Review Detail

I remember watching sopranos season one way back.
It's not like a watched it from beginning to end, but a few episodes here and there.
I though it felt sloppy. Great concept, just not very well executed.
The acting was less than great at times,
and the story at times came across as stupid or contrived.

But there were some moments of genius in there,
when James Gandolfini in particular really shone as an actor,
(some of the surrounding characters were great too, but he was the star for sure.)
and the story felt really genuine and epic. Like others have said bordering on Shakespearean (but not quite)

This edit contains all the genius and almost none of the stupid.
It's fairly close to being a perfect edit of Sopranos season one.

As it is, to me it comes across as episode 2 of a 3 episode Sopranos miniseries.
Like any good episode 2 this is where most of the important character development and plot
of the miniseries happens, and it's satisfying and complete in itself. As long as you are aware of all the characters and the general plot beforehand (which is what episode 1 is about).
And the (as I interpret it) cliffhanger ending leaves you craving for the next episode (episode 3, the resolution)

All in all this is really enjoyable, and a really good take on sopranos season one
and I do recommend watching it.

But you do need to know the characters and general plot
to fully understand what's happening.
And the ending will leave you wanting for more.
So I would suggest watching a few episodes of the series to fill in the gaps.
I wish I could recommend specific episodes, but I don't know season one that well.
Perhaps someone else can fill in for me? =)