brilliant moments in 3

[suzi com]

At the very end of episode #33 - when Carm bullies T into donating 50 grand to Med's college they both stand up and walk upstairs, both with their backs to the camera ..

it takes several seconds,

there is no dialogue, the music (Nils Lofgren: "Black Books")
is only building, and it just looks totally domestic, totally real ...

and I loved it,
I love the way the ppl on this show are prepared to use relatively long periods without dialogue, (or "action" in this case) and how cleverly the music is used to enhance the narrative, (the guitar work on that track is stuning ... )

the lyrics, btw -
<div style="text-align:center">She wants new shoulders to cry on
New backseat to lie on
And she always gets her way

She wants to hurt other guys
Put tears in other eyes
Baby's in the black books
Yes, she's in the black books today</div>


</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub132.ezboard.com/bsopranolandforum.showUserPublicProfile?gid=suzico m>suzi com</A> at: 2/4/04 11:50 am

[FlyOnMelfisWall]

favorite episodes!! "Second Opinion" does a brilliant, stupendous job of encapsulating all the dynamics of Carmela's conflict in being married to Tony. I think I probably learned more about her in that ep than in any single prior episode and certainly had more empathy for her than ever before.

I also thought the ending, with Tony relenting on the money (without actually saying it), accompanied bythe refrain from that wonderful Lofgren song, was a masterpiece of dramatic subtlety. It is exactly the kind of scene that places the Sopranos leaps and bounds beyond anything television has ever seen before.

One question, suzicom. I didn't recognize that particular turn of lyric you quoted. The chorus I heard in that show says:

She wants to see other guys
Get lost in other eyes

Is the version you quoted from elsewhere in the song? Or am I simply forgetting that they actually played the section you quoted? I don't have the whole song on CD, only the DVD of the episode itself.

</p>

[suzi com]

hmm, I dunno about those lyrics I quoted, I spent ages just trying to find them on line, it probly would have been quicker to listen and copy them off the DVD -

so, then didn't really read them with 100% attention - so you could well be right and these cut and paste lyrics could be duff!

anyway - the moment is brilliant, and yes, leaps and bounds beyond most stuff they pump out on TV -

</p>

[BakedZiti]

I also noticed this song when it was used as the suggestion of Carmela's inner thoughts as she waited outside Meadow's dorm room. An astute musical and editing choice. But then, most of them are on The Sopranos.

The full song can be heard on the second CD of Sopranos soundtrack music, Peppers and Eggs (disc 1, number 9). To my mind, the added lyrics serve to underline Carm's dilemma about her marriage even more so than on the show -- and also recap Tony's dilemma about her.

If you want to purchase that CD through Sopranoland (and help support this site), click here (http://www.sopranoland.com/mall/music.html) and scroll to it.

</p>

[FlyOnMelfisWall]

It's definitely among the 4-5 best uses of music ever on the show, IMO, in terms of marrying a quality song with a quality scene and having the meaning of the scene enlightened or deepened by the lyrics. There's not a whole lot else on the CD I want, as a lot of the music chosen for the show doesn't appeal to me. But this thread may just inspire me to buy the CD yet.

</p>

[OceanSoprano]

The song that stands out for me is after Tony cleans up Janice's mess with Richie in Season 2, He goes home and sits on the couch with Carm. She tells him that her and Rosalie are going to Italy and that if she has to orginise AJ and Meadow , that 'she might kill herself'. Then she stands up and walks away leaving Tony on the couch. End credits roll and an Eurythmics starts to play. The song 'I saved the world today.'
Excert: 'Hey, Hey, I saved the world today,
and everybodys happy now the bad things gone away.
Everybodys happy now, the good things here to stay,
Please let it stay.'


</p>

[FlyOnMelfisWall]

I had in mind when I mentioned 4 or 5 great musical choices. I loved that scene and song also.

I also loved the song about the bird flying away (sung by Annie Lennox as well) and used at the end of one of the season 4 episodes, "Eloise", IIRC.

</p>

[suzi com]

@ FlyonMelfi's wall... I agree about wondering whether it is worth buying the CD(s) of the Sopranos music .. would I really be interested in the tracks divorced from their dramatic link?

</p>

[suzi com]

so now I've seen the lost in snow thing - excellent,

and where has the interior decorator gone? I do hope he gets another look in - he surely didnt just die up on a branch!

</p>

[BadaBingBubba]

Where Tony tell's Gloria he's had enough and want's to leave her, she then threatens him that she'll call his wife and he just goes nuts on her, the physical action between the two of them was just outstanding acting.

</p>

[nick1500]

I saved the world today stuck out for me too. The great thing about that scene at the end on the couch, it that it was supposed to mirror a shot of Carmella and Father Phil from "College." The mentioned it on the commentary.

The other Annie Lennox song from "Eloise" , is "Little Bird."

</p>

[magnus greel]

Maybe no one's coming back here ever, but I just saw season three again. This program puts the lie to the popular idea these days that the audience will not accept a show if it doesn't have constant quick edits and moving cameras, with no long pauses and extended shots, or silences. It's assumed audiences must want those things because most shows have them. They have them not because it's demanded, but because it's an effective trick for keeping viewers distracted from the fact that a show doesn't have good ideas, writing or acting. The illusion is created that something is going on, when it isn't.

</p>

[FlyOnMelfisWall]

I always check in when I see new posts in the older season threads. I don't often reply, but if it's ever about extolling season 3, I'll usually chime in.

I go back and forth on my favorite season, and in the end it's just a frivolous little "fan" thing to do, since all seasons are part of one big tapestry. But with distance now from all seasons, 3 still ranks as my favorite. I just loved the way so much was integrated into one season . . . Livia's death and the darkly hilarious funeral episode; the new dynamic with Meadow in college; the contrasting issues raised by her succession of boyfriends; the scholastic and disciplinary problems with AJ and Jackie Jr. as the foreshadowing of AJ's possible fate; Carmela's deepened conflict about the choices she made in her life; the new ground in therapy with the flashbacks to young Tony; the Melfi rape; the conflicts with Ralph; and the dynamite stuff with Tony and Gloria and post-mortem of it all in therapy. Great, great season.

</p>

[Jimmy Smash]

I agree. Season 3 is my favourite as well. In terms of the "Peppers & Eggs" CD, I have it, & to me it is worth it just for the show dialogue & snippets at the end of disc 2. I nearly drove my car off the road, as if hearing them for the 1 st time.

"Flight risk...I've been fartin' into the same sofa cushion for the last 18 months."

"Leave the F^&*'en cheese there alright, I love F^&*'en cheese at my feet. I stick mothaf^&*'en provolone in my socks at night, so they smell like your sisters crotch in the morning."

Just 26 LONG GRUSLING days. I nearly soiled myself when I saw the previews.

</p>

[Jimmy Smash]

I feel like a parasite here. I have been coming to this board for years & just recently joined mainly because the depth is outstanding here & unparallelled. Fly, among others, is one reason for joining, & yet no interaction with anyone.

Oh well...I guess the boards will pickup soon enough. I just know that between past seasons especially 4 & 5, there was a tremendous outpour of specualtion, spoilers, & conversation. I remember knowing most of the plot before the episodes began airing. Although I am thankfull that this season is so cloaked with secrecy, it was nice reading the predictions from Sopranosfan555.

Anyway, 25 long days left.



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