Re: Bells, Duality, Metaphysics, schrodingers Cat Oh my!

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(Continued)
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“The theme of that episode was “Made in America.” I used that title not only because Tony’s a made guy, and all these guys are made guys, but also because it was about the extreme amount of comfort Americans have, especially people with money. And specifically, it was about the war in Iraq—it was made in America, and as you saw in the show, Tony and Carmela just didn’t want their son to go, and they could afford to see that their son didn’t go. Like some of our leaders.…Not to get too didactic about it, but it was really sort of about how we are going about our amply fed, luxury-car life here, and the world is going to hell and we’re under tremendous threat. And people don’t want to see it”.-David Chase (GQ Magazine)
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The next scene I wish to highlight is to me, one of the strangest of the whole entire show in its cut technique. The technique they use and the way the cut is placed in the pacing of the show is totally bizarre and out of the ordinary, as if to say to the viewer "pay attention". In the episode “Fleshy Part of the Thigh” the Evangelical preacher visits Tony and hands him the book “Born Again” written by Charles Colson, one of the people involved in the Watergate Scandal further invoking said scandal in this episode with the other reference being “Deep Throat” actor Hal Holbrook losing his larynx. After the preacher leaves Hesh and his daughter are talking with Chris and Tony;
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"What's he saying? There were dinosaurs back with Adam And Eve?”-Chris
"I guess.”-Tony
"No way.T rex in the garden of Eden? Adam and Eve would be running all the time, scared shitless. But the bible says it was paradise.”-Chrissy
"You can disagree with evangelicals, But they're great friends of the Jews because Israel is the holy land.”-Beth Kaplan
"You wait.”-Hesh
(Mysterious quick fade to black as if the episode is over)
Go back and watch the scene or maybe you remember it. Its very oddly placed. It feels to have this sense of foreboding or coming apocalypse. Thats why Ive included it in here. Its adds to this character of terror. While researching the topic, I came across a thread about this scene here on "The Chase Lounge". A poster known as CaliberCutChops makes some very good observations and comments;
Hesh's comments don't have anything to do with the show, but are his opinions about the current events going on in the middle east. His "You wait" is a suspicious feeling towards christian fundamentalists, who need the jews to return to palestine in order to trigger armageddon, which will call for the return of their messiah.

It's like a comment designed to get the user to wake up, and with the ominous edit to the next scene, sort of akin to providing a nugget of information for the viewer to consider. This is akin to when, in season 5, there was a discussion regarding nuclear bombs slipping through cargo containers, and Paulie grumbled how Bush was giving no-bid contracts to his friends, that action being something the mob would do too.
The next time Chrissy meets up with the Arab guys is in "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request…” where he meets up with them at the Bing. Apparently he has started doing a credit card scam using Vesuvios and Benny. Chrissy’s friend Murmur from AA apparently has connections to identity theft and everyone involved seems to be making good money off this credit card theft.
"Ho! Where are the rest of the 40 thieves? You got it?”-Chrissy
"Good week. 120 credit card numbers plus the 3-digit security codes. But I won't charge you no extra.”-Murmur
“Excellent.”-Ahmed
"Don't leave home without it.”-Chrissy
"No, we'll use them.”-Ahmed
"No, credit cards. The commercial.”-Chrissy
"So Tony's out of hospital, please give him our wishes. We brought him some dates.Also, Chris, you know how we can purchase a couple of Tec-9 semi-automatics, extended magazines?’-Ahmed
"Hold on. Tec-9's? What the fuck for?”-Chrissy
"It's a family problem. My former brother-in-law, actually.”-Ahmed
"All right, fucking take it easy.”-Chrissy
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So from what we can gleam here, the credit cards are being used to buy weapons. Weapons for people with questionable motives. Chris seems suspicious himself when he asks what they are for, not your usual question for a mafioso. He obviously is concerned. These two guys seem to be on a mission. When each step is completed they move onto the next phase of their plans. In the next episode "Live Free Or Die” we hear more about 9-11 in a conversation Meadow has about her work with her family;
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"You think it's funny? The FBI snatched their son off the street like we're some third world dictatorship.’-Meadow
"Pretty scary.”-AJ
"There must have been some reason, Meadow.”-Carmela
"Like he's a terrorist, maybe.”-Tony
"9-11, 9-11. Bush is using it as an excuse to erode our constitutional protections, and you're falling for it.”-Tony
"Well, I voted for him.”-Carmela
"Right, well, you don't relate to black people clinging to logs”-Meadow
Pretty stinging commentary on the Bush Administration via Meadow. It also resonates with the 9-11 terrorism theme. Theres more in this episode though. A scene where Tony and Chris have a conversation regarding the Arabs. It appears Tony is having second thoughts or has worried feelings about it too so he asks Chris about them;
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"Let me ask you something, those two Arabs, with the credit cards, fazool and whatever his name is”-Tony
“Yeah?”-Chrissy
"You think there's a chance they could be I don't know, AL-QAEDAS, something like that?”-Tony
"Hmm. You know at one point it did cross my mind.”-Chrissy
"Yeah, and?”-Tony
"I don't think so. They're gun nuts but the smaller guy Ahmed, when those DANISH CARTOONS got published, he was very upset, but at the protesters.
He said he hated the cartoons but that the rioting shit would just bring bad attention to all Muslims. And the other guy Mohammed, his brother's a GOVERNMENT INTERROGATOR IN LEBANON OR SYRIA. Plus Mohammed and his girlfriend have a dog, a springer spaniel.”-Chrissy
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I don’t know about you but Chrissy’s rationelle that everythings cool with these two guys as far as being Al Queda is concerned doesnt make me feel safe. Thank god he’s not in charge of Homeland security.What he just told Tony completely admits they are terrorists in my mind, without just outright saying it. Worst part, is they are shitting where Tony eats, literally. By fouling Versuvios ability to use Amex, they directly financially impact the restaurant to the point where Artie has to do the dreaded “two-fers”. Once again Tony’s life impacts Arties legit life via Benny.
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(To Be Continued)

Re: Bells, Duality, Metaphysics, schrodingers Cat Oh my!

