Tagged: Mob Boss
Tony Soprano’s Christmas in “Kaisha”
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 6.12: “Kaisha”)
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob boss
North Caldwell, New Jersey, Christmas 2006
Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “Kaisha” (Episode 6.12)
Air Date: June 4, 2006
Director: Alan Taylor
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On #SopranosSunday with Christmas just a few days away, let’s check in with everyone’s favorite mob family for the second and final holiday-set episode of The Sopranos‘ epic run.
I’m a sucker for Christmas scenes, and I always appreciate “holiday adjacent” movies like The Thin Man, Three Days of the Condor, The Godfather, Goodfellas, and—of course—Die Hard that add a certain mysticism by setting some or all of the action at Christmas, a time of wonderment and hope but often not without melancholy. Although we only spend the last five minutes of the episode in the midst of true yule celebrations, “Kaisha” is framed by family holidays, beginning with the bombing of Phil Leotardo’s New York restaurant just before Thanksgiving and continuing over the weeks to follow throughout the holiday season as the all-too-human characters of Soprano-world navigate the stressful spectrum that ranges from loveliness to an abundance of loved ones.
The Irishman: Joe Pesci’s Christmas Cardigan
Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino in The Irishman (2019)
Vitals
Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino, shrewd and pragmatic Mafia boss of northeast Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Christmas 1960
Film: The Irishman
Release Date: November 1, 2019
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Sandy Powell & Christopher Peterson
Background
Nearly 30 years after he and Daniel Stern embarked on their first foolhardy attempt to ruin Christmas for Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci was given the opportunity to redefine his yuletide association via a brief vignette in The Irishman, Martin Scorsese’s latest crime epic and the subject of frequent requests from BAMF Style readers.
It’s Christmas 1960, more than a month after Pennsylvania mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) cheered on John F. Kennedy’s win for the U.S. presidency. Russell and his pal Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) aren’t yet away of JFK’s plan to appoint his brother as United States Attorney General… and a particularly aggressive A.G. when it comes to organized crime. Ignorance being bliss in this instance, Russell and Frank enjoy a pleasant holiday evening at home with their families. Continue reading
The Sopranos: Tony’s Blue Streak Credits Shirt
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 1.06: “Pax Soprana”)
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob chief
New Jersey, Fall 1999
Series: The Sopranos
Episodes:
– “46 Long” (Episode 1.02, dir. Dan Attias, aired 1/17/1999)
– “Pax Soprana” (Episode 1.06, dir. Alan Taylor, aired 2/14/1999)
– “Nobody Knows Anything” (Episode 1.11, dir. Henry J. Bronchtein, aired 3/21/1999)
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
Background
As this year is the 20th anniversary of The Sopranos‘ groundbreaking debut season, I’ve been dedicating more BAMF Style posts than usual this year to the acclaimed HBO mob drama.
On what would have been series star James Gandolfini’s 58th birthday, let’s follow the journey that Tony Soprano made during each episode’s opening credits, emerging from the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel and snaking his Chevy Suburban through the Jersey turnpike, the suburbs of Newark, and finally his North Caldwell mansion, all to the thumping sound of A3’s “Woke Up This Morning”. Continue reading
Tony Soprano’s Printed Birthday Shirts
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 6.13: “Soprano Home Movies”)
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob boss
Putnam Valley, New York, August 2007*
Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “Soprano Home Movies” (Episode 6.13)
Air Date: April 8, 2007
Director: Tim Van Patten
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy birthday to Tony Soprano… and David Chase! According to Tony’s driver’s license in “Another Toothpick” (Episode 3.05) and his hospital bracelet seen in “Mayham” (Episode 6.03), Anthony Soprano was born on August 22, 1959, exactly 14 years to the day after his creator, David Chase.
