Mafia (1 Viewer)

[Ponder]

I mentioned in another post that I've bought the Sopranos collection.
They say 28 dvd's-4675 minutes.
I found out 1 episode = 50 minutes. What the hell did I buy??
Father Luke: How many episodes you've watched since december 31th, and is it any good?

I googled a bit and they say this series is on Dutch tv since 1999!
This weekend they show the 5th season (13 episodes) in 2 nights.
A warming up for the 6th season.
I also read that HBO is broadcasting the series and 10 million viewers average and that seems a lot of viewers because you need to pay extra to watch HBO?

I guess I've never watched the Sopranos because I'm reading about the real Italian mafia since years and years.

Since I have 4675 minutes to go...is the Sopranos somehow related to any real mafia family?

 

[Father Luke]

I watched the entire first season.

Each episode is fifty minutes. American Cable Television.
No commercials, but with ten minutes for station
promos, equals one hour. If you wanted to watch
the Sopranos in America you had to pay for it.

*(Note: Pirating Cable is not the discussion here)*

I believe I have watched approximately 13 hours
(thirteen episodes). That would be the entire first season.

There are six total seasons. Five seasons with
thirteen episodes, then a sixth season with twelve
(6a). Then 6b goes 13 through 21, making
the sixth season a total of 21 episodes.

This is a work of fiction.
I think it's great.

 

[Ponder]

Work of fiction...like Buk books?

 

[Father Luke]

Something written to entertain. Yes.

 

[Bukfan]

Yes, it's a work of fiction. It's a great series! I've got them all on tape but some day I think I'll buy them on DVD. They're that great. If you got the whole series then you should start with the beginning and forget about that 5th season on TV! There's a lot of info about the series on Wikipedia, btw.
Where did you buy the series? And was it cheap?

 

[mjp]

Each episode is fifty minutes. American Cable Television.

You will find (unless they have edited it) that the episodes vary greatly in length and were not cut to time (meaning they were not stretched out or chopped up to meet a specific time.

I know this from watching it first run on HBO, and an episode would end and we would say, "What, that's it?!" and push the little TiVo button to see that the episode was 44 minutes. Or it would go 59 minutes, or 62 minutes (more rarely, usually a shorter version was more common). But the times were all over the map.

 

[justine]

michael imperioli, the guy who plays the junkie mobster chris, came into my restaurant a couple of weekends ago (along with stanley tucci, they're here filming 'lovely bones')... we've seen a fair amount of celebrities here, but being an italian restaurant run by an actual italian family (a rare thing), the boys just about died of starstrucked-ness (they LOVE the sopranos).

he's a very short man.

 

[mjp]

he's a very short man.

When you make it to California you will find that all the famous actors are short. It's an odd phenomenon, and maybe part of the reason that they take up the profession in the first place.

 

[hoochmonkey9]

hey, enough cracks about short guys!

no reason....
uhh. anybody see my boots?

 

[Gerard K H Love]

vertically challenged...

When you make it to California you will find that all the famous actors are short. It's an odd phenomenon, and maybe part of the reason that they take up the profession in the first place.

"The movies will make you bigger than life" and the ones who can't act lift their pickup truck into the clouds. Oh, the guys with the trucks might be compensating for something else. sorry.;)

 

[bogthing]

I've watched the entire series. My wife and I continously ponder the fact that we've been totally bitched out by the writers at HBO. Now we are finishing off "The Wire" having watched the penultimate episode last night.

Deadwood, Big Love, Rome and the Sopranos, we did them all. I missed out on Carnivale for some reason.

We wonder what they will come up with next.

 

[mjp]

I think HBO's "golden age" has passed. Though there is a marginally interesting show on right now called InTreatment.

 

[Father Luke]

Anyone ever see the Gary Shandling show?
I heard it was good.

 

[Ponder]

I'm on episode 8 now.

I find the Ducks story the best so far.

 

[rjwink666]

I've watched the entire series. My wife and I continously ponder the fact that we've been totally bitched out by the writers at HBO. Now we are finishing off "The Wire" having watched the penultimate episode last night.

The Wire is superb, I will take a decent US cop drama anyday over the amazing gash that we produce like The Bill, Morse and Midsomer Murders

 

[Ponder]

hey, enough cracks about short guys!

no reason....
uhh. anybody see my boots?

What's your height?

 

[hoochmonkey9]

five eight.
although the steel toe boots I have to wear for work make me a little over five ten, hence the boot comment.

 

[Ponder]

Yes, it's a work of fiction. It's a great series! I've got them all on tape but some day I think I'll buy them on DVD. They're that great. If you got the whole series then you should start with the beginning and forget about that 5th season on TV! There's a lot of info about the series on Wikipedia, btw.
Where did you buy the series? And was it cheap?

I bought them in Holland. €200 = $300 on ebay.

