Raging Bull Scene

[SilvioMancini]

The part in this episode where Tony and Silvio mock perform the final scene of raging bull when they recognize the song from that scene playing at Versevio's. It directly ties not only to the posters in the bing back office but also to the scientist from the hospital where he says the two boxers are actually the same entity. I feel this is a direct comparison of the arc of Phil and Tony's lives and deaths in the last season. Any one else want to elaborate?

[badabellisima]

FANTASTIC post. In retrospect, how prophetically sad that Bobby is amused at the fake boxing moment, the dance of life and death. i wanted to put together some YouTube clips before i responded further:



Here is the scene for this post:

-Tony Soprano Vs. Silvio Dante; (mock) Boxing Scene while at Vesuvio's, (set to the Opening Music “Intermezzo Stafonico”, from 'Cavalleria Rusticana' by Pietro Mascagni) used in Martin Scorses’s Raging Bull:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54N8MZThcNM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54N8MZThcNM)


-Here’s the actual Raging Bull opening boxer scene, set to same music, Intermezzo Stafonico (from 'Cavalleria Rusticana'):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKdGJw90VCY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKdGJw90VCY)


For good measure, here's Scorsese's Raging Bull Final Boxing Match (bloody 13th round):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nAjurxttv4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nAjurxttv4)

[badabellisima]

Now, here's a great post on this subject:

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog/g/618e33ac-f3f0-4403-9ccf-8a3031b6a6ec (http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/blog/g/618e33ac-f3f0-4403-9ccf-8a3031b6a6ec)

...The scene I’m talking about will forever be known as “The Raging Bull scene”. Tony, Silvio and Bobby were eating lunch, making preparations for going to war with New York. Suddenly, over the speakers, the classical score to “Raging Bull” began to play. Tony and Sil instantly recognized the soundtrack, and began pantomiming the opening credits to “Raging Bull” where Robert De Niro as Jake Lamotta dances around the ring in slow, almost balletic motion, shadow boxing with his demons as he gets ready for a fight. As Tony and Sil pantomimed the scene, they threw punches in slow motion, laughing, sharing a bit of their heritage.

Raging Bull” is one of the finest movies ever made and perhaps Martin Scorsese’s greatest achievement. Its protagonist, Jake LaMotta, was a great boxer haunted by demons. The film’s most memorable scene showed LaMotta fighting the more gifted Sugar Ray Robinson for the sixth and final time. It was perhaps boxing’s greatest rivalry, even though LaMotta won only one of their little wars.


In their final fight, Robinson gave LaMotta a thrashing that “Raging Bull’s” magnificent cinematography immortalized. The frame where LaMotta’s blood sprays the first row of the crowd is the stuff of cinematic history. The ref steps in to end the fight, and a beaten but still defiant LaMotta yells repeatedly at the unemotional yet malevolent Robinson, “Ray! I never went down, Ray.”

“Raging Bull” shares with “The Sopranos” an identical overarching theme. At their heart, both are about very bad men who do very bad things and who have limitless destructive appetites. Both protagonists, though, hunger for redemption more than anything else

IT CAN’T BE A COINCIDENCE THAT “The Sopranos” cited “Raging Bull” at this moment. The characters have mentioned Scorsese several times this season, and Tony Soprano shares much with the LaMotta depicted by “Marty” (as members of the Soprano crew invariably refer to Scorsese). By the end of the movie, LaMotta had lost virtually everything – his wife, his family, his money, his physique. In one heartbreaking scene, LaMotta repeatedly bangs his head against the wall of a jail cell, wondering why he did the things he did. But ultimately, Jake LaMotta never went down.

All great pieces of art engage in foreshadowing. In this season’s first episode, Tony and Bobby mused about whether you hear the killers coming when you got whacked. We knew as they discussed the subject that at least one of them would know the answer by the end of the series.

The Raging Bull scene had to be a piece of foreshadowing. Tony Soprano shares much with Jake LaMotta, from their bloated figures to their coarseness to their cruelty. They also have positive attributes. Each in his own way is introspective. Both are strong men, and both are capable of love and kindness. These are the redeeming qualities that make us root for them, even they both are ugly sociopaths.

