320 - The Many Saints of Newark

Eavesdropping at the Movies · Oct 4, 2021 · 1h

We're joined by Dr. Ben Lamb of Teesside University, television scholar and Sopranos megafan, to discuss The Many Saints of Newark, the prequel to The Sopranos. Set in the 1960s and 1970s, it depicts a young Tony Soprano - played by James Gandolfini's son, Michael - and offers a portrait of the family, time, place and culture that shaped him, but focuses primarily on his uncle Dickie, to whom he looks up. We also discuss the film's incorporation of the 1967 Newark riots, and the black gang that rivals the Italians'; how violence is used and what it expresses about the characters; whether the…