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(Continued)
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Artie gets a visit at his restaurant by the credit card cops in “Luxury Lounge”;
"Well, there is credit card fraud going on in this restaurant.”-Card Agent
"That's impossible.”-Artie
"Based on cardholder disputes, we show nine hits in this locus that precede fraudulent activity.”-Agent
"What does that mean?”-Artie
"People's card numbers were copied and those numbers were used to rack up thousands of dollars in phony charges.”-Agent
"Wait, you think I'm ripping off my own customers? That's insane.”-Artie
"Were these meals actually served?”-Agent
" Shit. Councilman Carillo? That was just two weeks ago.”-Artie
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So the gig is up, but not before the Arab guys get what they need to start arming there little group We don’t hear much mention of terrorism until a conversation in "Keisha" between Phil and his crew;
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"Far as I'm concerned, this is like 9-11. Tony wanted our attention. Fine.
He got our attention. Now we wipe him off the planet.”-Butchie
"You know that fat cocksucker says I look like the Shah of Iran?”-Phil
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So once again 9-11 is alongside the end of the world. An honorable mention to Vito who wears a Notre Dame hat when he “sandbags” Tony in the mall to buy his way back. He also is walking sort of hunched over. Add to this that in "Cold Stones" Carmela visits Paris with Rosalie. The taxi is driving Carmela and Rosalie on the Champs-Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe.. The NOTRE DAME Cathedral is shown in the background. Interesting…. Season six pt two sees us diving right back into the theme, when we hear a radio at Bobbys lake house saying;
"Suicide car bomber kills two U.S. soldiers west of Baghdad. That makes five Americans killed in Iraq over the past two days. There are more Iraqi deaths, at least 29 bodies found scattered around Baghdad today…”
So terror rears its head again, just in case we forgot about him. War and terror is always looming in the background, even on radio and tv. In “Stage Five” Tony goes to get his newspaper when Agent Harris pulls up in a car with his partner;
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"Tony, morning. You got a sec? As I told you, my partner and I a With the joint terror task force now.”-Agent Harris
"You're around port newark often enough.”-Agent Goddard
"We're concerned about what might come through there from the middle east.”-Agent Harris
"Yeah, and Let's talk terror funding. Most of it comes about through illegal enterprise.Our pitch is this, and it's the same we gave christopher moltisanti— I don’t know if he he never mentioned it: If you or any of your people ever heard of anything going down, Middle easterners, PAKISTANIS You'd be helping us a lot if you let us know.”-Agent Goddard
"I Think there's a word for that.”-Tony
"Your daughter takes pre-med classes in New York. She use the tunnels? Just something to keep in mind.”-Agent Goddard
So once again Pakistan appears, reminding us all the way back to Matush. Also remember the bit about funding for later on. Tony is so upset by their visit he swears it the last time he gets the paper.
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(To Be Continued)
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

Re: Bells, Duality, Metaphysics, schrodingers Cat Oh my!

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(Continued)
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Later in “Walk Like a Man” Agents Harris and Goddard appear again at Satrielles eager it appears to see if Tony is ready to give them anything useful;
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"Hey, Tony. What's The Good Word?”-Agent Harris
"Can't Complain.”-Tony
"Sure you could. Phil Leotardo. My First assignment out of the Academy was in Brooklyn. Never cared for Him.He tried to set up this other Rookie, Female, for rape and beating.”-Agent Harris
"Listen,That subject We talked about-- If I was to know something possibly Terror-Related and help You out, could I bank the resulting goodwill?”-Tony
"Well what happens is I would personally write You what's called A 5K letter. It's A Document setting forth your cooperation and service. This Letter would be placed in your file and if you were ever convicted of a crime It'd be presented to a judge when he or she would be considering sentencing guidelines.”-Agent Harris
"Well, there were a couple of guys, i don't know, Arabs, Arabians maybe. They used to hang around the bing, And somebody i knew may have did some business with them."-Tony
"At The Port?”-Agent Goddard
"You were saying.”-Agent Harris
"The point is they used to be around all the time, these two, you know, drinking and trying to tit-fuck the girls, whatever. And then suddenly, they disappeared, I mean completely.
And then a week or so ago I'm driving, and I see 'em with these other guys, they had the headgear and the beard and the whole fundamental bit. But there's nothing illegal there, right? "-Tony
"What were they doing?"-Agent Harris
"walking.but then they meet up with this other group. I don't know. It seemed, you got a minute? One Was Ahmad Or Jamali Hold On, Hold On.”-Tony
(Calls Chrissy)
( cell phone rings ) "HEY, T.”-Chrissy
"Yeah, I'm here with some people, and, uh-- the arabs from The Bing. What were their names?”-Tony
"Some People?”-Chrissy
“Exactly.”-Tony
"Oh, Fuck, Yeah, Ahmed And Mohammed. What Did They Do?”-Chrissy
"Ahmed And Mohammed.”-Tony (To Harris)
"You Know, Actually, I Got A Cell Number. I called him recently, but he don't answer no more. Ahmed Al Najafi.”-Chrissy
"Ahmed Al Najafi.”-Tony (To Harris)
"Tell me they're not gonna blow up the chemical plant or some shit.”-Chrissy
"I Don't Know. I'll Call You Later.”-Tony
"Cell Phone. That's A Real Prize. Thank You.”-Agent Goddard
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So here it has come full circle. We realize why Harris is hanging around. He is determined to get this information somehow about Ahmed. He knows he has been at the Bing so he knows Tony must know of him. Agent Harris has successfully made a link to a possible terrorist cell in the US. AJ has strong feelings about the threat of terrorism and probably makes the most direct statements on the show about the subject. In a dialogue between him and his therapist he discusses his recent class in college;
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"And the other one's kind of interesting, But it's pretty depressing.”-AJ
"The israeli-palestinian conflict?”-Therapist
"People blowing each other up because their God says They're allowed to live in a certainatch of fuckin' sand. Yeah, and other people's gods say they're supposed to live there. Maybe I shouldn't have taken it.”-AJ
"You seem to be taking it all personally.”-Therapist
"These mujahideen assholes, like in Indonesia, And they, like, want to kill everybody.”-AJ
"Have you considered writing about your experience with the somali boy? A short story, perhaps?”-Therapist
"Why would I do that?”-AJ
"It might help clarify your feelings.”-Therapist
"I was watching CNN And this story about these kids in some iraqi hospital, how the burn unit doesn't have the right medicine or something.And then they show this story about some mall in Minnesota And these gigantic fat people buying stuff and eating all this shit.”-AJ
Classic AJ infused wisdom we’ve come to love and expect from this show. He sums up the frustrations many average Americans feel, especially his age and post-9-11. Later on in “Second Coming” before his ill fated suicide attempt, Meadow busts AJ looking at Al jeezera;
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"You realize we're gonna bomb Iran?”-AJ
"You don't know that.”-Meadow
"You watch. Bush, before he leaves office- And you know I'm right.”-AJ
“Okay. But you need to learn to shut stuff out.”-Meadow
"Are you crazy? I mean, do you hear what we're talking about?”-AJ
"You say that, but I come in here and you're surfing the web for porn.”-Meadow
"It's not porn. "Al Jazeera"? Don't you ever feel like there's no point to any of this?”-AJ
AJ evoking once again the dread of Livias "It's all a big nothing" statement and the feelings many feel in society when discussing terrorism and also the rumors of War. These parallel whats happening in the show, with Phil being the Shah of Iran, the villain, if you will.
(To Be Continued..)
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

Re: Bells, Duality, Metaphysics, schrodingers Cat Oh my!