When “The Sopranos” channeled “Raging Bull,” I figured it meant two things – Tony would suffer, but Tony would not go down. He has certainly suffered much this season. In addition to losing Bobby and Sil to Phil Leotardo’s assassins this week, his family life has shattered. In a way, Tony’s own actions, inactions and miscalculations, like Jake LaMotta’s, have left him alone. He unwisely promoted Christopher, then killed him. His only two trusted and remotely capable associates are dead. His son will never be the man his father hoped he would. His daughter has abandoned her ambitions and is marrying the son of a mobster. His wife is a burden. Even his therapist dumped him.

The question remains whether Tony’s suffering is through. Have we seen him hit his rock bottom yet? In “Raging Bull,” LaMotta lost everything before winning a hard-earned measure of redemption. Will Tony’s rally begin at the start of the season finale, or will we see him sink lower still? I think like Jake LaMotta, Tony Soprano will go on, chastened, wiser, sadder but having at last achieved a small measure of inner peace. Also like LaMotta, he will find some of the redemption that he seeks. But lest you think we’re in for a happy ending, remember this: Tony is such a bad man who has done so many bad things, he is not fully redeemable. Just like Jake LaMotta.

Oh, one other thing. The villainous mobster in “Raging Bull” was played by Frank Vincent, the same actor who plays Phil Leotardo on “The Sopranos.” Things didn’t end particularly well for Vincent’s character in “Raging Bull.”

[badabellisima]

And lastly, here's a portion of the Drake Lelane post on the music of that great scene:

http://www.film.com/tv/story/music-sopranos-when-musics-over/14987952 (http://www.film.com/tv/story/music-sopranos-when-musics-over/14987952)
Music on The Sopranos - When the Music's Over

Drake Lelane (http://www.film.com/author/drake-lelane/14987952), Jun 05, 2007

At one point early on in Sunday night's The Sopranos ("The Blue Comet,") special agent Harris says to Tony about the weather, "End of times, huh? Ready for the Rapture?" After what soon followed in this penultimate episode, that comment feels almost not apocalyptic enough to encompass all the carnage that ensued. It was an explosive and powerful episode that sets up a series finale that's sure to be talked about for ages (and consider that your spoiler

It's something else, though, that Agent Harris confides to Tony that kick starts the episode: Phil has set in motion plans to take out Tony and a few of his friends. Tony quickly ditches the gabagool sandwich in his hand (remember that meat was a catalyst of his first panic attack,) and gets 'management' together. At a meeting, they decide to hit Phil first, and then Tony and Sil crack up Bobby with some slow-mo boxing moves. The whole scene is backed by Pietro Mascagni's "Intermezzo" (http://play.rhapsody.com/album/6962484_classicsfromthemovies/cavalleriarusticanaintermezzostafonico) from Cavalleria Rusticana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalleria_Rusticana), which was used as the title theme to Scorsese's Raging Bull (http://www.film.com/dvds/story/dvdtop5boxingfilms/12895417), making for a goose-bump-inducing moment. The piece was also used in Godfather III (http://www.film.com/movies/thegodfatherpartiii/6143787), in the scene where Michael Corleone's daughter dies, a dangerous reference if intended.



Writer Terry Winter cleared that up yesterday at Slate (http://www.slate.com/id/2163797/entry/2167571/):...the use of Cavalleria Rusticana is Raging Bull and Raging Bull only. Godfather III does not exist for me. It ceased to exist at 3:30 pm on Christmas Day, 1990, when I walked out of the first ever showing at the Kings Plaza Shopping Center Multiplex in Brooklyn, utterly heartbroken at what I had just witnessed.(Here's the rest of Drake Lelanes's post, which still adds to this discussion...)When Bobby delegates the hit on Phil to Paulie into the back room of The Bing, The Door's "When the Music's Over" is playing, which is both odd and appropriate. Odd to think that anyone would choose to strip/dance to the 10-minute long experimental jam, and appropriate in the sentiment that it is almost over for the series. When Paulie then delegates the job to Patsy, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "American X" is playing, featuring the lines you’ve sold your soul but it’s only a fake / you’d kill yourself for a piece of the take, making me think, again, that Paulie could be playing both sides here.

