Made in America (The Sopranos)
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"Made in America" | |
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The Sopranos episode | |
The Soprano family meet for dinner at a restaurant. |
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Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 21 |
Written by | David Chase |
Directed by | David Chase |
Guest stars | Ricky Aiello Frank Albanese Gregory Antonacci Carl Capotorto Max Casella John Cenatiempo John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia Michele DeCesare Michael Drayer Frank John Hughes Michael Kelly Geraldine LiBrandi David Margulies Angelo Massagli Peter Mele Arthur Nascarella Donna Pescow Joseph Perrino Anthony Ribustello Daniel Sauli Matt Servitto Jenna Stern Emily Wickersham |
Original airdate | June 10, 2007 |
Season 6 episodes | |
Part 1: 12 March 2006 – 4 June 2006 Part 2: 8 April 2007 – 10 June 2007 |
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List of The Sopranos episodes |
"Made in America" is the eighty-sixth episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos and the series finale. It is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season. It was written and directed by series creator/executive producer David Chase. The episode first aired in the United States on June 10, 2007.
The plot of "Made in America" details the aftermath of the war between the DiMeo crime family—headed by series protagonist Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini)—and the Brooklyn-based Lupertazzi family. Tony also has to deal with many familial concerns involving his wife Carmela (Edie Falco), son A.J. (Robert Iler), and daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler). As the series comes to a close, several characters make personal and professional adjustments.
"Made in America" was shot in February and March 2007. It attracted 11.9 million viewers. The initial critical response was mostly favorable while fan reception was mixed; however, in the weeks following the episode's original broadcast, appreciation for the finale grew considerably among critics and fans alike. "Made in America" and its closing scene became the subject of discussion, criticism, and analysis; parodies of the final scene also appeared in popular culture. The episode won an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.
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[edit] Plot
In the aftermath of the mob war that left several of his crew dead or injured, Tony wakes up in the safe house where he and his surviving associates have taken up residence. Tony meets with FBI Agent Dwight Harris (Matt Servitto) to exchange information. However, Harris refuses to provide Tony with Phil Leotardo's (Frank Vincent) location. Tony visits his family at the separate safe house where they are now living.
The FBI closely monitors Bobby Baccalieri's funeral, which Tony and his crew attend. Members of Tony's crew bring him their payments but the takings are disappointing, because the war is affecting everyone's business. Phil talks to Butch DeConcini (Gregory Antonacci) and expresses anger over Butch's failure to kill Tony.
A sit-down between the warring crime families is arranged. Tony and Paulie Gualtieri (Tony Sirico) meet with Butch, Albie Cianflone (John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia), and Little Carmine (Ray Abruzzo) of the Lupertazzi family, and they negotiate a truce. Butch does not provide Tony with Phil's location, however, but tells him, "You do what you gotta do." Agent Harris calls Tony and reveals that Phil has been using pay phones in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Tony's crew surveils gas stations with payphones in the area, but they are unable to locate Phil.
With the truce agreed, Tony returns to his North Caldwell home and life begins to return to normal for Tony, his family, and his crew. The exception is A.J., who, after watching his car explode after a pile of leaves set it afire, decides to join the U.S. Army. Tony and Carmela discuss this turn of events with A.J.'s therapist and Tony also talks about his own life and childhood. Tony and Carmela distract A.J. from his military ambitions by getting him involved in producing a movie with Little Carmine's production company, and supplying him with a new car. Meadow and Patrick Parisi (Daniel Sauli) plan their wedding.
Eventually Benny Fazio (Max Casella) and Walden Belfiore (Frank John Hughes) encounter Phil at a Raceway gas station; as Phil is talking to his wife, Walden murders him by shooting him point blank in the head, then again in the chest. Leotardo's wife rushes to Phil's side in a panic. Unattended and still idling, the SUV idles forward and a wheel rolls over and crushes Phil's skull in front of several witnesses. FBI Agent Ron Goddard (Michael Kelly) notifies Agent Harris of Leotardo's death, causing Harris to exclaim, "Damn! We're gonna win this thing!"