94
(Continued)
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In "Chasing It" Tony switches channels from the basketball game he was betting on as Carmela comes into the bedroom, the TV station shows a clip of then-president George W. Bush meeting the visiting Saudi king.
Tony runs into Agent Harris once again at Satrielles in “The Blue Comet", this time its obvious Harris isn’t there just for a sandwich;
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"You believe this fucking weather?”-Tony
" End times, huh? Ready for the rapture.”-Agent Harris
"How's the antiterror going?”-Tony
"Great if you don't like sleeping, eating or seeing your kids.”-Agent Harris
"Listen, those arabs from the bing”-Tony
"Mm-hmm.”-Agent Harris
" Let me ask you the truth.”-Tony
"They're in Jordan, right, getting their balls zapped? You're not gonna tell me?”-Tony
"I'm not really sure. For all we know, They may be harmless pistachio salesmen. Don't get so bent out of shape. You're a big boy, Tony.
You know, World War II, your outfit protected The Brooklyn navy yard.
You think Roosevelt told Vito Genovese - Where Hitler was holed up?”-Agent Harris
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Harris goes on to warn Tony there is hit out on him and his other top 2. It seems like Harris is protecting Tony and stepping outside his professional boundaries a little bit by doing so. Maybe the info Tony gave him did pan out to be very useful. We never really find an explicit yes or no answer. But Agent Harris’ behavior suggest they owe Tony. Next time we see Harris is in the finale. Once again Tony offers him a nugget in hopes of a returned favor;
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"You don't wanna know.”-Agent Harris
"Actually, I do.”-Tony
"We had intel A terrorist cell was at Newark airport Boarding somebody onto a 767 to London.”-Agent Harris
"You're right. I don't wanna know.”-Tony
"We get this all the time. Our source was either wrong Or it was done to study our response.”-Agent Harris
"Happens all the time? ( sighs )You know, my kid is obsessed with this shit.
But we tell him he's making a molehill out of it. Is he right?”-Tony
( phone ringing ) " Hey. Probably another hour. Just leave it out, All right? I'll heat it up. Well, then don't leave it out. ( shouts ) what do you want me to say? ( airplane roars “-Agent Harris
"You got a rough enough job with this terrorism shit. I'll let you get home.
The reason I called is those two arabs I turned you on to-- well, I happened to remember My nephew mentioned a bank Where they had an account-- A branch The mintner first merchants bank.”-Tony
"You just remembered that?”-Agent Harris
“Yeah.”-Tony
“Thanks.”-Agent Harris
"Oh, whoa-- listen, I know you got that friend in the Brooklyn office. Is it possible he knows where Phil leotardo is? I want to try to avoid any more of my guys getting hurt. I'm just saying, If you heard anything from your pal.”-Tony
"I haven’t.”-Agent Harris
"I figured maybe money's sent to the middle east.”-Tony
"You're overreaching.”-Agent Harris

This whole interaction is deafened by the sound of airplanes. Very reminiscent of 9-11 as masterofsopranos pointed out in his analysis;

Tony meets FBI agent Harris near an airport and a jet is shown flying eerily close to Tony’s SUV, echoing 9/11. The engine ominously roars as the jet attempts to land at an angle, referencing the numerous videos of the second plane coming in at an angle and striking one of the Towers. Tony then talks to Agent Harris about the Arabs that Christopher did business with. Harris relays to Tony that he is stressed because he believes terrorists may have been testing the F.B.I.’s response time at Newark Airport. The snow falling in the scene echoes the debris from the burning Towers or the ash covered downtown Manhattan. A second plane is heard overhead while Tony is talking to Harris, referencing the two planes that struck the World Trade Center (only two planes are shown and heard in the scene). In the very next scene, Tony visits Carmela at the family safe house and Carmela is concerned about the “toxic” smell of the house, a reference to the toxic odors of downtown Manhattan in the weeks and months following 9/11.
Very interesting observations. It brings this feeling of something is coming, some hidden danger. This whole “War on Terror” has arguably created an environment where we are bracing ourselves constantly for some hidden evil to strike at any time. Just like the final season. It builds up the tension in a very similar way, almost as if to make a commentary as to how tense we have all become, how easily threatened we are, how ready we are to expect the worst. The finale plays not his tension like no other episode in the whole series. AJ decides that he wants to join the Army and fight rather than talk about it. At Bobbys wake he shares his feelings on the subject;
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"what rough beast slouches toward bethlehem to be born?”-AJ
“Huh?”-Jason
"yeets." - AJ
“yeats?”-Jason
"The world-- don't you see it? Bush let Al Qaeda escape”-AJ
“Ho!”-Paulie
"In the mountains. Then he has us invade some other country.”-AJ
"Let's join up, go kill some fucking terrorists.”-Jason
"It's more noble than watching these jack-off fantasies on tv Of how we're kicking their ass. It's like, America”-AJ
“What about it?”-Jason
“This is still where people come To make it. It's a beautiful idea.And then what do they get? Bling? And come-ons for shit they don't need and can't afford?”-AJ
"You're all over the place.”-Meadow
"I don't know what you're trying to say.”-Bobby’s niece
"He's saying the framus intersects with ramistan Approximately at the paternoster.”-Paulie
Later on Tony finds AJ jogging up a steep hill. He slows down singing the Rocky theme and offers a ride to AJ. AJ hops in and starts talking to Tony;
"Listen I'm gonna join the army.”-AJ
"What? Did you sign any shit?”-Tony
"No, but this week I will. I gotta deal with rhiannon first.”-AJ
"Rhiannon? What about your mother?”-Tony
“Her too.”-AJ
“Are you nuts? You wanna get sent to Iraq? Afghanistan?”-Tony
"The army's probably good for my career.”-AJ
"You don't have a career.”-Tony
“Right. My ultimate goal is to qualify for helicopter pilot training, Afterwards go to work for Trump or somebody, Be their personal pilot.”-AJ
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So AJ has decided to do something about his anger towards the terrorists. According to his therapist;
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"He's gonna join the fucking army. I gotta be frank, You people got him out of his room-- great-- So he can be cannon fodder?”-Tony
"I wasn't aware of this latest plan.”-Therapist
( door opens ) “Sorry. I should have gone before we left the house.”-AJ
"Still on the army thing. On the other hand, I'm thinking maybe he could benefit From the training, the discipline.”-Tony
"Maybe the army'd be great for him If there wasn't a war going on.
Oh, I didn't tell you, he spent $200 On a set of cds that teach arabic.”-Carmela
"Jesus Christ, come on. "shish kebab"-- what else do you need to know? He used to just veg in front of that tv.”-Tony
"He says he wants to get past the hate, Focus it only on the terrorists.”-Therapist
In the finale Tony and Carmela has a serious sit-down with AJ to try to squash his plans to join the Army;
"Okay As your parents we don't feel Joining the army is in your best interest.
This country is in a crisis. How can one soldier stop it?”-Carmela
"When my enlistment's up, I could join the CIA or something. And with a military background I'll have a LEG up. And as an arabic speaker, I'll be really useful.”-AJ
"I don't understand. You're gonna ask the donald For some time off from your pilot job to go on CIA missions?”-Tony
“Everything's a joke to you.”-AJ
"I'm not having a good time.”-Tony
"Did you or did you not want me to go to military school? But I started to cry.”-AJ
"At least you'd have come out an officer. Even then I was opposed to it.
I hate this idea.”-Carmela
"I'm applying for officer's candidate school. I want to be a liaison officer With the local population anyway.”-AJ
“Officer's candidate school? You have terrible grades. You flunked out of college.”-Carmela
"Here we go. That's all this is about, right?”-AJ
"No, Anthony, that's not what this is all about. You don't want to go to college-- don't go to college, - but don't get your LEGs blown off.”-Carmela
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I showed their little pun fun just for a chuckle. The show is filled with them.....
(To Be Continued..)
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

