OFF THE BACK OF A TRUCK

A dynamic assemblage of dead-on insights and observations about The Sopranos.

As producer and director Braccia notes, this book is not the place to start learning about the story arcs of one of the greatest TV shows of all time. However, if the phrase “cut to black” doesn’t ring a bell, you owe it to yourself to watch it. For fans, this is better than a bowl of Artie Bucco’s ziti. In the introduction, Braccia gives readers permission to bounce around, which is refreshing. “This book isn’t a guide, it’s a party,” he writes. “With fuckin’ ziti….It was conceived to feel like you’re walking into an apartment filled with a collection of smart, fun fans of the show, each with their own areas of expertise and passion.” Writing with “some friends of ours,” the author begins with a breakdown of the various factions, analyzes the crimes committed in the course of the show, and takes a deep dive into the careful craft, touching on editing and cinematography, the incredible method acting employed by the cast, and more tenuous concepts such as the psychology, points of view, and metaphors that help shape the narrative. These chapters are kind of heavy, so Braccia breaks it up with interstitial interruptions about the music, the omnipresent cuisine, costuming, and Italian American culture. Examining many aspects of David Chase’s genius, the narrative touches on the influences that form the show’s DNA, among them other gangster flicks, Westerns, and TV shows ranging from Wiseguy to Twin Peaks. It would be easy to label this collection as fanboy material, but the writing—Braccia’s “friends” include professors, psychiatrists, film and TV writers, and filmmakers—is incisive in its dissections of the show’s elements. Wrapping up with a morgue’s worth of the story’s victims and the contributors’ favorite episodes, the book organically ends with a group conversation about the show’s most infamous episode, “Made in America.” Cut to black.

An entertaining and engaging virtual watch party for a show that changed TV forever.