Tony's lawyer, Neil Mink (David Margulies), informs Tony that someone is testifying to a grand jury and that Tony is likely to be indicted. Tony believes it to be Carlo Gervasi (Arthur Nascarella). Tony visits his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano (Dominic Chianese) at the state mental hospital. Because of his dementia, Junior barely recognizes Tony and becomes confused when Tony tries to remind him of his involvement in "this thing of ours," whereupon Tony leaves with a tear in his eye.
Tony then meets his family for dinner at a restaurant, arriving first. Carmela arrives second and Tony verifies that Carlo is going to testify against him and the DiMeo Family. A.J. then arrives and the three Sopranos talk for a while about A.J.'s new job. A man, who has been intermittently staring at Tony as he sits there, gets up from his bar and glances at Tony as he heads to and enters the bathroom. As Meadow enters the restaurant, Tony looks up and the screen abruptly cuts to black and silence. After ten seconds, the credits roll silently.[1]
[edit] Production
Show runner David Chase planned the series ending during the 21-month hiatus between seasons five and six, a "long break" that HBO granted him. The final scene was filmed almost exactly as Chase had envisioned. It was not intended as a setup for a future film, although Chase later stated "[t]here may be a day where we all come up with something," regarding a possible Sopranos feature.[2][3][4] The series finale is the second Sopranos episode to be directed by Chase; he also directed the pilot episode.
Principal photography of "Made in America" took place on location in Essex County, New Jersey and in Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York City, New York from late February to late March 2007. Additional interior scenes were filmed in a sound stage in Silvercup Studios, New York. The final scene of the episode was filmed in late March 2007 at Holsten's Brookdale Confectionery, an ice cream and candy shop located in Bloomfield, New Jersey.[5] As the crew needed to insure that plot details of the ending would be kept a secret till the airdate, they shot several fake endings, and the final pages of the script given to crew members were removed.[6]
Chase originally wanted the black screen at the end of the episode to last "all the way to the HBO whoosh sound," meaning that no credits would roll at the end of the episode, but did not get a waiver from the Directors Guild of America to do so.[7][8]
Agent Harris' exclamation "Damn! We're gonna win this thing!" when learning of the death of Phil Leotardo is a real-life allusion to former FBI supervisor Lindley DeVecchio who famously uttered the line when he was told Lorenzo "Larry" Lampasi had been shot to death in front of his Brooklyn home. DeVecchio was later charged for informing the mob on various accounts, including giving the locations of other mob enemies to Colombo crime family enforcer Gregory Scarpa.[9][10]
Maureen Van Zandt, who plays Silvio Dante's wife Gabriella Dante on the show, is billed in the opening credits for this episode only. The characters Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) and Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) do not appear in "Made in America" but the actors who play them are still listed in the opening credits.
[edit] Music
- The song playing as Tony enters the restaurant and up until Carmella enters is Little Feat's "All That You Dream".
- The song played during the final scene was "Don't Stop Believing", by Journey; the scene cut to black near the end of the song, precisely on the phrase "Don't stop". The band's lead singer, Steve Perry, refused to let Chase use "Don't Stop Believing" in the final scene until he knew the fate of the leading characters, and did not give final approval until three days before the episode aired. He feared that the song would be remembered as the soundtrack to Tony's demise, until Chase assured that it would not be the case.[11]
- Another notable song in this episode was "You Keep Me Hangin' On", from Vanilla Fudge; snippets from the intro were played near the start, as Tony wakes up, and, soon after, visits his family at their beach house (which Carmela acquired shortly before the mob war began). It is heard again when Phil Leotardo was assassinated.
- The song "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" by Bob Dylan was played as A.J. and Rhiannon were making out in A.J.'s SUV (before it caught fire).
- During the scene at Satriale's where the cat is staring at Christophers portrait, Creedence Clearwater Revival's version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is playing.
- The song playing on the radio while Tony and Paulie wait for Agent Harris is "Denise" by Randy & the Rainbows.
- On the jukebox at Holsten's, other songs besides "Don't Stop Believing" include Mary Hopkin's "Those Were The Days", The Drifters' "This Magic Moment", Heart's "Who Will You Run To" (b/w "Magic Man" (live)), and Journey's "Any Way You Want It" (the flipside to "Don't Stop Believing").
