Welcome back to the family business. New Line Cinema’s The Many Saints of Newark brings us back to New Jersey and to the ground-breaking world of HBO’s The Sopranos. In this first big-screen instalment, we’re headed back to the explosive 1960s and the era of the Newark riots. It’s a time when the African American and Italian communities are butting heads but likewise a time where in-fighting amongst the gangsters was more dangerous than anything brewing in the streets.
Shot on location in New Jersey and New York, the film stars Alessandro Nivola (Disobedience), Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton), Jon Bernthal (Baby Driver), Michael Gandolfini (The Deuce), Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) and Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring). Like a missing chapter from a well-loved novel, the script comes courtesy of Sopranos creator David Chase and his co-writer Lawrence Konner.
But is The Many Saints of Newark a prequel worthy of the award-winning Sopranos series? Our Chief Film Critic Jason Gorber gives us his verdict. Watch his review now:
The Many Saints of Newark opens in theatres Oct. 1.
Read Pat Mullen’s take on the prequel for a different perspective.