TLDR
It's basically an abridged version of The Sopranos Season 1 DVD Commentary, and I mean that as a compliment.
What it's about
The Sopranos creator and showrunner David Chase looks back on his career and his revolutionary show in an intimate and revealing sit down with filmmaker Alex Gibney.
The take
If Wise Guy reads like a biography of David Chase and an oral history of The Sopranos, that’s because it is simultaneously both those things. Chase’s story is The Sopranos’ and vice versa. As Chase reveals in this two-part documentary, The Sopranos was initially based on his mother and his childhood in New Jersey. But then the show evolved into something more profound and complex than anyone could’ve imagined. Free from the reins of network TV, it relished in its R-rating creativity and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. People tuned into it every night. It was celebrated and parodied in equal measure. Most important of all, it ushered in a new era of prestige television that valued substance more than anything else. There’s no better person to guide us through the ins and outs and behind-the-scenes of The Sopranos than the showrunner himself. Director Alex Gibney parallels his interview with Chase with scenes from the show, even matching its colors and texture, to further prove how inextricable Chase is from his creation. We see never-before-seen clips of casting, script writing, reception—the works. Wise Guy must be heaven-sent to hardcore Sopranos fans, but it’s also the perfect introduction for the uninitiated.
What stands out
Chase’s humility. “‘Remember when’ is the lowest form of conversation,” he reminds Gibney, while also asking “Who wants to hear all this shit?” Many of us do, Chase!