The Memorable Roles of James Gandolfini: Tony Soprano Was Just an Impressive Start
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American actor James Gandolfini, who became the brightest TV screens' star after started performing in the series THE SOPRANOS, sometimes was called one of the most underrated movie actors. The actor did not appear in major Hollywood films, and usually did not perform the main roles, but his name was always associated with the name of gangster Tony Soprano.
Standing in public in other people's clothes, pretending to be someone else. It's a strange way for a grown man to make a living. - James Gandolfini
Credit: azquotes.com
Nevertheless, he often created striking second-rate roles, which somehow overshadowed even the main characters. It was really a great actor worth all our praises.
Today I will talk about some of the most memorable roles played by James Gandolfini who died five years ago.
Let's watch if you have not seen still those movies.
Interview with James Gandolfini - Video credit: CutyVideoss via Youtube.com
THE SOPRANOS Launched The New Era Of TV Series
The scenario of THE SOPRANOS (1999- 2007), originally conceived as a movie by director David Chase, did not attract any of Hollywood's greatest cinematic studies. D. Chase has proposed to make adaptation a previously rejected script for one TV channel, so HBO's viewers soon were presented with one of the most important and influential series in television history - THE SOPRANOS.
After earning 5 Golden Globes and 11 Emmy Awards, this project has opened a new era for TV series - encouraged by its success, directors have begun to create more television projects, and today the quality of the television content challenges the big cinema.
The epic THE SOPRANOS not only made a breakthrough in the production of serials but has also brought glory to the actor James Gandolfini who played the role of a mafia leader. Usually, the actor performed small roles in the series, but now he got a role of a middle-aged peaceful mafia leader.
James Gandolfini In THE SOPRANOS - Photo credit: imdb.com
The series shows a rather long segment of the life of the main character - Tony Soprano, the boss of Family living in an American city, and various situations that constantly require solutions, sometimes difficult ones. In general, each character in this series deserves attention, and the plot, although it has the main thread, is very diverse, and it will find a response from literally any viewer: so many different types, characters, personal stories of each character are shown.
James Gandolfini embodied the sensual contemporary godfather of Mafia with a brutal appearance. It was his first major role in his career, and soon he became one of the most desirable actors in his generation. Tony Soprano is an absolute criminal, but it is difficult to call him a villain. Moreover, the hero is in many ways even cute. He is a little sentimental, sincerely going through family dramas, trying to be fair. It is not surprising that from time to time he looks like a real victim of his relatives, who, unlike him, are not associated with any criminal activity.
I especially want to mention the bunch of subtle humor. The main character simply conquers. He is charming, good-natured, but at the same time, able to conduct business toughly and without much fuss. His relationship with his wife, children, mother, with people from the Family, and even a personal psychoanalyst - all that is shown charmingly.
James Gandolfini - Tony Soprano - Photo credit: youtube.com
THE SOPRANOS is notably distinguished from the overall flow of such movies. Its attractiveness and unusualness are that the mafia stories here are just a background. The main thing is human relationships that connect Tony with his family and relatives (wife, children, mother, uncle), one more lover, friends, and neighbors. The fact that the protagonist is compelled to visit a psychoanalyst regularly shows how difficult is all that.
The series is interesting with vivid psychological portraits of actors and a variety of life situations, most of which are quite typical. It is surprising, but even Toni Soprano, a man with huge amounts of money and connections, who has at his disposal expensive lawyers, hired killers and just friends with heavy fists, finds it difficult to solve the issues.
When you see this, you clearly understand: to an ordinary person who does not have hundredth part of such opportunities, it has no sense to complain about the fate at all.
The Sopranos | Critics Rave Trailer - Video credit: tvpromos via YouTube.com
The Man Who Wasn't There, 2001
The movie THE MAN WHO WAS NOT THERE, directed by two brothers: Joel and Ethan Coen, the kings of black humor, take the viewer to California in 1949, where a wife of low speaking hairdresser Ed Krein (Billy Bob Thornton) has the romance with her boss, the Big Dave (James Gandolfini), who has recently accumulated money for a new store.