[edit] Reception
[edit] Response to final scene
The final scene of "Made in America" became the subject of much discussion and analysis after its original broadcast. The use of an abrupt ending followed by several seconds of silent black screen led many viewers to initially believe that their cable or DVR had cut out at a crucial moment.[12] Two opposing interpretations emerged among viewers regarding the ultimate fate of Tony: some believe that he is killed; others believe that he remains alive.[2][13] One argument for the former points to a conversation that Tony had in the midseason premiere episode "Soprano Home Movies" with his brother-in-law Bobby, in which Bobby comments on how suddenly and without sound death can happen in their lives as gangsters.[14] When questioned on the theory, HBO spokesman Quentin Schaffer stated that the conversation is a "legitimate" hint.[13] The final scene showing a man credited as "Man in Members Only jacket" who goes to the bathroom has been interpreted as a nod to a scene in the The Godfather in which Michael Corleone retrieves a gun from the bathroom before shooting his enemies to death.[15] Speculation has also linked the jacket to the title of the opening episode of the season, in which Tony is shot, and also as a symbolic reference to membership of the Mafia. On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Michael Imperioli stated that he believed the final scene meant that Tony was "very dead."[16]
Contrary arguments about the ending's meaning have also been made. It has been suggested that final scene means that while life is fraught with fear and danger it nevertheless goes on. The lyrics of the closing song are thought to support this.[17] Supporters of this interpretation point out that because of Tony's peace agreement with the Lupertazzi family and their tacit sanction of a hit on Phil, there was no legitimate basis to expect a hit on Tony.[18] Chase has made various comments about the finale; however, he has not provided an explanation to the meaning of the final scene. In his first interview after the broadcast of the finale with New Jersey paper The Star Ledger, Chase stated "I have no interest in explaining, defending, reinterpreting, or adding to what is there. No one was trying to be audacious, honest to God. We did what we thought we had to do. No one was trying to blow people's minds, or thinking, 'Wow, this'll piss them off.' People get the impression that you're trying to fuck with them and it's not true. You're trying to entertain them. [...] Anybody who wants to watch it, it's all there."[2]
Chase later commented "I wasn't going to do this, but somebody said it would be a good idea if we said something about that ending. I really wasn't going to go into it, but I'll just say this...when I was going to Stanford University's graduate film school and was 23 [years old], I went to see Planet of the Apes with my wife. When it was over, I said, 'Wow...so they had a Statue of Liberty, too.'"[19]
On moments during and after the final scene, Chase referred to a scene from the episode "Stage 5", "There are no esoteric clues in there. No Da Vinci Code. Everything that pertains to that episode was in that episode. And it was in the episode before that and the one before that and seasons before this one and so on. There had been indications of what the end is like. Remember when Gerry Torciano was killed? Silvio was not aware that the gun had been fired until after Gerry was on his way down to the floor. That's the way things happen: It's already going on by the time you even notice it."[3] On the fans of the show, Chase remarks "They had gleefully watched him rob, kill, pillage, lie, and cheat. They had cheered him on. And then, all of a sudden, they wanted to see him punished for all that. They wanted 'justice.' They wanted to see his brains splattered on the wall. I thought that was disgusting, frankly. [...] The pathetic thing—to me—was how much they wanted his blood, after cheering him on for eight years."[3]
In a further interview, Chase stated "There's more than one way of looking at the ending. That's all I'll say."[20] In a later radio interview, Chase was more specific about the ending and referred to scenes from "Stage 5" and "Soprano Home Movies" in relation to the ending.[21]
[edit] Ratings, critical response, awards, and parodies
