"The Sopranos" Nobody Knows Anything (1999)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Henry Bronchtein

Writers:

David Chase (creator)
Frank Renzulli (written by)

TV Series:

"The Sopranos" (1999)

Original Air Date:

21 March 1999 (Season 1, Episode 11)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Following the arrest of two of his men, Tony suspects a traitor. Efforts to discover who, however, are stymied.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Psychiatrist | New Jersey | Mafia | Female Nudity

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15

11:00 AM

AETV

Nobody Knows Anything

#1.11

Cast

James Gandolfini	...	Tony Soprano
Lorraine Bracco	...	Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Edie Falco	...	Carmela Soprano
Michael Imperioli	...	Christopher Moltisanti
Dominic Chianese	...	Junior Soprano
Vincent Pastore	...	Salvatore 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero
Steve Van Zandt	...	Silvio Dante (as Steven Van Zandt)
Tony Sirico	...	Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri
Robert Iler	...	A.J. Soprano
Jamie-Lynn Sigler	...	Meadow Soprano
Nancy Marchand	...	Livia Soprano
John Heard	...	Det. Vin Makazian
Karen Sillas	...	Debbie
Al Sapienza	...	Mikey Palmice
Joseph Badalucco Jr.	...	Jimmy Altieri (as Joe Badalucco Jr.)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

North Caldwell, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Brad Grey Television

Trivia:

Paulie's car horn plays the theme from The Godfather (1972).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the closing credits, Kevin Bonpensiero's name is misspelled as "Bompensiero"

Quotes:

Carmela Soprano: You know, Ma, your son loves you very much. He worries all the time. And he felt bad that you didn't come to the open house. I don't care if you think it's disrespectful, but I want you to cut the drama. It's killing Tony.
Livia Soprano: What are you talking about?
Carmela Soprano: I'm talking about this. This "poor mother, nobody loves me" victim crap. It is textbook manipulation. And I hate seeing Tony so upset over it.
Livia Soprano: I know how to talk to people.
Carmela Soprano: I am a mother too, don't forget. You know the power that you have. And you use it like a pro.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Sopranos: Proshai, Livushka (#3.2)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Manifold de Amour

Paranoia time

"Never rat on your friends, and always, always keep your mouth shut." This line, spoken by Robert De Niro in Goodfellas, sums up the work ethics of organized crime. Fans of The Sopranos got a taste of it in the fifth episode, where Tony killed an informant with his bare hands; and now history is about to repeat itself.

It all starts with two of Tony's men being arrested in such a way that it can only have happened because someone talked to the cops. The suspicion is seemingly confirmed when the boss's guy inside the force, Vin Makazian (John Heard) claims to have evidence implicating Pussy Bompensiero (Vincent Pastore), one of Tony's oldest and closest friends. Unfortunately, Makazian kills himself before the evidence can be retrieved, and so Tony has to resort to other techniques if he wants to clear Pussy's name. Meanwhile, Uncle Junior, still convinced his nephew might have told family secrets to the wrong people, gives Mikey Palmice (Al Sapienza) the green light to clip Tony.

While previous shows were suspenseful because one could never tell if the wise-guys would whack unknown associates, the tension in Nobody Knows Anything is almost impossible to bear since the designated victim is a man audiences have come to like (odd, given he is a foul-mouthed murderer) over the course of ten episodes. The paranoid mood is sustained prominently by smart dialogue, which lets the viewer interpret the signs, and a moving performance from Pastore, who reveals a lot about his complex role without actually saying anything explicitly: the look on Pussy's face when Paulie invites him to a bathhouse (that way the latter can check if he is wearing a wire) conveys a truckload of fear and torment that set events in motion for the spectacular season finale. A revelatory turn in one of the first series' most memorable episodes.