Later, when Sil and Paulie figure out that the hit was screwed up, the Madder Rose song "You Remember" plays, and a couple lines from the song are highlighted: No one knows how to turn this thing around / it's moving faster now, be quiet and I'll tell you about the sound. There's obviously no 'turning back' now, but Tony's crew finds ways to 'turn their back' on the danger. First Bobby gets taken out in spectacular fashion (while purchasing a Blue Comet train replica train set,) and we're reminded that while he's come a long way from being Junior's driver, he's still a naive little kid at heart.

Then, even as Sil and Patsy are in the process of 'going to ground,' they're still caught unawares outside The Bing (while listening to Nat King Cole's "Ramblin' Rose.") Why wouldn't Sil have a gun on him? Does he think that Phil's goons will respect The Bing? As the carnage is going on, Chase makes sure to have patrons and strippers (still naked) from The Bing outside gawking at the scene. It serves as a nice "F-You!" to the Soprano lookie-loos who only watch for the violence and the occasional nudity - Chase has never shied from publicly loathing their patronage.

While Phil is an arrogant prick, the bumbling by Tony's crew validates much of Phil's complaints about the New Jersey family and their way of doing business. Meanwhile, Elliott (Peter Bogdanovich) is also an arrogant prick who's problems with Tony are validated. Elliott is not only similar to Phil in that regard, but also in his success at eliminating Tony's support, as he helps push Melfi into giving up on Tony. Her abandonment of him in his time of need was a long time coming, given the history of their relationship, but the timing couldn't have been worse as a realistic resolution. It's hard to believe that Yochelson & Samenow's "The Criminal Personality" can close the book on that part of the series so quickly.

So it's just Tony and Paulie left, holed up in some nondescript safehouse. And as Tony tries to sleep clutching the semi-automatic rifle that dearly departed Bobby got him for his birthday, we hear the Tindersticks song "Running Wild" through the credits. It's the perfect moody, foreboding piece of work to end the episode, and while Chase uses the instrumental version, the lyrics to the song are relevant:

Running wild through my mind that I can't sleep tonight Like a child, like a child I have no place to hide Running wild, is there no ending for the...

Playlist: The Sopranos - Episode 620
1. "We Belong Together" - Robert & Johnny - Phil Leotardo sets plans in motion at his social club
2. "Intermezzo Stafonico (from 'Cavalleria Rusticana')" - Pietro Mascagni - Tony, Bobby, and Silvio talk and horse around at Vesuvio's
3. "Sympathy" - Keith Jarrett - Dr. Melfi and friends discuss her patient at a dinner party
4. "When The Music's Over" - The Doors - Bobby summons Paulie to the backroom of The Bing
5. "American X" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Paulie and Patsy talk at The Bing
6. "Nuages" - Django Reinhardt - The Sopranos catch up with Artie and Charmaine at Vesuvio's
7. "You Remember" - Madder Rose - Silvio and Paulie read the news at The Bing
8. "Ramblin' Rose" - Nat King Cole - Shootout in parking lot of The Bing
9. "Running Wild" - Tindersticks - Tony goes to sleep

More: How appropriate was it that while draining the pool (the symbol for the family) Janice comes and brings up Uncle Junior. Tony can't clear out the water quick enough.

Previously: Get Off That Bus (Episode 619)
drake lelane
both anxiously awaiting and dreading end of The Sopranos at the music/soundtrack blog thus spake drake

[badabellisima]

....In one heartbreaking scene, LaMotta repeatedly bangs his head against the wall of a jail cell, wondering why he did the things he did. But ultimately, Jake LaMotta never went down.

