Plot: What’s it about?
The fifth season of “The Sopranos” was, in my opinion, the best to date. The show has always been known for its gritty, realistic depiction of mafia life but this season took things to a new level. The show tackled a number of issues that started in the previous season; namely Adrianna’s involvement with the FBI and her ongoing cover up with Christopher and the rest of the family. Steve Buscemi guest starred as Tony, the cousin of Tony Soprano. Tony B. had been in prison for nearly two decades, having only been released back into the world. He wanted to play it straight, get a job and forget the part of his life that led him to be in the big house to begin with. Did it work? Well, to quote Michael Corleone “…just when I thought I was out, they keep pulling me back in”. In somewhat of a subplot, there is a power struggle between Tony Soprano and his dealings with the New York mob – a battle of wills that could spell certain doom for any and all involved. Still, I was mesmerized by the performances of Christopher as struggled with his drug addiction again and her downward spiral into spiritual and mental anguish – it was acting at its finest. We’re still waiting for the sixth season; the show took a year off. Suffice it to say, fans are waiting and “The Sopranos” is one show that continues to get better with age. Below are some synopsis of the episodes…
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Video: How does it look?
As with the other season’s of The Soprano’s, these have all been presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer. The colors are dull and muted, but it’s the way they’re supposed to look. We don’t really consider programs on television to be formatted for “Home Theater”, but more and more shows are being filmed as “mini movies”. This is good. For the most part, the images are clean and crisp. There are a few artifacting errors that I noticed, but nothing too bad. I can say that the episodes do look a lot better on DVD than when you watch them on HBO, and this is due to the benefit of anamorphic enhancement. If you ever need proof that anamorphic is the way to go, do a side by side comparison with your “digital cable” and the DVD. I think you’ll find that anamorphic is the winner every time. Now it’s time to rant a little bit…HBO has done a great job on this series, but the ever-popular “Sex in the City” has received the full-frame treatment for it’s first two seasons. Granted, they made an improvement for the second season, but to treat one a certain way (anamorphic) and the other a different way (full-frame) is just plain wrong!
Audio: How does it sound?
Now as if this wasn’t a slap in the face already, The Soprano’s has a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack whereas Sex in the City does not. Still, I’ll have to admit that The Soprano’s does make better use of the sound than it’s “sexy” competitor. The dialogue is clean and free of any distortion that you might expect from a television show. Surround effects aren’t used a whole lot, but there are times that you’ll realize that you’re hearing a very aggressive Dolby Digital 5.1 track here. While most of the action seems limited to the front three channels, I was duly impressed by the sound here. You will be too.
Supplements: What are the extras?
HBO is obviously relying on the strong showing of previous seasons and hasn’t really included a lot of extras on the set. That said there are five commentary tracks each with different folks. Rodrigo Garcia, Director of “Happy Families” comments as does Peter Bogdanovich on the “Sentimental Education” episode. Bogdanovich’s track is good, like his tracks for other movies. Steve Buscemi (who plays Tony B.) offers up a track on “In Camelot” and Director Mike Figgis does one for “Cold Cuts”. Each is thoughtful and provides some insight into the respective episodes. Unfortunately that’s where the supplements end. A great season with stellar audio and video qualities make “The Soprano’s” a must buy for any fan.
