Customer Reviews

The Sopranos: The Complete Series

5 star:		(211)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(48)

 

 

Last year HBO released the complete series of this ground-breaking show with the very high pricetag we've come to expect from any HBO original series on DVD. According to the press release, a year later, HBO wants to make this collection more available to consumers with new compact packaging and a lower price point. I continue from the press release:

The new package is still book style, but of a vastly different sort - it opens up from a split down the center in a gatefold fashion, and discs slide in from the side. Speaking of discs, HBO informs us that all of the DVDs from the previous Complete Series set will be included, with all the bonus material found on them. However, the extra soundtrack CD discs will not be packed in with the revised collection. Still, the new list price is a hundred dollars lower, which certainly good news for any fans who perhaps couldn't afford last year's model.

End of press release. The bottom line on this is we are paying one hundred dollars less to give up 2 music CDs and in exchange get packaging that should not enable so many scratched discs. The extra features include an interview with series creator David Chase conducted by Alec Baldwin and two "Supper With the Sopranos" featurettes that will show cast members sitting down for dinner to discuss their favorite episodes.

As for the series itself, if the Godfather saga was the view of the mafia from the executive suite, this series is a complex tale of the mafia from the working man's point of view. If you've never watched this show, you're in for an extended treat. Yes, there is violence and nudity, but it is never gratuitous and is needed to contrast Tony Soprano, the thinking man's gangster, with the reality of the life he has been born to and, quite frankly, would not ever have left even knowing how so many of his associates have ended up. Tony Soprano can discuss Sun Tzu with his therapist, then beat a man to death with a frying pan in a fit of rage, and while dismembering and disposing of the body with his nephew, take a break, sit down and watch TV while eating peanut butter out of the jar, and give that nephew advice on his upcoming marriage like they had just finished a Sunday afternoon of viewing NFL football. Even Carmella, his wife, when given a chance for a way out, finds that she really prefers life with Tony and the perks that go with it and looking the other way at his indiscretions versus life on her own. If you followed the whole thing, you know how it ends. If you didn't, trust me you've never seen a TV show end like this.

This 33 disc 10 pound set will contain all 86 original episodes as well as an interview with series creator David Chase conducted by Alec Baldwin and two "Supper With the Sopranos" featurettes that will show cast members sitting down for dinner to discuss their favorite episodes. Other features include:
Sopranos Spoofs
2 CD soundtracks on 3 discs
16 page episode guide
56-page collector's album

As the Godfather saga was the view of the mafia from the executive suite, this series is a complex tale of the mafia from the working man's point of view. If you've never watched this show, you're in for an extended treat. Yes, there is violence and nudity, but it is never gratuitous and is needed to contrast Tony Soprano, the thinking man's gangster, with the reality of the life he has been born to and, quite frankly, would not ever have left even knowing how so many of his associates have ended up. Tony Soprano can discuss Sun Tzu with his therapist, then beat a man to death with a frying pan in a fit of rage, and while dismembering and disposing of the body with his nephew, take a break, sit down and watch TV while eating peanut butter out of the jar, and give that nephew advice on his upcoming marriage like they had just finished a Sunday afternoon of viewing NFL football. Even Carmella, his wife, when given a chance for a way out, finds that she really prefers life with Tony and the perks that go with it and looking the other way at his indiscretions versus life on her own. If you followed the whole thing, you know how it ends. If you didn't, trust me you've never seen a TV show end like this.

I'm looking forward to seeing all 86 episodes together over a short time period versus the very annoying long time periods between seasons that we had after the first three seasons. Remember, it took eight years (1999-2007) for the show to go from season one to season six.

Meet Tony Soprano. He sleeps until noon, has a boyish sense of humor, and enjoys old war movies on The History Channel. He has two high maintenance children, a more high maintenance wife, and he grew up with a controlling mother so manipulative he has to see a psychiatrist to deal with his depression and panic attacks.

And in his spare time, he runs a middling outfit of La Cosa Nostra and controls most of the organized crime in North New Jersey.

This is the set-up for the show that superseded all its predecessors and took its place at the pinnacle of television artistry. Creator David Chase's masterpiece follows Tony is his travels through his three worlds: family, work and therapy. The plot arcs are simultaneously short and long-ranging, as resolution is found in each episode and also builds toward season climaxes and long-reaching series payoffs. The end result is a television show with the grand scope of a novel, but one that doesn't forget to keep viewers interested with weekly rewards.

Probably the only series in history with more Emmy nominations (112) than episodes (86), The Sopranos has been called the greatest show ever to appear on television, the pioneer for all current successful pay cable programs and the most influential piece of pop culture over the last quarter century. In this day where novels have lost their broad appeal and 90 minute films paint on a limited canvas, Tony Soprano is destined to be the most studied and analyzed literary figure over the next few decades.

Such critical focus is not unjustified. As much as the series hinges on the many supporting characters, the show IS Tony. Women love him, men fear him and viewers are captivated by all his complexities. James Gandolfini dazzles in his performance as one of the greatest characters ever seen on stage, television or film, a man without faith in god or country, and a man whose own allegiance to both his literal and figurative families is at best tepid. Often, his inconsistent and unpredictable behavior leaves audiences confused until he lays himself open in his therapist's office, scenes that are sometimes uncomfortable to watch because of the degree of vulnerability Gandolfini allows Tony to reach.

The notoriously naughty drama contains the sex and violence consistent with an examination of the mafia, but also provides its share of tenderness. Although a habitual philanderer, Tony aspires to be a great husband, father, brother, and son, but too often he lacks the strength or skills to care about anyone but himself. His longing for a modest normal life leaks into his dreams and therapy and illuminates a man who hates what he sees in the mirror but can't do anything about it.