All great pieces of art engage in foreshadowing. In this season’s first episode, Tony and Bobby mused about whether you hear the killers coming when you got whacked. We knew as they discussed the subject that at least one of them would know the answer by the end of the series.
...
When “The Sopranos” channeled “Raging Bull,” I figured it meant two things – Tony would suffer, but Tony would not go down.


The question remains whether Tony’s suffering is through. Have we seen him hit his rock bottom yet? In “Raging Bull,” LaMotta lost everything before winning a hard-earned measure of redemption. Will Tony’s rally begin at the start of the season finale, or will we see him sink lower still? I think like Jake LaMotta, Tony Soprano will go on, chastened, wiser, sadder but having at last achieved a small measure of inner peace. Also like LaMotta, he will find some of the redemption that he seeks. But lest you think we’re in for a happy ending, remember this: Tony is such a bad man who has done so many bad things, he is not fully redeemable. Just like Jake LaMotta.
...


Naturally, true to my prior "conclusions" so far about the ending, i tend to go with Hewitt's interp of this parallel arc, and figure that "Tony would suffer, but Tony would not go down".

Sil, once again, brilliantly, you have succinctly pulled out the salient point, the germain issue at hand, the true significance i believe was intended by Chase in that scene. And even with all that, imo, there is still room for a difference of opinion on the nature of the conclusion, such as Hewitt points out.

Interestingly, Hewitt wrote this before the final episode, so i would love to know what he now concludes...

(Hewitt, if you're out there- please chime in!). :icon_biggrin:

[badabellisima]

The part in this episode where Tony and Silvio mock perform the final scene of raging bull when they recognize the song from that scene playing at Versevio's. It directly ties not only to the posters in the bing back office but also to the scientist from the hospital where he says the two boxers are actually the same entity. I feel this is a direct comparison of the arc of Phil and Tony's lives and deaths in the last season. Any one else want to elaborate?

And Sil- not to forget your mention of the hospital scientist speaking of the boxers as the same entity- Interesting that Tony and Sil , who were playing the part of fake-boxers, so far as we know, are still alive at the end of the show: Still fighting for survival in the very Game of Life. And Bobby, the lone observer, the representative 'audience' to the fake boxing (like us viewers)- is very much gone, no longer fighting that great fight, ...(gone, but not forgotten)...

[SilvioMancini]

Thanx Bada,

What I lack in detail I make up for in content IMHO. That scene to me has a lot more significance than maybe we really recognized the first or even seventh time seeing it. All things in the last two seasons or all of season six bring everything to that point full circle. This thread of story (raging Bull) with the story of Tony has a lot more significance than maybe appreciated before. I think this scene foreshadowed the death of Tony IMHO. The fall of the greatest...........

[badabellisima]

What I lack in detail I make up for in content IMHO... .
LOL! :icon_mrgreen: And you make a strong argument for Tony's final demise, especially in light of Hewitt's take on Tony's inability to be completely redeemed, in his opinion. Still, i favor the conclusion that Tony lives (like LaMotta), and boy oh boy do i hope Chase really is working on a movie so we can know the answer!!!

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/sport/sport25.gif

Seems to me that the very last two episodes especially really sum it up to bring out the full circle closing elements. i still plan to resume the scene-by-scene analysis of the final ep, and then even do that for the second-to-last ep. It will take tons of time, so no one hold their breath waiting! Just when i plan to work on it, something comes up- like now the economy crashes! Geez. Wonder how Chase would've handled that within an episode. Hope he puts it in the movie.

[turangawaewae]

Thanx Bada,

What I lack in detail I make up for in content IMHO. That scene to me has a lot more significance than maybe we really recognized the first or even seventh time seeing it. All things in the last two seasons or all of season six bring everything to that point full circle. This thread of story (raging Bull) with the story of Tony has a lot more significance than maybe appreciated before. I think this scene foreshadowed the death of Tony IMHO. The fall of the greatest...........

