The Many Saints of Newark

The Many Saints of Newark is an American crime drama film prequel to the story of The Sopranos. It is directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner. The film stars Alessandro Nivola, Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, Joey Diaz, Michael Gandolfini and Ray Liotta.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film's release has been delayed twice. Originally slated for a September 25, 2020, it was rescheduled to September 24, 2021, before again being delayed to October 1, 2021.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2021.

Plot[]

Beginning in the late 1960’s and leading into the 1970s, The Many Saints of Newark offers a look at the relations between the Italian-American and African-American communities in Newark at a time when the 1967 riots in Newark were happening. The film features a teenage Anthony "Tony" Soprano Sr. portrayed by James Gandolfini's son, Michael Gandolfini.^[1]^[2]

Summary[]

Christopher Moltisanti grave close The Many Saints of Newark — Christopher Moltisanti's tomb and his link from beyond the grave.

The film opens on a graveyard where the voices of many of the people who died young and are buried there can be heard, for the most part lamenting over the circumstances that led to their early deaths. While the voices come and go, there is one that sticks; that of Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti. Christopher explains that he told "them" when he got "[there]" that he explored the criminal lifestyle, but that he was never bound for it, even excusing himself saying he was an altar boy. He laments that despite Moltisanti being a religious name, that that didn't save him when his time came, when he met death on Route 23 not far from the cemetery: though he makes it clear that it came much later than the story he is about to recount.