I have many but one that stands out is Tony and Christopher stealing the wine from the biker guys. They are reliving the days when things like a simple rip-off like that was an exciting adventure yet still an everyday type thing. Re-living the glory days when in real, life things were getting much heavier.
Does it have to be a scene with Tony?
Probably the scene where Tony is beating up David Scatino, the guy who owned the sporting goods shop and ended up losing a bunch of money in a poker game. I liked that it showed Tony for the real bastard that he was, willing to let a childhood friend with a gambling problem get heavily indebted to him.
Well, more like an episode, where 2 of the guys (Pussy and Christopher maybe?) take a shackled Russian ex-KGB out to a rural park in a snowstorm, to execute him, and he seems to vanish after they bungle shooting him.
That’s Chris and Paulie, in Pine Barrens. It was not a KGB officer, though, just regular army. Great episode nonetheless, directed by Steve Buscemi. Since I’ve known that, it always reminds me of Fargo, which also has a lot of pain and suffering in the snow.
Paulie and Christopher.
In honor of James Gandolfini…I say…Yes.
His apartment looked like shit.
I always liked the scene where Tony confronts Richie Aprile in a mall. Tony tells Richie that he needed to back off Beansie and Richie says “I did, then I put in drive”… and Tony rails on him stating “Here’s a rule you might remember… I’m the mother-fucking fucking one who calls the shots!” and the look in his eyes is pure force of will being poured on to Richie.
Tony went way out of his way to warn the guy off , though. The guy was a loser and yet Tony gave the guy multiple chances to stay away.
I’m remembering the scene now in which Tony car-chases down Phil Leotardo, injures him, and threatens him in a soft voice while yelling something like ‘Hey Mister? You OK? Someone call him an ambulance’.
:D:D:D
For me, I think it would have to be from the episode in Season 1 where Tony takes Meadow to visit different colleges (entitled, oddly enough, “College”). He spots the mob informant who is living under the Witness Protection program and ends up brutally murdering the guy. It was shocking, especially considering he never let on to Meadow what he was up to- although she was suspicious and knew something was going on.
Tony confronting Uncle Junior (in dementia), in the nursing home. “Don’t you love me?”
One of my favorite episodes. The rat passed on the chance to kill Tony when he saw Meadow.
The game of Monopoly in the episode “Soprano Home Movies” (I think). Everyone is wonderfully in character, including Tony stealing from the bank. There’s an undertone of dread throughout the scene that bubbles up to the surface. The scene encapsulates the themes of family and violence that were woven through the entire run of the show.
James Gandolfini did a great job with that role. I can’t imagine it being anyone else. Some of my favorite Tony moments:
Tony telling Dr. Melfi the story about his friend with the cleft palate, Jimmy Smash.
A discussion after the hit on Jackie Jr. Silvio said it was a shame, but had to be done. The kid wasn’t all bad, he had a learning disability. Tony replies, “Well, being stupid is a learning disability, right?”
But my favorite… While recovering from his gunshot wound, Tony makes the very calculated decision to beat the shit out of someone in the group to remind everyone that he’s still in charge. He looks around at everyone, picks out the strongest looking but dumbest one of the group, then turns around his ring before picking the fight. Afterward he vomits in the toilet, then looks at himself in the mirror and grins.
I know we said only Tony moments, but I think the funniest stuff often came from Silvio. My favorite was when the guys were talking about the trouble Vito Jr. was having in school. One guy says, “I heard he ate a piece of cat shit out of the litterbox.”
“No, no. He took a shit on the floor and then stepped on it.”
Silvio: “Glad we got that straight…”
“But my favorite… While recovering from his gunshot wound, Tony makes the very calculated decision to beat the shit out of someone in the group to remind everyone that he’s still in charge. He looks around at everyone, picks out the strongest looking but dumbest one of the group, then turns around his ring before picking the fight. Afterward he vomits in the toilet, then looks at himself in the mirror and grins.”
The young, strong and very buff young guy takes the beating. He knows it’s better to take a beating than to fight back. I was disappointed that that young guy disappeared from the show after that.
I am also remembering when Tony went golfing with the guys from the upper crust neighborhood Tony lived in, who were getting off on the idea of hanging out with a mobster.
Tony set 'em straight!
“I know we said only Tony moments, but I think the funniest stuff often came from Silvio.”
Until “Long Term Parking” when he reveals what a cold blooded fuck he really is.