Magic City: Ben the Butcher’s White Linen Guayabera
Danny Huston as Ben “the Butcher” Diamond in “Feeding Frenzy”, episode 1.02 of Magic City (2012-2013)
Vitals
Danny Huston as Ben “the Butcher” Diamond, sadistic and volatile Miami gangster
Miami Beach, spring 1959
Series: Magic City
Episodes:
– “Feeding Frenzy” (Episode 1.02, dir: Ed Bianchi, aired April 13, 2012)
– “The Harder They Fall” (Episode 1.06, dir: Ed Bianchi, aired May 11, 2012)
– “Crime and Punishment” (Episode 2.01, dir: Clark Johnson, aired June 14, 2013)
Creator: Mitch Glazer
Costume Designer: Carol Ramsey
Background
Considering classic gangland style evokes images of pinstripe suits, flashy jewelry, and wide-brimmed fedoras… but what do gangsters wear when the sun’s at its brightest? On #MafiaMonday, let’s travel down to sunny Miami Beach where—even in the middle of January—mobster Ben “the Butcher” Diamond is dressed in lightweight linen for days by the swimming pool and nights at the cocktail lounge in Starz’s canceled-too-soon period drama Magic City. Continue reading
Tony Soprano’s Black Floral Assassination Shirt
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 1.13: “I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano”)
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob chief
Jersey City, NJ, Fall 1998
Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano” (Episode 1.13)
Air Date: April 4, 1999
Director: John Patterson
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
This week marks the sixth anniversary of the June 19, 2013, death of James Gandolfini, the brilliant actor who made Tony Soprano one of the most compelling TV characters of all time. Today’s #MafiaMonday post celebrates one of Tony’s most iconic moments on The Sopranos… pulling a pistol out of a dead fish’s gaping mouth to shoot a rival mobster. Continue reading
The Sopranos: Full Leather Jacket
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 2.08: “Full Leather Jacket”)
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob chief
North Caldwell, New Jersey, Spring 2000
Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “Full Leather Jacket” (Episode 2.08)
Air Date: March 5, 2000
Director: Allen Coulter
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
Background
It’s the jaaacket!
As a series centered around life in the American Mafia, it’s no surprise that the fashions of The Sopranos feature plenty of leather jackets. But there’s only one jaaacket, and it’s this piece of throwback outerwear that gives the eighth episode of the second season its name.
Tony Soprano’s Copper Tweed Jacket at the Track
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano with Joe Pantoliano as Ralph Cifaretto on The Sopranos (Episode 4.05: “Pie-o-My”)
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob boss
Monmouth Park, Oceanport, NJ, Fall 2001
Series: The Sopranos
Episodes:
– “Pie-o-My” (Episode 4.05, dir. Henry J. Bronchtein, aired 10/13/2002)
– “Eloise” (Episode 4.12, dir. James Hayman, aired 12/1/2002)
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In the spirit of the upcoming Kentucky Derby, today’s #MafiaMonday post features a day at the races for Jersey wiseguys Tony Soprano, Silvio Dante, Carlo Gervasi, Hesh Rabkin, and Ralph Cifaretto, whose recent purchase—a racehorse named Pie-O-My—delights the guys by coming from behind to win.
Shades of Gray: Tony Soprano in “The Telltale Moozadell”
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano on The Sopranos (Episode 3.09: “The Telltale Moozadell”)
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob boss
New Jersey, December 2000
Series: The Sopranos
Episode: “The Telltale Moozadell” (Episode 3.09)
Air Date: April 22, 2001
Director: Dan Attias
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
Background
In a late second season episode of The Sopranos, Christopher Moltisanti warns his fellow Italian-American mobsters about his vision of hell, “an Irish bar where it’s St. Patrick’s Day everyday forever.” Thus, let’s take a look at a stylish outfit from this seminal HBO drama on the first #MafiaMonday after St. Patrick’s Day!
The Sopranos: Pilot Episode – Tony’s Black Polo Shirt
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in the first episode of The Sopranos
Vitals
James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, New Jersey mob chief
New Jersey, Summer 1998
Series: The Sopranos
Episodes:
– “The Sopranos” (Episode 1.01, dir. David Chase, aired 1/10/1999)
– “46 Long” (Episode 1.02, dir. Dan Attias, aired 1/17/1999)
– “Pax Soprana” (Episode 1.06, dir. Alan Taylor, aired 2/14/1999)
Creator: David Chase
Costume Designer: Juliet Polcsa
Background
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the first episode of The Sopranos, the first time that the HBO logo fizzed away to the thumping sound of A3’s “Woke Up This Morning” as we follow Tony Soprano from the Holland Tunnel along the New Jersey Turnpike to his north Jersey home.
We are introduced to Tony himself in the first shot of the show as he sits, bemused by a nude statue in his new doctor’s waiting room. We soon learn that the doctor is Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), a psychiatrist, and that this ain’t the kind of mob entertainment you’re used to watching. Continue reading