I have a confession to make.
Even though I boxed competitively for 6 years in my early twenties, I have never watched raging bull....I hate watching most boxing movies because the fight scenes are so unrealistic.
So I may be missing something, but I don't get the connection with Phil. OK, it's plausible you can make the Tony = La Motta comparison, but where does Phil fit in?
The fall of the greatest.... You're not suggesting La Motta was in any way the greatest are you????
If Tony mirrored La Motta, isn't it more likely he sunk to deep depths, then redeemed himself by quitting the mob, rather than being shot? Where is the redemption in that?
Maybe we should start a thread, what would Tony's occupation have been after he left the mob??

[conkom]

what would Tony's occupation have been after he left the mob??

He would be selling patio furniture or a precision optics salesman.

[badabellisima]

Turangawaewae- you were a boxer! You just gotta see Raging Bull!

Meanwhile, interesting note, if perhaps a stretch:

re: Cavalleria Rusticana = (translates: Rustic Chivalry); a one-act play/opera from the 1890's.

Well, in the actual opera/one-act play, that beautiful Intermezzo music (used in the scenes we're talking about) starts when one of the two main male characters (Alfio) is told that he was betrayed by the other guy (Turiddu). So Alfio challenges Turiddu to a duel. Turiddu bites Alfios ear when they embrace to agree to the duel. The Sicilian custom says that if blood is drawn, then they must fight to the death, and Alfio's ear drew blood. Ultimately, it is Tiriddu who ends up dying in the fight, NOT Alfio, the guy with the bloody ear.

Tony had a bloody ear from when back in Season (1/2/3?) those two guys tried to clip him and missed. Tony Lived (imo). :smile:

[turangawaewae]

He would be selling patio furniture or a precision optics salesman.

I know what was said in the series about patio furniture etc, but I see him running a club or a bar. However, given people would probably want to whack him, he would probably move to the beach, live off Carmella's spec house projects, and get even fatter.

[turangawaewae]

[QUOTE=badabellisima;24199]Turangawaewae- you were a boxer! You just gotta see Raging Bull!

I doubt the DVD stores here still carry it!!

I did manage to watch the James Braddock one with Russell Crowe, because I liked the depiction of the depression era.

[SilvioMancini]

I was making the connection that the two boxers described in the Fleshy Part of the Thigh episode as being one to me is a reference to Tony and Phils paralell demise. These two guys that are duking it out are actually one entity like the scientist said. And if you think Tony Dies then it fits with the theory. Phil dies (one boxer) Tony dies (other boxer). Just a thought as I know we can debate over it but Im just specualting for the sake of entertainment.

[Irishwiseguy]

Turangawaewae- you were a boxer! You just gotta see Raging Bull!

Meanwhile, interesting note, if perhaps a stretch:

re: Cavalleria Rusticana = (translates: Rustic Chivalry); a one-act play/opera from the 1890's.

Well, in the actual opera/one-act play, that beautiful Intermezzo music (used in the scenes we're talking about) starts when one of the two main male characters (Alfio) is told that he was betrayed by the other guy (Turiddu). So Alfio challenges Turiddu to a duel. Turiddu bites Alfios ear when they embrace to agree to the duel. The Sicilian custom says that if blood is drawn, then they must fight to the death, and Alfio's ear drew blood. Ultimately, it is Tiriddu who ends up dying in the fight, NOT Alfio, the guy with the bloody ear.

Tony had a bloody ear from when back in Season (1/2/3?) those two guys tried to clip him and missed. Tony Lived (imo). :smile:

Now that is a streeeeeeetttttttttttccccccchhhhhhhh. But very entertaining.:icon_biggrin:

[harpo]

Destruction is self-destruction. Psychologically, Tony's or Phil's rage is at their own weakness, projected instead at their enemy. Spiritually or in karmic terms, in rending your victim by murder, you are rending yourself: a distinct individual able to callously sequester another's fate from your own- a poisonous ideology that spreads until eventually you are someone else's victim. In broad terms, mankind is destroying itself. And to link it to Chase's interview before the final episodes, it's not that bad people are punished by a just universe so much as viewed from cold realism, to live indulging our greedy and violent impulses is risky; the connection between literal gambling and Tony gambling with his life are given to us. And maybe the extrapolating of it to global themes comes from the juxtaposition of Phil's death with Al Qaeda video. Plotwise, Phil's attempt to hit Tony amounts to Phil getting hit, and that fate is sealed right before the boxing visual, justified by the music and very probably referring to Schwinn's conversation with Tony. We have enough to know Phil's self-destruction is what happens to Tony too even if the specifics of it remain shrouded. And as disturbing as it is, from a pure entertainment standpoint, how much less interesting it is if we had known the details instead of being blindsided ourselves.

