For many fans of the HBO cult series “The Sopranos”, it was the most awaited film of the previous year – and if we have our way, it has completely fulfilled expectations: The prequel “The Many Saints Of Newark” is now available as a streaming subscription.
“The Sopranos” was awarded 21 (!) Emmys and countless other awards, 2013 the Writers Guild Of America voted the undisputed masterpiece the best-written series of all time, and TV Guide named it the best series ever anyway. And we too have fallen for the TV mafia epic, as the saga about gangster boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) takes second place in the official DashFUN ranking of the best series of all time. Of course, the expectations of “The Many Saints Of Newark” were correspondingly astronomical, which the prequel could never really live up to. In fact.
The “Sopranos” prequel is not only a well-rounded thing, but for us, it is even one of the best films of 2021. So if you may have missed the film at the cinema and have not made up for it since then, there is nothing wrong with catching up on it now: “The Many Saints Of Newark” is now available as a subscription to Sky and Sky Ticket. And that fits perfectly because that’s where you get the HBO mafia complete package. Because all “Sopranos” seasons are currently available as a stream.
That’s what “The Many Saints Of Newark” is about
Newark in the 1960s: The New Jersey city is rocked by race riots. It comes to an argument between Italian-American and Afro-American criminals who leave a bloody trail through the country not far from New York. Right in the middle: gangster boss Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), who runs the affairs of the mafia and with Tony Soprano (Michael Gandolfini), takes an aspiring criminal genius under his wing.
Fascinated by his Uncle Dickie and the power he enjoys, Tony quickly adapts to the ways of life in the underworld. And Moltisanti knows exactly how to use that respect for its dirty business. But what he doesn’t know: Tony is at least as unscrupulous as he is…
That’s why “The Many Saints Of Newark” is so good
“A feast for ‘Soprano’ fans”, writes author Nikolas Masin, among other things, in the official DashFUN review of “The Many Saints Of Newark”, in which the prequel to the cult series with 4.5 out of 5 possible stars is only a hair’s breadth missed the top rating.
The film, for which “Sopranos” director Alan Taylor (“Thor“, “Game Of Thrones”) and author Lawrence Konner are returning, expanding the series universe accordingly “in a masterfully organic way”. The film is full of cross-references without becoming a meaningless Easter egg scavenger hunt, skilfully brings well-known scenes and characters (in the form of new actors) to life, and also scores with a framework story that brings a breath of fresh air into the “Sopranos” concept. In the conclusion to the prehistory, in which you also mafia film legend Ray Liotta (“GoodFellas”), Vera Farmiga (Conjuring”), Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton”) and the Marvel stars Jon Bernthal (“The Punisher”) ) and Corey Stoll (“Ant-Man”) expect, it also says:
The expectations for a “Sopranos” movie on the big screen were huge, although the chances of failure were great. But now the prequel clears up every line. “The Many Saints Of Newark“ is a nostalgia-soaked love letter to the fans – and at the same time quite on par with the best gangster films of recent years such as Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman“.
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