 

[hoochmonkey9]

When you make it to California you will find that all the famous actors are short. It's an odd phenomenon, and maybe part of the reason that they take up the profession in the first place.

came across this site while looking for a pic of Patti Smith.
peolpe have too much time on their hands. read some of the comments.
did you know there is "morning height" and 'evening height"?
christ.
www.celebheights.com

 

[Ponder]

Any mafia news?

Oh...I quit watching the Sopranos around the last episodes of season 5 or the beginning of season 6.

 

[Bukfan]

How come? You got fed up with the Sopranos so the ending did'nt matter?

 

[hank solo]

The Ending? Now don't get me started.

:D

 

[Ponder]

How come? You got fed up with the Sopranos so the ending did'nt matter?

I quit watching during let's call it the "hospital episodes".
You know what I mean.
I lost my interest, dunno exactly why...

For sure, don't give away the details. People like Father Luke, black swan and maybe others are still in the middle of the series.

 

[Bukfan]

I see. There's only a few of "The hospital episodes". I hope you'll watch the rest of the episodes. You should watch the last season too!

 

[Father Luke]

don't give away the details. People like Father Luke, black swan and maybe others are still in the middle of the series.

*koff*

 

[Ponder]

Documentary: The Gambinos.

 

[Bukfan]

Thanks, Ponder! - I discovered there's also a bunch of other mob bio's there I have'nt seen before: Lansky - De Cavalcante - The Scarfo Mob etc.

 

[Ponder]

http://moviesfoundonline.com/godfather_and_the_mob.php

 

[Bukfan]

Great docu! Who would've thought that the hitman, Luca Brasi; in the first Godfather movie, was played by a real mafia guy!
Thanks for the link, Ponder!

 

[Gerard K H Love]

Hey I sold that guy a car Albert S Ruddy he was the producer of The Godfather with associate producer Gray Frederickson. It must have been a very good car or he could have had me rubbed out.;) A very nice man to do business with. Everybody liked Hogan's Heroes, right?

I'm talking about the guy in the clip Ponder posted.

 

[Bukfan]

Hey I sold that guy a car Albert S Ruddy he was the producer of The God Father with associate producer Gray Frederickson. It must have been a very good car or he could have had me rubbed out.;) A very nice man to do business with. Everybody liked Hogan's Heroes, right?

I'm talking about the guy in the clip Ponder posted.

So you sold Ruddy a car once? That's funny. It must've been a good car since you're still here...:D

 

[Gerard K H Love]

I had to take it to his office and collect the check. When he spoke to my manager he asked for a deal the manager said "fuck you, you can't find another Typhoon like this anywhere" and hung up on him. He called back and spoke to me and bought it for the asking price.
I guess he was so use to all the people in his business saying "Yes Sir" all the time he didn't mind the abrupt treatment. Besides the Typhoon low mileage used was hard to get. Al Ruddy was a pleasure to do business with unlike so many other on their way to the top.;)

 

[Bukfan]

Was that before or after he made The Godfather? Not that anybody got rich off that movie (except the studio, of course!). It was a low-budget movie, believe it or not...

 

[Gerard K H Love]

It was in 1996 or 1997. He was and still is a Hollywood Bigshot. He was up on stage when Million Dollar Baby won the Oscar for best picture 2004. With Clint Eastwood Oscars. He's at Barbara's left. What the hell did Dustin Hoffman win in 2004?

 

[Bukfan]

If you look closely, you'll notice that Hoffman is'nt holding an Oscar in his hand! He just happens to be in the pic. Maybe he was presenting an Oscar to one of the others?

According to IMDB he last got an Oscar in 1998:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000163/awards

 

[Gerard K H Love]

Bukfan you're right Dustin Hoffman and B Striesand were presenters and the tall guy is Andre Morgan of Ruddy Morgan Productions and Ruddy Morgan Organization.

 

[CarversDog]

Al Ruddy also produced the football-in-prison classic "The Longest Yard" (1974) and one of my nominees for best under-rated action flicks, "Death Hunt" starring Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson (how's that for some goddamn testosterone?) He also produced for Eastwood and Warners on "Million Dollar Baby". I've always admired him, even if he is responsible for "Hogan's Heroes" and "Walker, Texas Ranger" ... hell, we all gotta put food on the table

 

[Gerard K H Love]

Hogan's Heroes is an American classic. Wasn't it based on Kelley's Heroes? (which was a bit far fetched)
His Godfather movies were....well we all know.

 

[hank solo]

Hogan's Heroes was made before Kelly's Heroes, so nope.

I heard that the writer of Kelly's Heroes modeled the film's plot from his earlier script for the (original) Italian Job.

You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!

 

[CarversDog]

No, "Hogan's Heroes" was a blatant rip off of Billy Wilder's "Stalag 17" and Wilder threatened to sue but cooler heads prevailed ... exec producer (of "Hogan's") Bing Crosby was a friend of Paramount Pictures, where Wilder had a contract at the time.