As for music to understand the cut to black, "When the Music's Over" from "Blue Comet" is the quickest way to get there. Or ask your friend up there on the wall, in Made in America, as Paulie and Walden are talking about the cat, not unlike the cat that sits at the intersection of two walls looking in.

[badabellisima]

Harpo- another amazing post. Lots to discuss, but here's a starter:

We have enough to know Phil's self-destruction is what happens to Tony too even if the specifics of it remain shrouded. And as disturbing as it is, from a pure entertainment standpoint, how much less interesting it is if we had known the details instead of being blindsided ourselves.

Good point. - i think even in the original opera production of Cavalleria Rusticano, they don't show details of the duel/death scene about to occur- the audience just knows it happens from the dialogue/arias, etc.,

-here it is from Wiki:

...Turiddu rushes out. Lucia, weeping, wanders aimlessly around outside her house. Santuzza approaches and throws her arms around her. The villagers start to crowd around. Voices are heard in the distance and a woman cries, "They have murdered Turiddu!" Santuzza faints and Lucia collapses in the arms of the women villagers.

Interesting that the term "they" (have murdered Turiddu) is used.

[badabellisima]

As for music to understand the cut to black, "When the Music's Over" from "Blue Comet" is the quickest way to get there. Or ask your friend up there on the wall, in Made in America, as Paulie and Walden are talking about the cat, not unlike the cat that sits at the intersection of two walls looking in.

I have been hoping someone would take up this topic further. Now this may be waaay too much of a streeeetch, and probably needs its own thread, but what the heck:

This relates to Chase et al's use of the cat looking into the intersection of two walls. Here goes:

Lots of us, mostly in a friendly way, have different POV's regarding how we "see" the ending. So imagine that we come from different paradigms, but have trouble seeing the other person's POV, or have trouble actually standing in their shoes. Okay, try to stay with me here....

ANd most of the time, we have trouble actually even seeing our own selves, even our own POV or paradigm, as we actually are: Like everyday, we look in the mirror to comb our hair, but we get used to the reverse image, and think thats how others see us. But if everyday we looked at a live video of ourselves, we'd get more used to the feedback that shows us; like when we catch a glimpse of ourselves on the live video screen while we wait in line for a bankteller (lots of that going on now that the economy is tanking!). Its usually a bit shocking- is that really me?

But what if the cat is looking into the intersection of two mirrored walls? A Whole new concept:

If you would like to see a mirror image of yourself that is not reversed left-to-right, here's how to do it:

Place two mirrors at a 90 degree angle to each other so that their vertical edges are touching. (Some bathrooms have right-angle mirrors around the whole counter top, so just look into the mirrored corner).

Stand directly in front of the pair and look at the intersection point- the 'corner'. Now, try to comb your hair while looking at the image of your face. Interesting isn't it? The paired mirrors produce a double reflection. the second reflection reverses the first reversal and you're yourself as others see you. The virtual, but true, image

If the cat, or anyone, looks into intersected plain, painted corner walls, they don't see their true selves, unless the walls are mirrored. They see basically nothing. (However, they have an opportunity for inner reflection, meditation, or the old-fashioned time-out punishment with a chair facing into the corner of the room).

We are surrounded by feedback reflected back to us that is formed by people seeing our true image, but we might be interpreting it as though we are not looking into a cornered-mirror. We might be interpreting it like the cat looking at a dead-end flat wall. We aren't seeing ourselves as others might see us. We see but we don't See.

