Mysterious Origins of The Sopranos Infamous Edit

Discussing the recent Vulture article on the mysterious origins of The Sopranos' infamous freeze frame edit in the season 5 episode Cold Cuts.

0:00 Intro
1:39 The infamous Edit
2:06 Visual Breakdown
2:58 Audio Breakdown
3:31 Twitter Peanut Gallery
4:04 Article Begins
4:27 David Chase doesn't recall
5:09 Mike Figgis doesn't remember
6:24 Sidney Wolinsky doesn't know
7:05 Assistant Editor doesn't know either
7:32 Article's End
8:12 My Mission

Article

#thesopranos #coldcuts #editing

[MrRedbrenden]

Wasn't expecting a star wars transition in the sopranos

[overdose]

"I dont recall" sounds like a real life testimony on the stand by a wise guy

[HappyCodingZX]

The reason it's important is because the show is so incredibly immersive - the writing, acting and direction are so good that you actually forget you are watching a show. What this edit does is completely break that carefully crafted spell and makes you feel like you've been pulled out of the matrix.

[HarryDRossi]

My father Richard Rossi is the unnamed assistant editor mentioned in this video (he was Sidney's assistant on the Sopranos seasons 4-6). When I asked him about this cut a long time ago he says he saw it for the first time on air when it originally premiered and immediately called Sidney to ask what the hell was going on with it to which Sidney replied that he had no idea why it was there!

[VenomSnake]

This show is seriously like a fever dream. There’s so many little scenes throughout the show like this that are unintentionally terrifying. This show has so many surrealist scenes I feel like I’m watching a David Lynch production at times. I’m still deeply unsettled by Hesh floating by the window.

[BTWN]

I’m a writer by trade, not an editor. I’ve always assumed that awkward cut was a fix for lacking coverage. The entire point of the scene is her conflicted expression upon exiting… I bet the scene played too quick and unreadable in first assembly. Without a close up, they manufactured the moment so the overall story played clearly. Just speculating.

[genelaufenberg]

My guess is Figgis cut the shot too early and didn't get Carmela's reaction of either disappointment, embarrassment, or the dread of returning to Tony (or all three). The scene didn't fully serve its purpose so Chase and the editors scrambled and this was their best (albeit imperfect) solution. Why does everyone involved now have amnesia? Probably to avoid embarrassing Figgis who dropped the ball. It happens.

[Ccarnage]

Its a "cold cut". Cut in the scene. You're completely not paying attention to the context of the shot... She just blurts that shes going back with her husband.. its her realizing what she just said.. that it was her true feeling.. and that scared her.

My opinion is that it has everything to do with context.

[rayc]

I'm thinking the reason "they" decided to do that transition was explained when you thought you were having a stroke - or your brain blew up. Carm was feeling the way we feel when we see the edit. She said goodbye to the guy she had an affair with - Tony's coming back to the house - Meadow is at college - AJ is a mess . . .I don't know for sure (seems like NO ONE knows) but that would make sense.

[VarsityEditor]

A meta-aspect of this is that it occurs in the episode titled "Cold Cuts". Sopranos episode titles very often have more than one meaning (in reference to different storylines/themes), and I can't help but suspect that there's something intentional in putting this overtly weird cut in an episode in which the title refers to "cuts". Coincidence? Not sure what to make of it.

[dannyvizcarra]

I'm calling bs. They know. They're just embarrassed. They were doing coke and got all hyped, thinking it'd be awesome 😂

[NotQuiteFirst]

From The Sopranos Scriptbook, quoting Chase talking about the editing process (not _Cold Cuts_ specifically): "The film editor assembles an episode and it then goes to the director who makes his cut. This is his opportunity to replace angles with a different camera angle or performance, but, in general, the director doesn't change the order of scenes or omit scenes that were in the script. After the director's cut is made, the film comes to me and I generate many cuts, all the way to the final - which could include reordering and omitting scenes. This process can take months, and I always, selfishly, use as much time as the schedule allows. I firmly believe that the more time a filmmaker has to edit, the better a piece will be."

[KamikazeCash]

I am impressed by your commitment to finding the decision-makers.

[adamadeptus]

I remember being shocked by this scene when I first saw it too and shaking my head in confusion. After some reflection, I think they wished to heighten the emotional intensity of Carmela realizing she was going back to Tony. The slow-motion is the weight of the realization hitting her and making her dissociate a little. Then we get the freeze frame, to heighten the fact that she is shocked and unsettled, even afraid of herself for her decision. Then we get the wipe to completely erase that moment, wiping it away to show Tony just chilling with his friends with no care or concern about Carmella's inner life. The jarringness of the transition works to convey how Carmella is feeling. It made a moment the viewer may have otherwise glossed over become this memorable incident inspiring deeper reflection. Makes sense to me.

[NebulousJ]

I actually think this is a wonderfully executed stylization choice. The final shot of the sopranos is also a "bad" editing decision if you are more concerned with logic and cohesion, over art.

[scalzmoney]

The director's name is pronounced with a hard G sound. He was Academy Award nominated for his 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas.

[laithalabri]

I know the edit is bad because it's out of place but I can't help loving it more each time I see it. Yes, it breaks the audience's immersion. Yes, it's incredibly jarring when you first see it. But to me, it's beautiful. Rubenesque. There's something so amusing about how overdramatic the slow-mo into freeze frame of Carmela's anxious expression is. The ominous 'whoosh'ing sound effect? Priceless. You showed the clip several times during the video and by the end my grin was several times wider. I hope one day someone finds the person responsible for the edit so I can give them my sincere thanks.

[hookedonphoenix]

My theory: when they finished shooting, the episode was ten seconds too short, so they did slo-mo, but they only had two seconds of Edie Falco walking, and if they stretched that out to 10 seconds, the editing bay would have caught on fire. So they just fucking did a freeze frame, and it would have been weird just to cut to the next scene, so they did a Star Wars wipe. The alternate option was doing a 1960s Batman transition with Tony’s face, but that might’ve taken it a little too far.

[matturner]

I always thought it was to give the impression of Carmela's inner panic upon accepting that she's going back to Tony. Makes sense why they'd put reverb on it, as she's definitely lost in her head in that moment.

[JamesBrophy]

Is this not really obvious, they needed to make sure the audience saw her reaction but didn't catch it on the day. Normally in tv you would shoot a super close insert to get that moment but they didn't have it so slowing her in the shot they did have was the solution. Her reaction is the only thing that would be lost if you run that at normal speed so that makes the most sense as the thing they chose to break edit rules for.