That's a power move. But Johnny moved to NJ so their meetings would be in Tony's backyard not in NY anyways. It was actually easier for Tony to not travel to NY for a meeting and just go to Johnny's house. He's just posturing. Tony doesn't care and is probably happy not to have to drive to NY at night. And after this meeting multiple NJ mobsters including bosses take meetings with Tony in NJ or PA.
i knew carmine was in the movie but wheres big pussy?
I saw NY working with NJ as necessity because unlike NYC, NJ is landlocked and they occupy one side of the ports/docks. Of course, both sides would want equal access to that pathway for territorial reasons.
is not
27 actors and actresses are in both Goodfellas and The Sopranos. Some of them are super quick in their appearances. There are another dozen people who worked behind the scenes on both projects as well. David Chase was a huge fan of Goodfellas and tried to get Scorsese to cameo on The Sopranos but he refused.
Wasn’t he on an episode briefly and Christopher shouted “Kundun! I liked it!”
lol that was a lookalike
Oh really? lol, I thought that was actually him
it really does
Both The Wire and Sopranos are auteur driven shows with a singular creative voice running things with a tyrannical iron grip.