Re: Bells, Duality, Metaphysics, schrodingers Cat Oh my!

95
(Continued)
So here you go. After this scene is the Holstens scene. And you get this feeling they dodged a bullet with AJ, but maybe not at Holstens. Who really knows? The possibility exists for both things to happen. Tony lives and dies. Schridingers equation right? For the last part of this final section of this analysis, lets look at a post that I wrote back in March 2015 that kinda started this whole thing for me, that breaks down the final scene.
“I get it” “It’s all there!” and other interesting theories.

My analysis of the final scene of the Sopranos, thus the entire show itself, and how it relates to Buddhism, quantum physics, all in a nutshell, or should I say bell?

Introduction:

Even though we have probably done this a million times, for my own sake maybe but if not for the enjoyment and expansion of others already amazing analysis and explanations. I pay respect and homage to all the work and observations others have made. This is my own attempt to analyze this last scene, but in doing so, it opens up the can of worms that is the entire show itself, as I will try to show, and as undoubtedly others have shown already here before. Im not trying to claim anything new is being discovered, just adding my own final synthesis of ideas after this most recent rewatch of the entire show. This final scene has a very religious Last Supper feeling even though Chase and Co initially tried to say that there wasn't any deep meaning, but we know there really is, he's just being humble about it and allowing the mystery to exist, which is the mark of a good artist. I have now a theory that i have yet to test though. I have this theory that from maybe as early as season 5 that Tony already died and or is dreaming a majority of the stuff we see. I have yet to test it, but for some reason the final scene alludes to this for me. I definitely think there is more to the peyote sequence than I had originally noticed. It kind of made me aware that maybe more scenes were dreams than I noticed. One thing I did notice and its dramatically different. The first 4 seasons were definitely filmed using a different technique because the last 2\3 seasons were filmed in a very dream like veneer, almost David Lynch like. I also think that Chase deliberately filmed the last scene packed with so much in it because of the DVD age we are in that allows us to comb over every little detail we see in movies. The DVD era has been a theme even discussed in dialogue on the show. Anyway, without further ado, please"Bear with me."....
First, one thing to mention before we begin. In season six we see the emphasis of "bells" sprinkled throughout. Since we know that this show has a sort of Buddhist subtext as well, its safe to say that it has the buddhist meaning of bells infused into it. Bells are used in buddhism not only for meditation but to signify or bring about change in conciousness, or energy, similar to the guy who works at BELL(!!!) labs tells Tony.
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Getting the drift here? ok Good but in case not heres more. For example, the song about “all the chapel bells were ringing” played earlier, the boat dock in “Soprano home movies” rang almost exactly the same tone as the one as the door in the diner, a bell rang as Paulie hit the young Barone guy in the knee, a bell rang as Tony was first wheeled out of the hospital etc. So its no mistake that in the diner there is a "bell" that rings each time some one walks in. The bell in other scenes has been connected to significant events that were happening in the plot lines. We will be revisiting this significance throughout this analysis. As Tony walks into a diner the song lyric "All that you dream" is heard clearly as you see Two Tonys, him and his reflection on the door.
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BELL RINGS FIRST TIME
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He then sits in a booth that behind him has huge "varsity style athletes" and a New Jersey High School building, just like the one the coach is in the basement of in "test dream". State Champions 1973 is seen. 1973 evoking the time period Tony would've been struggling to be a "varsity athlete". This is not a random placement as has been discussed. ITs purpose is obviously to evoke the whole coach\varsity athlete thing. Also how when he walks in the strange camera sequence where Tony is looking at himself. Its obvious that Chase is attempting to do at least this with that one particular sequence. Place Tony in the room in relationship to where MOJ (members only jacket) guy eventually goes to the bathroom as to orient him in the location where the blind spot would be, much like the way we see Phil get clipped, from the same direction, a blind spot on the camera. Tony sits at the Booth by himself, not his favorite thing to be as we have seen on the show. He predictably starts to get bored and flips though the old style personal jukeboxes at the table. The song lists that ensue are like a virtual goldmine of words that resonate to storyline plotlessness through out the show. We hear the lyric played very clearly over the scene as he looks at the song list "Into your life.." and thats exactly what the song list does. It takes us on a metaphorical look into HIS life.
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The first song of not thats visible is not one song but two songs together one above the other forming the statement "Somewhere in the night" and "My baby drives a Buick". This being resonating with the cars that we see gangsters driving in the old days, buick style cars. And we know what those cars do "somewhere in the night" if you know what Im saying... The next pairing of songs making a phrase we see is "Those were the days" with "Turn Turn Turn" making another interesting statement . As if to say this final scene is the Turn Turn Turn of the page. Then we see the next pairing of words statement "Only the strong survive" with "Because I love you." Which resonates to how Tony only survives really because of Carmela and Meadows love for him, metaphorically and literally in some cases as we have been shown earlier in this season especially. But ironically right below that we see one last visible song title showing a the sense of humor of the whole show "victim of love" is the only other visible song. The next songfest pairings we see as Tony "Turns Turns Turns"i s "Ive gotta be me" with "A Lonely Place" as if to say Tony's constant need to just "be me" has finally left him as usual, in "a Lonely place" at the end of his life. The next songs we see paired together are "This magic moment" with "Since I don't have you".
The first song being one that was used to end "sopranos home movies" as Baccala comes home after clipping the guy in Canada. Evoking that idea of "this magic moment" being death but also life. But the pairing of that with "Since I don't have you" makes you think of the loss his family will experience after "this magic moment". The next song pairing we see is "crystal blue persuasion" with and interesting "I'm Alive" song title. This evokes to me the image of neon lights of blue that are always in places of persuasion for Tony. The second title being a poke at the death\life idea of whether we the audience will see this as him dying or living. The last visible title is again solo saying "June night" resonating of course with "uncle june" as he was so often called. The next shot is a waitress getting the order of the table behind Tony, its the same waitress who is later walking behind Tony as Meadow rushes into the diner. The next shot is in the kitchen where we see guys flipping burgers. We return back to Tony flipping through he songs. This time the camera goes in close as if to let us know the titles of the songs ARE significant indeed in case there was any doubt.