When "Made in America" first aired on HBO in the United States on Sunday June 10, 2007, it attracted an average of 11.9 million viewers, the show's largest audience since the season five premiere.[22] The critical reception of "Made in America" was generally favorable. Alan Sepinwall of The Star Ledger called the finale "satisfying" and wrote that the episode "fit[s] perfectly with everything Chase has done on this show before."[23] Mark Farinella of The Sun Chronicle called it "[a] perfect ending to a perfect TV series."[14] Frazier Moore of the Associated Press called the episode "brilliant" and wrote that "Chase was true to himself."[24] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called the episode "the perfect ending" and wrote about the final scene, "On shock of that cut to black, the marvelous way it got you to roll the scene over, again and again, in your mind's eye. Rather than bringing the series to a close, that blackout made The Sopranos live forever."[25] Marisa Carroll of PopMatters awarded the episode a score of 8 out of 10 and particularly praised the final scene as one of the best of the series.[26] Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle called the final episode "[a]n ending befitting genius of Sopranos" [sic] and wrote that "Chase managed, with this ending, to be true to reality [...] while also steering clear of trite TV conventions."[27] Chicago Tribune critic Maureen Ryan's first review was mixed; she criticized the final scene for not providing any closure. Ryan later wrote "Chase got me totally wound up, then ripped me away from that world. I was really mad at first [...] I still think what Chase did was, all due respect, kind of jerky. But minutes after the finale ended, I started laughing."[28][29] Brian Zoromski of IGN awarded "Made in America" a score of 6.5 out of 10, calling it "tailor-made for arguments, presenting an ending certain to annoy and frustrate many more viewers than it satisfies."[30] Kim Reed of Television Without Pity gave the finale the highest score of A+ and praised it for staying true to the show.[31]
In 2007, "Made in America" won an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. It was the only category the episode was nominated in. This is the third and final time series creator/executive producer David Chase has won the award for his writing of the series.[32] In 2008, Chase was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award in the category of Drama Series (Night).[33][34] Editor Sidney Wolinsky won an American Cinema Editors Eddie Award in the category of Best Edited One-Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television.[35]
Aspects of the "Made in America" episode have been widely parodied. The ending was spoofed in a promotional video produced by the Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign as well as on an episode of The Celebrity Apprentice that featured former The Sopranos actor Vincent Pastore.[36][37] The ending was also referred to during the opening act of the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, performed by Family Guy characters Brian and Stewie, and in the Family Guy episode "Lois Kills Stewie".[38][39]
[edit] References
- ^ "Episode guide - Episode 86 - "Made in America"". HBO. http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/episode/season6/episode86.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ a b c Sepinwall, Alan (2007-06-11). "David Chase speaks!". The Star Ledger. http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2007/06/david_chase_speaks.html#more. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ a b c Martin, Brett. "'Sopranos' Creator Takes on Angry Fans". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20152845,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Levine, Stuart (2008-04-23). ""The Sopranos": David Chase fesses up". Variety. http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2008/04/the-sopranos-da.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Moss, Linda (2007-06-11). "The Sopranos Ends in an Ice Cream Parlor". Multichannel News. http://multichannel.com/article/CA6450592.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Levin, Gary (2008-06-22). "Stars, creator dish on 'The Sopranos' in DVD extras". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-06-22-sopranos-DVD-extras_N.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ "'Sopranos' creator defends famous finale". Associated Press. 2007-10-23. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21440301/. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Carter, Bill (2007-06-16). "Fans Online Sift for Clues in the ‘Sopranos’ Finale". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/arts/television/16sopr.html?ref=television. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Moushey, Bill (1998-12-01). "Switching Sides". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/win/day6_1a.asp. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Raab, Selwyn (2006). Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 341. ISBN 978-0312361815.
- ^ "Journey Rocker Kept Sopranos Boss Waiting". pr-inside.com. 2007-06-13. http://www.pr-inside.com/journey-rocker-kept-sopranos-boss-waiting-r151767.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-15.
- ^ Noveck, Jocelyn (2007-06-12). "Sopranos ending splits fans". The Courier-Mail. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21891485-7642,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-18.