With a few hundred words, this review does not do justice to the monumental achievement. An entire piece could be written about the show's black comedy, culinary artistry, or exploration of familial roles. The Sopranos routinely tackled difficult subjects like caring for the elderly, Italian-American defamation, religion, homosexuality, terrorism and the many flaws in the federal government. Wrapped together with a soundtrack that's one part classic rock and one part 1960s Las Vegas, the Sopranos achieved the nearly impossible feat of being both the most entertaining/watchable show from its era and also the one that provided the most insight into the human condition and experience. Yes, seeing the loves, hates, desires and deaths of these characters made for great television and very exciting Sunday nights, but the discussions sparked from these 86 works of art will be continued on message boards and in classrooms long after we are all gone.

It's a nice set. Had some trouble with an LCD TV with a built-in DVD player reading the disks initially but now fine. My Blu-Ray player sees them no problem. Seasons are broken down with 3 or 4 episodes on each disk. Each DVD is in a cardboard sleeve that has pictures on them from the series, in 2 sets, 1 on the left and 1 on the right. It opens kinda like a children's book from the center, fanning open, 1 set to the left and 1 set to the right... The disks only have the disk number on them and not much more. It can be a bit of a problem pulling out a disk and that is my only reason for not giving it a 5 star rating. I mean, all that pulling to get a disk from a sleeve will only put unnecessary fingerprints in the disks and potentially scratch them...

This is the REAL deal! EVERY episode of EVERY season in one package. You need to watch out as lots of people are selling foreign versions in the $100 to $200 price range. If you're paying less then $200 chances are you're buying a bogus foreign version. Trust me! I know because I bought this from ebay and it was a crappy foreign version that I payed $150 for... I returned it and bought one from here and THIS is the real thing. Make sure when you buy this that the person clearly says US or USA version.

I purchased this after selling my boxed sets. I wish I had just kept them. The packaging consists of a cardboard box with a cardboard "book" that has cheap cardboard sleeve inserts for the dvds so I had to buy a new case to put the dvds in to prevent scratching (if you own the Sex and the City dvd collection its almost the same concept), the ribbon that lifts the "book" out of the box became detached right away and I notice creasing that developed in the cardboard pages which makes me think they will eventually wear out and tear the pages apart. Bonus features were very disappointing, I have the Sex and the City dvd collection and they had better bonus features. There could have been montages, farewell colllections, video clips, award show scenes or something. No interviews with James Gandolfini at all! I just think HBO went cheap considering the status and impact that this show had. Whaddya gonna do about it though right?

BUYER BEWARE...Fastastic show, BUT...it has been my experience that the sellers offering this set for dirt cheap are selling Chinese knockoffs. The Chinese knockoffs are really poor and no doubt illegal. In addition, I did some research and found out that selling these is against Amazon selling rules because they are a replica of a trademarked item. To all fellow buyers, please be careful of sellers who do not have a considerable outstanding history of selling quality DVD's! It seems that the sellers offering this set for $100-150 are the shady ones. Here's how to tell if the set being sold is legitimate. The UPC number for the legitimate U.S. set that is sold in retail stores is 883929022311. If it is anything else, then it is not a legit U.S. release. Then report the seller to Amazon!!! The real U.S. set is fantastic though!

After hearing for years about what a great show this is, from critics and from friends alike, I treated myself to this set in advance of Christmas. Customers may be misled by a lot of the garbage that is in the reviews here, but this DVD collection is worth the money. As someone who had never seen a single episode before buying this set, I'm already satisfied that I will enjoy the entire series after watching just the first three episodes.

The video quality is terrific- no longing for Blu-Ray for me. The picture is near hi-def (as good as any cable hi-def with a good upscaler/player) and looks fantastic on my 50" plasma.

Few reviewers mentioned that this set also includes the three soundtrack discs that are also sold separately. This was a nice bonus, as the music on each is good stuff and not much of it overlaps with my somewhat eclectic collection.

Finally-- the price is coming down for the holiday sales crunch, and this set can be had at a very attractive price, I got mine at Costco at a steal, which made the choice to buy a no-brainer. Even at the current standard street price, I would say that fans of the show would be perfectly happy, and any of those outsiders like me, who were considering catching up on this acclaimed show one day, would really enjoy it as well.

PS- I'm not sure what the fuss about closed-captioning was about, unless it was based on pirated copies, but they are included on my set-- I've already used them on occasion to catch some of the famous slang that I otherwise couldn't decipher. They are standard DVD-encoded subtitles, available in multiple languages. Capische?

assuming your already a fan of the show, you know that the series is one of the best. the boxed set holds all the seasons in a relatively easy accessible package. the shows themselves are remastered, and the difference is noticeable to these eyes. the special features are not enough to warrant buying this boxed set, they are short and only slightly revealing. the box itself is very attractive and durable, with only a small problem with unweildlyness. recommended to fans of the show that must have everything. if you previously own the seasons as they came out i cant recommend it for the remastering, or special features alone.

As per complaints about the dvd's being scratched. a few of mine did get scratched on the taking in and out of the cases, this did not affect quality or performance of the dvd's, but it will surely happen over time. i am aware some people are obsessive over their dvd's and like to keep them flawless like a rare gem, but meh faint scratches dont bother me that much.

I enjoyed this show and was glad to purchase at this price($119). I received the series today 1/7/2010 and the box was in good condition. I have not had a chance to watch the series, but will say that the packaging is poor and every disk that I took out of the glossy cardboard case had very slight scratches and disk imperfections. I don't know yet if any of the content will skip or if it will not play. I would recommend that if you buy this set you should also purchase paper or nylon sleeves (or even quality jewel cases)as you will not want to continually replace and remove these disks from the cardboard box because of the potential to damage them.