Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos

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.

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...!!

I've been ready for this after watching Sopranos recently on HBO signature almost daily this week and I've seen the series a few times it's one of the best shows ever surprised there hasn't been a documentary sooner. David Chase is a genius all around and great of the director to make this 2 part documentary. I love the talent put into everything it's heartwarming learning about the background, worthy of high ratings and and spectacular vibe all around as should be for one of the best series the behind stuff better be great too! Nice to learn about the darkness more and how they didn't do it just for the sake of it. Highly recommend this magnificent mini doc series.

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.

Kinda can't say unbiasedly how long I would want this documentary because I would watch this if it went through every episode with a fine tooth comb. But this is stripped down enough to where it keeps to a consistent theme and is more about how David chase was able to make the show and his personal experiences with it. And it's quite interesting to look into his mind and make a show that is so dense and full of detail every episode, and I think what it really came through is you had a group of people who shared their own experiences and shared the sentiment "I feel like I'm coming at the end." Great doc.