BELL RINGS Second time
A young "Janice" look alike walks in right as he flips through the songs "who you gonna run to" and "magic man" by HEART fitting right into the last conversation he had with her. About "I need to find another" magic man to run to. Tony then flips the song and we see the song titles "Magic man (live)" "Don't stop believing." "Anyway you want it." So picking that apart, first we have the words "magic man" appearing again but this time the word (live) is more visible. Maybe meaning the "magic man" is the one that lives on after you? "don't stop believing" of course is the song he eventually ends up choosing. "Any way you want it." could mean two things. Us the audience can have it "any way you want it" OR it resonates to Tonys need to always have it anyway HE "wants it". Next, just in case we missed it, the camera once again zooms in on song titles "Rock it Billy" "I've Gotta be me" and "A Lonely Place" as if to further drive the symbolism of the titles home in the viewer. Camera turns back onto Tony looking up towards the doors as the,
BELL RINGS Third time
Man walks in wearing a outfit resonating with the Scantino bustout. Outdoor gear and a “USA” hat, all kind of reminiscent of the goods they plundered towards the end of that era of the show way back when. Tony doesn’t see him as any threat as he goes ahead and puts the money in the jukebox to select the song “Don’t stop believing.” As the song starts
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BELL RINGS fourth time
Stopping right here for a moment to explain that we now will switch to pairing the actual lyrics of this song to the images to actual themes throughout the show itself. This is important, and was done previously in the very initial scene that starts Season 6 with the William Burroughs songs about the souls. This last scene is done in a very similar way albeit in a much quicker pace.
In walks Carmela. She sees Tony and smiling at him, walks towards the booth. Tony looks relieved yet stressed, like he’s trying to hide how stressed he really is from Carmela. A theme throughout once again. The camera goes to the young couple in the booth, who resemble a younger version of Carmela and Tony in their high school days.
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We then see a table with what appears to be 3 Cub scouts.
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Cub being a resonator back to the whole “Bear” idea. The “cub” leader has a slight resemblance to Phil. We hear the first lyric of the song “just a small town girl” as Carmela takes her coat off. We’ve gotten the feeling a few times through out the show that Carmela was indeed more of a “small town girl” so the lyric is perfect. Tony greet her with a tense “Hey." which gets a tense “Hey.” in response. She smiles but it appears strained as the lyric “Living in a lonely world” is heard. This is so true for Carmela, she has surely been one of the loneliest characters in the entire show. She lets out a deep sigh as if in duress as the camera turns to Tony. The lyric “He took the midnight train going anywhere.” is heard as he sighs in response as if they are both acknowledging the tension.
She picks up her menu looking it over as if to pretend theirs not “ a five hundred ton elephant hanging over them”.Camera turns back to Tony as the lyric “Just a city boy.” Carmela says “What looks good tonight?” as if subconsciously admitting how everything else looks so bad in comparison. She shifts nervously in her booth, noticeably, as if on edge more than usual. Camera turns back onto Tony saying “Eh, I don’t know.” acting apathetic and distracted. Even though they are in a Burger joint with a very limited menu. So this a deliberate reenactment of many of previous conversations throughout the show between Tony and Carmela. This is a encapsulation if you will, of their whole dilemma. Tonys always distracted, Carmelas always asking questions that never get answered. Tony sniffs too, as a further dismissal of the tension. A tick almost he has had through out the show in moments like this. Tony asks her “Wheres Gagootz?” as the camera shows them both looking over the menu. Carmela answers “He just called, he’s on his way.” Tony nods as Camela then adds “Meds coming separately because she had to go to the Dr. Switch birth control.” This makes Tony look visibly more uncomfortable to hear as he puts his tongue into his cheek looking down. Next it cuts to the USA hat guy seated getting his coffee with 3 creamers.
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We see he’s reading a paper, or maybe just pretending to, like Carmela and Tony pretending to read the menu. He pours sugar into the coffee. The camera returns to Tony and Carmela still looking at the menus. Carmela looks up and asks, “Did you talk to Mink again?” Mink being the attorney but almost feels like a wink back to her mink coat as well. As she asks Tony the question, her heavy breathing clearly shows she is very stressed out. Tony, feeling stressed replies sadly, “its Carlo. He’s gonna testify.” We see the fear in Carmelas eyes ever present and potent. She slightly shakes her head in disapproval. The lyric captures the frustration they feel as it sings "It goes on and on and on and on"
BELL RINGS Fifth time
This is the end of Part One of this analysis
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