This theme, imho, is critical to understanding many important points throughout the whole series, and in particular, Chase's mysterious intentions about the use of Christopher's image/presence, even after his demise at the hands of Tony. :smile:

[harpo]

The mystery of what happened to my hair is almost as perplexing as what happened to Tony. I've tried to push several mirrors together and still nothing. Maybe they'll make a movie about it. The upside is I have a pretty realistic idea how the world sees me.* Sometimes I have looked at a video screen in the bank and been shocked and thought, "Is that really me?" but the explanation is usually that it's not me and I was confused. It's the young girl in line in front of me, which is a relief. What's a 6 year old girl doing at the bank by herself anyway? No wonder our economy is in the shape it's in.

The cat from Walden's story was always at the corner of a table looking out (like Tony was) or at the intersection of two walls looking in (like the tiger was) connecting this scene very much to the final scene. And Christopher's image isn't the only murder victim mounted on the wall when Walden tells Paulie that story. There's also a stuffed buck head that by transitive power of association ties not hearing it when it happens to the the cat in the corner at Holsten's... and more generally suggests hunter as victim, as happened to Bobby who hunted the buck (and the washing drummer), Phil who hunted Tony, Christopher who hunted JT, Daniel Baldwin who hunted Michael the Cleaver, Tony who hunted Christopher and me who made fun of Don Zimmer.

*incoherent

[SilvioMancini]

Its funny you mention the video screen. Remember Tony's Lawyer constantly checking the video screen at the bing durin the infamous "ketchup" scene? This also refers to that cat looking into corners ting......

[harpo]

My cat is currently trying to eat my power cable. But hey, Walden's aunt's cat's didn't look in the corner. It looked from the corner into the room. It's not ambiguous; Walden even mimes the direction of cat looking as he says his line. Walden's mother's chinchilla used to stare at the TV and watch naked people (like Mink at the Bing) but we never hear even one line about this! A reference to not hearing it when it (the pervy chinchilla) happens. Walden's aunt's cat's habit was sitting at the exact corner of a table, looking out, like Tony's only action in the very last image on The Sopranos, or at the intersection of two walls, looking in, like the giant cat on the wall in the last scene. And one second after Walden says this, we cut to Paulie spooked and not aware of the giant stuffed buck above him who didn't even hear it when it happened. (That it=Sarah Palin killed him with piano wire. Come on, now, let's not veer off on a political tangent, just an image too entertaining not to share and we can move on. Even Palin herself would lhao at that joke and act it out. I wasn't calling out an actual connection between her and the mob. Let's move on.) I think Mink looking at the screen and trying to get the ketchup/fake blood out is about the viewers using violence for pornography. A cat that sits in a corner and looks at that same corner likely has a brain injury.

No boxer is an island. Do not ask for whom the bell ends the round. The bell fior thee. I might be seeing things that aren't there. For full disclosure, I once dabbled in boxing and my strategy was to explain to my opponent the illusion of separate entities. My trainer persuaded me to quit when I developed a bad habit between rounds of sitting on the stool backwards and staring at my own corner.

[badabellisima]

Often cats like to face the corner when using their litterbox, if its set into a corner of the room.

[badabellisima]

Back to Point of View: if we are watching the cat in the (mirrored) corner, then we see our own virtual selves, with either the cat's tail or face in the foreground...It's the audience, or viewer, who is facing the corner.

[SilvioMancini]

In all seriousness though,

That scene with Tony and Sil fake boxing juxtaposed with the scene of the rapper Deluxe watching the pay per view fight in the hospital as the ex-Bell lab(Bells anyone?) guy breaks down quantum physics with Tony using the boxers as his example. Was this a strange coincidence that later Tony finds out that the same man who spoke such profound truth to him had his larynx removed, the very object used to speak??? This to me along with the Ojibway quote left in his recovery room seem to be dominate themes throughout the whole last two seasons. They invoke a sort of Twighlight Zone feel dont they...... Interesting how that show is highlighted in the last episode.......... dee dee dee do dee dee dee do (theme song plays)