Ed is silent, intelligent and obviously sees a lot. At first glance, such a simple character, but very strong inside and memorable. Here an interesting drama with the criminal elements starts.
The meaning of existence in the gray life for Ed appears after the visit of the stranger, who offered Ed a profitable business. The stranger invites Ed to invest $ 10,000 in dry clothes cleaning business that will bring good wealth. For the sake of a new business, and more precisely for the sake of meaningful life, Ed is ready to take any measures.
James Gandolfini - Photo credit: topsimages.com
To become wealthy, he blackmails Big Dave, realizing that he can succeed in life only by taking extreme measures. It seems that in the tricky plan of Ed there are no flaws. To earn money, Ed starts anonymously blackmail the Big Dave and take out money from him. But without knowing it himself, the film's hero made his first big mistake, the consequences of which would lead to a terrible punishment.
I watched the movie in one breath. It is in black and white, and it gives its special atmosphere. It is possible to single out a slight minus: the film lacks the dynamics, dynamics in the development of events, though somewhere in the middle of the movie was very surprised by the unexpected turn of events.
And the more you go deeper into the movie's story, the more you understand the drama of this story.
What is the moral of the film? This is an assessment of the mistakes of life, which of them can be fatal for a person: murder or may even seemingly harmless joke? How much is the justice really justice?
That punishment is inevitable, despite the fact that the court may be mistaken. Fate is still somehow punishing a person for evil, which was hidden.
James Gandolfini in KILLING THEM SOFTLY - Photo credit: mymeaningfulmovies.blogspot.com
KILLING THEM SOFTLY, 2012
KILLING THEM SOFTLY - a film that needs to watch and listen, and listen more than watch. Andrew Dominic does not involve the intrigue into the plot; there is no detective story and exciting investigation, but there are many dialogues, and you cannot go away from them. The film is incredible magic; it seems the dirty pubs on the outskirts of the American town, constant rain, retro cars, reports of economic news on the radio, and the loud speeches of Obama on TV, but all this is filmed with a stunning sense of taste - you cannot take out your eyes from the screen.
The action takes place in a dirty industrial city, where some drug addicts, criminals, and prostitutes live in dilapidated homes. The operator does not hesitate to emphasize the particularly dull landscapes. A couple of small criminals rob a card tournament organized by a Mafiosi named Markie (Ray Liotta). The first suspect, of course, turns out to be the owner himself, but victims just in case hire an outsider Jackie (Brad Pitt) for a thorough investigation.
KILLING THEM SOFTLY - Photo credit: bathtdicotedfi.weebly.com
To the help, Jackie invited the once great, formerly employed murderer Mickey (James Gandolfini) - a man who suffers from alcohol addiction and mood change, a holy believer in his great form and dexterity. But can such a tandem be condemned to success?
In the movie KILLING THEM SOFTLY, playing with the most bright movie stars, James Gandolfini managed not only to keep up his role but also to perfectly complement each other with Brad Pitt. The movie was featured in the Cannes Film Festival and nominated on Golden Palm award. It is praised for engaging dialogue between Pitt and James Gandolfini, a well-styled storyline, and style. Dialogues, one better than the other, were on the situation in the country, the severe fate of hired killers and the hesitancy of modern customers.
The fans of mafia lives' dramas will be happy. KILLING THEM SOFTLY is the perfect representative of its genre. And yet the movie is very consistent with its original name: the scenes of the killings are taken off with a special love.
Director Andrew Dominick created a deeply realistic criminal thriller but gave this realism an aesthetic beauty and a unique style. This is an unusually stylish and elegant movie about capitalist society, the economic crisis and the criminal circles of America during the struggle for Barack Obama's power.
The film was very confident, calm, and talented. Everything will reveal at the very end, so be patient and enjoy watching. This is really a rare film in which everything delights you.