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(Continued)
part 2
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Tony hears the bell and looks up again at the door. The very next camera shot is of MOJ guy entering the diner. Pause here for a moment. These two scenes are butted up to each other for a purpose. I feel like this resonates to the theme presented throughout the show about how it would end. Either going to jail or getting clipped. Carlo being Jail, MOJ guy being clipped.
As MOJ guy enters the song says, "Strangers waiting..." and the whole diner we see, feels like its full of strangers waiting, amazing timing on the film work as per usual. AJ walks in directly behind him, almost blocked out by MOJ guys body.
As MOJ guy and AJ separate the lyric “up and down the boulevard” plays as AJ walks to the booth to sit down next to Carmela.
The next lyric we here is “their shadows waiting in the night” as almost to refer to AJ showing the MOJ guy as they walked in together. AJ sits down and says “mmm onion rings.” To which Tony replies in a Godfather-esque way “The Best in the state as far as Im concerned.” The Godfather references once again a theme sprinkled throughout the show. Tony flips the menu.
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The lyrics “Streetlight people, Living just to find emotion hiding somewhere in the night.” play as we see MOJ again, this time looking over at the booth where Tony and Co are sitting, tapping his fingers on the counter of the bar,as if he was nervous or tense about something.
Next we see as scene of meadow trying to park her car. I caught a Phil hit parallel I hadn’t noticed with this sequence before. When she first backs up she rolls over the curb slightly, evoking the resonance of Phils head getting rolled over. "Working hard to get my fill” is then the next line in the song we hear. As she parks, the waitress brings Tony and Co their FILLed drinks. But It also has a funny parallel phonic meaning. Working hard to get my PHIL. Which we just saw the crew earlier "working hard to get their PHIL."
The next line in the song as we see a young couple evoking a younger version of Tony and Carmela is "everybody wants a thrill." as if to represent a time when Tony and Carmela had more of a thrill.
The song then says "paying anything to roll the dice just one more time" as we see Tony and then back to Carmela asking "How was work today?" which is a question asked so many times throughout the show from Carmela to Tony. At first the camera kinda tricks you into thinking she's asking Tony that question again but you suddenly realize she's asking AJ. The lyrics synched meaning seems to be about we the audience would pay anything, but I also think meaning Tony would pay anything. And its and interesting allusion back to gambling and the casino scene we saw back a couple episode involving the roulette table, it kinda of resonates on that theme and also the conversations with the guy from Bell labs with cancer in the hospital. The principles of the Universe. Rolling the dice. SO in a sense one could say AJ actually represents Tony actually getting to "roll the dice just one more time" on a another level.
"Some will win some will lose" plays as AJ answers " all I'm doing is getting coffee and placing endless phone calls" to which Carmela answers "You may not realize it but you are making CONTACTS" as the lyric plays "some will have to sing the blues" and Tony says "It's an ENTRY level job, so BUCK up." Emphasis added for the purpose of looking for themes that are double meaning, or metadata. Contacts and Entry level, resonate for me back to themes explored in the Finnerty Coma dream. Buck up obviously has two meaning in this show. One meaning Money the other meaning "time to grow up" which is something Tony has been struggling with more than anyone else throughout the whole show.
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"Though the movie never ends it goes on and on..." plays as AJ says "Right, focus on the good times." which is the line Tony says in the last episode of season one as the toast at Artie Buccos looping back to where the movie starts so in effect it "goes on and on.." and it goes on and on with AJ being the SON\SUN next generation. Since earlier in the show the themes of Buddhism have been evoked and consistently resonated, its safe to assume that one of Buddhism's biggest beliefs is in reincarnation. So we know this isn't just some coincidence, theres a whole framework that has built up to this point and this final scene practically encapsulates the entire series. But let me continue here with the song line synchs. Tony responds "Don't be sarcastic." even though he wasn't being sarcastic, although it clues us into the fact that Tony himself expects sarcasm from AJ when actually he is showing a sincerity, showing us he has been capable of growth more than Tony throughout the show, even with the botched suicide. AJ experienced a measurable amount of growth, comparable to Tony and Tonys father, there can be no doubt. Although he has his own mental issues, Sociopathy is not one it seems. He has hence broken the Soprano curse which I think was metaphorically shown when the cart in Albelino\AJS car off the side of the road explosion happened. It was a moment of breaking the chain on some levels, a burning pyre breaking AJ free from the fate of becoming as bad a person as his father and grandfather. Theres something better in store for AJ, after all the bad times, even after his Dads brains get blown out, eventually he's on course for a different path, one not as a gangster or a thug or more importantly, a sociopath. SO back to the dialogue synch. "Strangers waiting, going up the boulevard" plays as AJ says "Isn't that what you said one time? 'Try to remember the times that were good.'?" to which Tony reply "I did?" as if he was a stranger to himself, as if he had forgotten this core truth that he once championed so loudly, yet of all values Tony could pass on throughout the show to AJ, it appears in this statement that this is the one that stuck more than any other.
He reminds Tony as he says"Yeah." in response kinda half confused how Tony forgot. "well its true I guess." Tony says, comically agreeing with himself and still acting as if he never heard this before. Carmela makes "those eyes" at him as if to silently say, "what the fuck Tony? You don't remember saying that?" while also releasing in the fact AJ is a much better man on so many levels already than Tony could ever be. "There shadows searching in the night.." plays as AJ and Carmela sort of have the same reaction to Tonys strange inability to recall what he once said. Its almost as if we are witnessing the metaphorical transfer of the patriarchal line to AJ, but one where some things have been corrected and changed. For instance AJ already being in therapy to treat the issues earlier in life, this gives him such a better chance at growing up to not become a sociopath like his father grandfather and Uncle Jr. Cut to scene of meadow trying to back into the parking spot. Big metaphor here, as she's always kind of been the black sheep of the show, unable to find a way to "fit in". In other words she was not into the denial thing that her mother clearly was. So again even on Carmela's side of the story, we see growth in Meadow in ways Carmela never had a chance. Meadow might marry a "connected" guy but will never be in the same fashion as Carmela. We see her wanting more of a equal partnership in the situation. SO again another example of quantifiable growth, not from Carmela and Tony per se but through their children. Let me continue.
"Streetlight people, walking down the boulevard" plays as she continues to struggle parking the car on "the boulevard" and acting as if there is some hurry. "Livin' just to find emotion, Hidin' somewhere in the night" Plays as MOJ guy is once again caught looking at Tony while he gets up after pretending like he was ordering something, which he clearly never orders anything, yet still heads to the bathroom as Tony looks at him get up and head towards him.
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As he walks by the camera pans in such a way that sets up what we as the audience would expect the angle of a final shot would be if there was one. A similar angle we saw with Phil I might add. Tony watches him the whole time he's walking by just to make sure we the viewer see it. So taking the lyric and synching it to MOJ guy resonates on the level that assuming its linked to the other character earlier we saw being pointed out as wearing the MOJ, Eugene, we see that his family or ex-wife would have major cause and emotion for targeting Tony. The motive their is obvious and made even more obvious by her stating her self in the episode titled "Members Only" "Why don't you just blow his fucking head off already?" With Phil out of the picture and everyone else scrambling to fill power vacuums (resonating with what the Dell guy said about blackholes) Tony out of the picture would surely serve New York AND Eugenes widows interest. SO its totally plausible to think that theres some connection. So the emotion that is "hiding in the night" is the anger and revenge that people want on Tony coming full circle like an Onion ring.
BELL RINGS 6th time
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So then cue the guitar solo which then has two african american guys walking in which resonates back to "Unidentified black males" and the original hit on Tony that JR put on him. It seems Chase is purposefully evoking that here as if to taunt us as the viewer as who in the room was about to pop Tony, because some "stranger hiding in the night" was about to do just that. Tony looks up at them as the "bell tolls" just like the song about "little Johnny" in the beginning of season six. Then we see Meadow finally able to park her car as the Onion rings are brought to the table.
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Tony says "I went ahead and ordered some for the table." as the three of them minus Meadow all synchronized one after another starting with Carmela put an onion ring in their mouth, Carmela doing it very much reminiscent of her scene taking Communion back in season one, and AJ doing it in a very similar fashion.
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Tony eats his sort like how he has eaten everything in the show, gobbles it right down with out quite the same grace as the other 2. "Don't stop believing" plays behind them as they eat them. The scene the cuts to Meadow getting out of her Car and running in as if to warn her dad about something, as if maybe she knew the hit was about to go down because of her connection to Patsy\Parisi family. Maybe she was running in like that to warn her dad, because her expression is of someone scared or upset. Her body language as she runs across the street reminds one of the scene at the funeral where meadow gets drunk and throws stuff at JR as he sings. Then gets chased out by Tony as she almost gets hit by cars, as she dashes out across traffic. Its a very similar shot. Its intentionally similar. She's in a hurry, she has to warn Tony. Remember in the beginning of the Season 6 song, she's identified as his guardian angel. Here she is running to warn Tony, but because she couldn't park her car quick enough, she is too late to stop the inevitable.
BELL RINGS seventh time
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Seven has a significance in Buddhism as well as in Dantes Inferno in relation ship to reincarnation\death\purgatory\afterlife.
As she enters, Tony looks up, and then the famous “cut to black"..... as the lyrics "don't stop" play, the word "stop" almost echos in your mind due to the abrupt stopping of the song, like a phantom in your mind, its a very cool effect. So to me, this whole last diner scene, is like the Sopranos version of "The Last Supper" as we see resonators of the shows most important story arcs represented in every little excruciating detail down to the pictures on the wall. It doesn't hurt my theory here that the entire cast of the show shot a "Last Supper" type shot promo for the Season 6. The themes are there. So to me Chase is right when he asserts "It's all there." Tony got whacked, and Meadow was a second too late this time to save him. She saved him once early on, we saw that, how she led him away from death in the Coma and back to life\reality.
But this time, even though she was desperately trying to get there in time, she couldn't save him this time. He "never saw it coming”. But “Its all there." "I get it!"
(To Be Continued...)
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