- ^ a b Gorman, Steve (2007-06-15). "Sopranos rub-out theory gains credence". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN0644006120070615?pageNumber=1. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ a b Farinella, Mark (2007-06-12). "A perfect ending to a perfect TV series". The Sun Chronicle. http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/06/12/columns/columns14.txt. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ "Sopranos Creator: Movie No Sure Thing". Associated Press. 2007-06-12. http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/2007-06-12-4263098974_x.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ "Think Tony Soprano's dead? You may be right". CNN. 2007-06-15. http://www.londontopic.ca/article.php?artid=3603. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Emerson, Jim (2007-06-10). "'The Sopranos': Eighty-Sixed". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070610/EDITOR/70611001/-1/RSS. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ Goodman, Tim (2007-06-13). ""Sopranos" finale: What Really Happened". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=24&entry_id=17571. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Maloney, Michael (2007-07-22). "David Chase on The Sopranos ending - TCA Awards report". TV Squad. http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/07/22/david-chase-on-the-sopranos-ending-tca-awards-report. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Daly, Steve (2008-11-14). "Gangsters' Paradise". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20238655,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Belzer, Richard (2008-12-12). "Belzer and David Chase interview". Premium Air America. http://premium.airamerica.com/BelzerandDavidChase. Retrieved on 2008-12-15. - R.Belzer: I was working with Steve Schirripa recently, we were judging Last Coming Standing for NBC and we were talking about a lot of things and he was saying he heard all of these theories for the show that had nothing to do with your intention and wasn't anything the actors thought, like little hints along the way, like a word, like when Tony and Steve are on the boat at the lake and they say "you never know it's gonna happen" or "you never know it's gonna hit you." - D.Chase: That was part of the ending. - R.Belzer: Oh, it was? See, what do I know? Were there other things in previous episodes that were hints towards it? - D.Chase: There was that and there was a shooting which Silvio was a witness, well he wasn't a witness, he was eating dinner with a couple of hookers and with some other guy and there was some visual stuff that went on there which sort of amplified Tony's remarks to Bacala about you know "you don't know it's happened" or "you won't know it happened when it hits you". That's about it.
- ^ "'Sopranos' Body Count: 11.9 Million". zap2it.com. 2007-06-12. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-sopranosfinaleratings,0,4265982.story. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2007-06-10). "Sopranos Rewind: Made in America". The Star-Ledger. http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2007/06/sopranos_rewind_made_in_americ.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Moore, Frazier (2007-06-10). "No Easy Ending for 'The Sopranos'". Associated Press. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8PMCDG80&show_article=1%22. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen. "The Sopranos - Made in America". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20042736,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Carroll, Marisa (2007-06-19). "Before the Flood: The Series Finale". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/the-sopranos-series-finale/. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Goodman, Tim (2007-06-11). "An ending befitting genius of 'Sopranos'". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/11/SOPRANO.TMP. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen (2007-06-10). "Are you kidding me? That was the ending of 'The Sopranos'?". Chicago Tribune. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/06/are_you_kidding.html#more. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen (2007-06-12). "Further thoughts on that 'Sopranos' finale". Chicago Tribune. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/06/further_thought.html#more. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Zoromski, Brian (2007-06-11). "The Sopranos: Made in America Review". IGN. http://tv.ign.com/articles/795/795508p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ Reed, Kim (2007-06-15). "The Sopranos - "Made in America"". Television Without Pity. http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the_sopranos/made_in_america.php. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ "Emmy Awards Database". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. http://cdn.emmys.tv/awards/awardsearch.php. Retrieved on 2008-12-09.
- ^ "DGA Announces Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in All Categories for 2007". Directors Guild of America. 2008-01-10. http://www.dga.org/news/pr_expand.php3?537. Retrieved on 2008-08-23.
- ^ "DGA Award Winners and Special Award Recipients". Directors Guild of America. 2008-01-26. http://www.dga.org/news/pr_expand.php3?541. Retrieved on 2008-08-23.
- ^ "American Cinema Editors > ACE Eddie Awards". American Cinema Editors. http://www.ace-filmeditors.org/newace/eddieNominees.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-23.
- ^ Vargas, Jose Antonio (2007-06-20). "Hillary Clinton Rides 'Sopranos' Coattails in Video Spoof of Finale". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902258.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Ward, Kate (2008-02-01). "'The Celebrity Apprentice' recap: Walking over Vinnie". Entertainment Weekly. http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/02/the-celebrity-a.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. FOX. 2007-09-16.
- ^ "Lois Kills Stewie". Writer: Steve Callaghan; Director: Greg Colton. Family Guy. FOX. 2007-11-11. No. 5, season 6.
[edit] External links
- HBO.com – The Sopranos official website
- The Sopranos at the Internet Movie Database
- "Made in America" at the Internet Movie Database
- Television Without Pity – The Sopranos recaps
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