KILLING THEM SOFTLY premiere - Photo credit: hollywoodreporter.com
ENOUGH SAID, 2013
What a pleasant feeling leaves this simple at first glance movie - a romantic comedy ENOUGH SAID. It is about the emerging romance between two cute people, Eve (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Albert (James Gandolfini), who almost broke off because of excessive female curiosity.
By ridiculous chance, Eva is the masseuse of the ex-wife of her new boyfriend - a poet Marianne (Catherine Ceener) who does not miss a chance to talk badly about the ex-spouse. And out of clear curiosity, she begins to slowly learn from her why her marriage broke up, and what is wrong with Albert. As a result, all this unnecessary knowledge leaves an imprint on her perception of a nice man. She herself does not notice how she projects onto that innocent man all those little cavils that are so insignificant during the romantic period.
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It was really pleasant to just follow the development of the relations of two adult normal people, having a great sense of humor: to absorb their emotions, rejoice for them, penetrate into their emotional world, to notice how important are all the trivialities in everyday life of people, and wish for them to find true love because without love life is so empty.
In an attempt to escape from the role of the mafia and the criminal group member, actor James Gandolfini in comedy ENOUGH SAID performed an atypical role for himself, to which many film professional associations have dedicated the post-mortem nomination for the best main male role.
The movie is nominated for the Golden Globe falls on all the romantic comedy toppings and is a must-see for viewers who start a new relationship.
The movie for entertainment ENOUGH SAID - Photo credit: variety.com
THE DROP - the last but not least role of James Gandolfini
The role in a crime drama THE DROP in 2014 became the last in the career of actor J. Gandolfini - a man died a month after the end of the films, and a film is dedicated to him.
Each city has its own wormholes. Places in which life can be a problem. The story of the movie is going in a city of Brooklyn, a complex criminal area full of gloomy people and the same gloomy deals. Every night, there is going money laundering on the streets. There is a completely unobtrusive bar, and the main role Bob (Tom Hardy) works in it, a melancholic with an interesting character and world outlook. There is also boss Marv (James Gandolfini) too. There are a dog and a girl, as well as a Chechen mafia who needs this bar for money laundering.
Calmness is disturbed when two people in masks and weapons take five thousand dollars in small banknotes from the bar office. It would seem a trifle for criminals, but owners of that money are bloody Chechens. So with the upside-down lives, the race with time begins that the duo could save their lives. Bob and Marv will have to remember his previous life in order to get out of the difficult situation.
James Gandolfini in THE DROP - Photo credit: ifyouwantthegravy.wordpress.com
THE DROP - a film created by the script written by Dennis Lehane and directed by Michael R. Roskam. In fact, it's a luxurious criminal story with slow action, here we will not see a great burning passion or a certain intrigue, but nevertheless, the movie is worth to see.
The movie also forces to think that virtually every person in such inhumane areas at certain moments of his life can for a short time (and maybe forever) become a beast with whom you would better never meet.
THE DROP is a crime drama that reveals the lives of the very bottom in organized crime. But even in this cruel life, ready to be interrupted at any moment, there may be a place for love and caring about the close one.
On The Final Note
James Gandolfini is a talented, genius actor of the episode on the big screen and the face of the whole generation of serials. Thanks to his role, Toni Soprano, in many respects, a revolution began on American television.
James Gandolfini's films were best known for performing bold and bad guys. After so many THE SOPRANOS series, James Gandolfini was identified with the Mafia world. The actor himself believed so sincerely that he can play only a criminal element that, having received the offer to play in a romantic comedy, he was afraid and did not rush to accept this proposal.
Actor James Gandolfini - Photo credit:salonurody.info
Actor James Gandolfini dead being only 51 years. His films' fans will always remember him as Tony Soprano. But he is not a mafia Father. It's only perfectly played personage. In life, James Gandolfini was quite different. He was simple, modest, nice. He had a great sense of humor.
However, James Gandolfini loved to wear a mask of the mafia father, and it perfectly stuck to his face. What to argue here - such characters really fitted to this actor.
You know my feelings: every day is a gift. It's just, does it have to be socks? - James Gandolfini
Credit: azquotes.com
HAVE FUN WATCHING!
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