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(Continued)
So the craziest thing happens yesterday April 14th 2015 as I am writing this huge analysis. Coincidentally or not Chase comes out with his most in depth analysis to date of the final scene of Holstens. It looks eerily similar to not only masterofsopranos but mine as well. He does a shot by shot breakdown, and adds amazing new tidbits. The timing of it is, well, uh, interesting to say the least but serendipitous at most. Lets look at what Chase says shall we....
This Magic Moment By James Greenberg
Eight years after it aired, the finale of The Sopranos continues to be hotly debated. David Chase explains how he created the excruciating tension of the last scene. What he won't say is what happened at the end.
Was Tony Soprano's quiet meal with his family in a local ice cream parlor his last supper? Whether or not he was whacked gangland style in the "Made in America" finale of The Sopranos is not a question that concerns David Chase, creator of the series and director of the last episode. Chase is far more interested in larger philosophical issues about the choices we make in life that lead us to that point, and enjoying the good times, fleeting though they may be.
After orchestrating the murder of a rival gang boss and dodging a bullet yet again, Tony (James Gandolfini) is breathing, if not easier, with at least a sense of relief as he meets his wife Carmela (Edie Falco) and kids (Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler) at Holsten's for "the best onion rings in the state" and flips through the jukebox. It's almost a Norman Rockwell scene with a group of Cub Scouts, young lovers, football hero murals, and locals enjoying the warm and homey atmosphere. Chase says time itself is the raw material of the scene as the suspense builds with pinpoint editing while Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" propels the action to its climax—a heart-stopping cut to black.
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Chase was after the dreamy, chilling feeling he admired at the end of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in which time expands and contracts as life and death merge into one. And there, as in the concluding instant of The Sopranos, who knows what really happens. "When it's over," Chase offers, "I think you're probably always blindsided by it. That's all I can say."

It was my decision to direct the episode such that whenever Tony arrives someplace, he would see himself. He would get to the place and he would look and see where he was going. He had a conversation with his sister that went like this. And then he later had a conversation with Junior that went like this. I had him walk into his own POV every time. So the order of the shots would be Tony close-up, Tony POV, hold on the POV, and then Tony walks into the POV. And I shortened the POV every time. So that by the time he got to Holsten's, he wasn't even walking toward it anymore. He came in, he saw himself sitting at the table, and the next thing you knew he was at the table.
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Alik Sakharov, the DP, and I saw the location and talked about it a lot. I had a vision in my head when I wrote it, but when you move into a place you have to figure out how to shoot in that location. We wanted to be in the middle of the room obviously, so we could be on either side of the booth. We didn't want to be shooting against a blank wall on one side of the booth; we wanted it to be in the middle to give it depth all around. But there was a radiator unit in the only place where we would really have the room, so we had to build a booth over that radiator unit. It was very difficult. And we did not have much room to dolly or track around. So a lot of what we did in this scene came about after going to Holsten's. The vision has to coalesce with the real physical location.
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Tony's flipping through the jukebox; it's almost like the soundtrack of his life, because he sees various songs. No matter what song we picked, I wanted it to be a song that would have been from Tony's high school years, or his youth. That's what he would have played. When I wrote it, there were three songs in contention for this last song, and 'Don't Stop Believin'' was the one that seemed to work the best. I think it's a really good rock 'n' roll song. The music is very important to me in terms of the timing of the scene, the rhythm of the scene. The song dictates part of the pace. And having certain lyrics of the song, and certain instrumental flourishes happen in certain places, dictates what the cuts will be. I directed the scene to fit the song. The singing gets more and more strident and more invested as the song goes along. Musically it starts to build and build into something as it's just about to release. And when you look at the scene, you get that feeling.
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I love the timing of the lyric when Carmela enters: 'Just a small town girl livin' in a lonely world, she took the midnight train goin' anywhere.' Then it talks about Tony: 'Just a city boy,' and we had to dim down the music so you didn't hear the line, 'born and raised in South Detroit.' The music cuts out a little bit there, and they're speaking over it. 'He took the midnight train goin' anywhere.' And that to me was [everything]. I felt that those two characters had taken the midnight train a long time ago. That is their life. It means that these people are looking for something inevitable. Something they couldn't find. I mean, they didn't become missionaries in Africa or go to college together or do anything like that. They took the midnight train going anywhere. And the midnight train, you know, is the dark train.
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Tony hears the bell when the door opens and he's repeatedly looking up when he hears it throughout the scene. That rhythm is very important to the scene. The bell harkens back to the first episode [of the second part] of the final season called 'Sopranos Home Movies,' when Tony is out on a dock on this lake, and every once in a while a boat's bell dings and brings him out of himself and back to the present. So here's the bell again, and sure enough, he looks up, and then he gets distracted, and there's the bell again. In my mind, it's like a meditation bell. Not to be thinking about the past, not to be thinking about the future, only about now. It's like the song 'This Magic Moment.' I used that at the end of 'Sopranos Home Movies,' and it's one of the songs he sees on the jukebox in this episode.
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My thinking about wanting to introduce A.J. and the guy together was that both the audience and Tony would not focus on the guy so much, they would focus on A.J. Tony would focus on his son, rather than the man who might be there to do him harm. A lot of the audience I gathered doesn't like A.J.; they think he's a useless, spoiled fool. But there's also something about him that is earnest. He's got his father's kind of questioning and kind of little boy innocence. When I see Tony reach across and grab his arm [when he arrives], it makes me feel really good. Not only that, I'll tell you who else is reaching across the table, that's Jim Gandolfini reaching across to Robert Iler in the last scene they're going to do together. I never talked about it with them, but I know for a fact.
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Cutting to Meadow parking was my way of building up the tension and building up the suspense, but more than that I wanted to demonstrate the lyrics of the song, which is streetlights, people walking up and down the boulevard, because that's what the song is saying. 'Strangers waiting.' I wanted you to remember that is out there. That there are streetlights and people out there and strangers moving up and down. It's the stream of life, but not only that, it's the stream of life at night. There's that picture called History Is Made at Night [from 1937]. I love that title. And that kind of echoes in my head all the time.
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I just wanted the guy to look over. I didn't want him to look particularly menacing. And he glances off Tony so quickly. We worked on that quite a bit so he wasn't staring at him. The guy was like looking around the place in general. Tony doesn't acknowledge that he sees him. Tony leads a very dangerous, suspicious life and he's always on guard. But he's in this old-fashioned American sweet shop with those round stools and the counter and the football hero pictures and Cub Scouts. Everything that should make him feel at ease, and yet there is a slight ill at ease feeling which we bring to it because we know who he is and what he's done. And he can never be sure that any enemy is completely gone. He always has to have eyes behind his head.
(To Be Continued....)
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

