Sopranos Unauthorized: Shooting Sites Uncovered

"Sopranos Unathorized" is a behind-the-scenes look at some of the locations used in filming the Sopranos. While it is a thrill to meet the owners of the Tony Soprano home or to see the inside of Pizzaland, the hosting job by John Fiore and Marie Ruffalo is horrible. Fiore plays a mobbed-up version of himself, which is understandable given the topic, but Ruffalo spends the entire time giggling like a nitwit goomah. She is so annoying that I ended up fast-forwarding through the in-between chatter. It's a shame, for no character (goomah or otherwise) acts that way in the Sopranos. Why they made her act like an annoying idiot I will never understand.

Regardless, there are a lot of locations visited, most of which were filmed for exterior shots in the series. The sheer number of them makes it very hit-or-miss. For every Bada Bing or Satriale's you also get yawners like the alley where Meadow wrecked her car or the apartments where Silvo slapped a stripper. It seems as if they really stretched it to make a full two hours. Still, it is a kick to see some of the real like places that inspired David Chase. Now if we could only get rid of the hosts...

Oh, one more thing - the music played over the credits is a too-horrible-to-be-true version of "The Wanderer" sung by Fiore and Ruffalo. They even tweak the lyrics to things like, "I shop from town to town," and "I hop right in that Limo of mine." Ugh.

The previous reviewer just doesn't get it! This program is expertly hosted by JOHN FIORE (Who played Gigi for 2 seasons on the Sopranos) and his hot Italian Girlfriend, MARIE RUFFOLO, who is ACTING as his bimbo sidekick...Together they tour many actual New Jersey locations used in the Sopranos series. They do a great job and are hilarious in the show! I really enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek documentary...It was mesmerizing seeing Vincent Pastore talk about his death on the show...David Proval talking about the real Soprano House used during filming...The Home Movies with James Gandolfini trying to persuade the ducks into the swimming pool were priceless!...We are also treated to other really cool scenes shot during the filming of the Pilot...and Bloopers !!! Nothing like this is on ANY of the HBO DVDS! Among other things, a real standout is a trip to the Actual BADA BING (A.K.A. Satin Dolls) used in the show with the REAL girls that appear in the series. This show is really for the true SOPRANOS fan and they will appreciate all the effort and details that went into it...The footage assembled that was shot by some of the fans at the actual shooting locations is amazing. For some reason David Chase and HBO don't shoot ANY Behind-the-Scenes stuff at all, but you will find plenty of it here shot by third party bystanders! Positively Recommended!