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(Continued)
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The tension is quite high now, but if you think about it, for no real reason. Who's in the place? A guy in a jacket, Cub Scouts, a young couple, a trucker in a hat, a couple of black guys in there to buy some candy. There's no real reason for the tension to ratchet up. But it does. And that's what I love, how you make that. Of course, a tremendous amount of that happens in the editing room. You've got the pieces and you've got the intention, but who do you come back to and who you don't, what's the expression on their face. I think that's what montage and editing do best. And music. They play with time. You're going, 'come on, hurry up, no, slow down, no, hurry up, no, no, no, slow down.' That plays with your heartbeat, because that's the real clock.
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We tracked a bit in this shot. We had to move to get the bathroom sign. I can't say it was tricky, but it was time consuming because of the tight space. Yes, the scene in The Godfather [when Michael Corleone kills Sollozzo and McCluskey] occurred to me; it's an iconic scene. I would say that Tony checked the guy out at some level. I mean any middle-aged male that would get that close to him, I'm sure he would do some summary surveillance of. It may be very quick; his instincts are very sharp. He doesn't feel threatened by him but I'm sure he clocks that that guy's in the bathroom, and that that guy should come out. It's more like 'I want to see that guy come out.' This is all on a subconscious level, I'm sure. We all do this, every moment of our lives.
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I tried to build the tension and suspense as much as possible. That's why I could go back out to Meadow and her car-parking. I could use all that stuff to affect the pace. I think almost every director is thinking about the pacing. That's what directing is. I did want to create the idea that you would wonder if something was going to happen in there. Meadow is filled with nothing but very, very deep emotions about parking her car. But possibly a minute later, her head will be filled with emotions she could never even imagine. We all take this stuff so seriously—losing our keys, parking our car, a winter cold, a summer cold, an allergy—whatever it is. And this stuff fills our mind from second to second, moment to moment. And the big moment is always out there waiting.
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This is the last shot of the family, or the three of them anyway. Framing is extremely important. I think it makes you feel so much below the level of verbiage and words. What they're talking about is how good those onion rings are. For me, food is always central to a feeling of family and to a feeling of security and happiness. A.J. had remembered a moment at the end of the final show of the first season when they were all sitting down, eating in Vesuvio's Italian restaurant and Tony said, 'Just remember … value the good times,' the moments, there really aren't that many of them. And this is one of the very good times. And yet there's something wrong with it because Meadow is not there. So the family isn't really together. I think on some subliminal level that raises the tension. We know the family should be together and they're not.
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I said to Gandolfini, the bell rings and you look up. That last shot of Tony ends on 'don't stop,' it's mid-song. I'm not going to go into [if that's Tony's POV]. I thought the possibility would go through a lot of people's minds or maybe everybody's mind that he was killed. He might have gotten shot three years ago in that situation. But he didn't. Whether this is the end here, or not, it's going to come at some point for the rest of us. Hopefully we're not going to get shot by some rival gang mob or anything like that. I'm not saying that [happened]. But obviously he stood more of a chance of getting shot by a rival gang mob than you or I do because he put himself in that situation. All I know is the end is coming for all of us.
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I thought the ending would be somewhat jarring, sure. But not to the extent it was, and not a subject of such discussion. I really had no idea about that. I never considered the black a shot. I just thought what we see is black. The ceiling I was going for at that point, the biggest feeling I was going for, honestly, was don't stop believing. It was very simple and much more on the nose than people think. That's what I wanted people to believe. That life ends and death comes, but don't stop believing. There are attachments we make in life, even though it's all going to come to an end, that are worth so much, and we're so lucky to have been able to experience them. Life is short. Either it ends here for Tony or some other time. But in spite of that, it's really worth it. So don't stop believing.
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(To Be Continued...)
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

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(Continued)
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Well there you have it folks. Thats it. It really is “All there” and David Chase decided at the same time I did to show exactly how it is "All there".The last thing I want to leave you with is this. Right next to where the Twin Towers once stood, is a hotel. Its called the Hilton Millennium Hotel. It looks like this;
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Look familiar? It is made to be a replica of none other than, you guessed it, THE MONOLITH from 2001!!!! Don’t believe me though, From the Hilton Family New YorkWebsite:
"The hotel is a high-rise black glass building which pays homage to Arthur C. Clarke's vision of the Monolith in '2001: A Space Odyssey'"
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Let your noodle spin on that one, and on this Journey, Don’t Stop-------------
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fin
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

Re: Bells, Duality, Metaphysics, schrodingers Cat Oh my!

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That's it! Thats All Folks! Thus concludes my analysis of "this thing of ours". So far this is the first version\rough draft. Over the next week or so I will be going over and editing typos, touch up the writing a little, fixing pictures, etc etc. So keep an eye on it. When Im ABSOLUTELY finished, I will let people know, in case you want to just wait it out till then. But more or less this is the framework, this is it. And the Timing of Chases' comments couldn't have been better. I enjoyed the Journey, heres to wishing you do as well, salut!

Lucas Saul
You know, Vito called me “skip” the other day. Slip of the tongue, no doubt. But I noticed he didn’t correct himself.

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