Beast In Me, The

Adabisi edited this back in 2014, so I have reviewed his edit with that in mind.

'The Beast In Me' is an edit that aims to show us what a movie version of The Soprano's would have looked like. I haven't read a great deal about how David Chase ending up getting the show commissioned, but Adabisi kindly explains that Chase had always intended on getting a movie made. So, he created the Pilot episode with the view to attracting networks or studio's to invest in a feature. HBO loved it, and The Soprano's was born. Which in my estimation is still, in 2023, the best crime drama series made so far, and there have been some excellent shows.

'The Beast In Me' is edited from Season 1 of The Soprano's. I like the way Adabisi introduces us to the main players straight away.
Tony and his Jersey crew are sat in the office of the Bada Bing. Adabisi also introduces us to Tony's anxiety issues early on, setting us up nicely for the battle between Tony, and his mother.

I haven't watched any of the box set now since around 2017, so this allowed me to watch 'The Beast in Me' without constantly thinking of which scenes Adabisi chose to leave out. The story moves along nicely, nothing seems out of place, and the two hour and nine minutes breeze by.

The 'only' gripe I had, was how Adabisi chose to end 'The Beast In Me'. I completely get why he chose to end it like that, but I personally would have preferred it ended differently. Even though the edit dates back to 2014, I don't want to spoil it for anyone who, like myself, is new to this edit,

I was surprised that in the intervening years that Adabisi hasn't tackled any more of The Soprano's storylines into a feature, given that 'The Beast In Me' does a grand job of presenting us with the son/mother dynamic. However The Soprano's offers such detailed story depth in its ensuing Seasons that more edits of the quality of 'The Beast In Me' are crying out to be undertaken.

As a fan of the show, I type this in the hope Adabisi chooses to do more Soprano's edits but fully aware it's more than unlikely.
And Adabisi, if you don't mind indulging my suggestions (that I'm sure you'd be way to busy to undertake, but that would be awesome to see) ...these would be a fantastic continuation of your excellent 'The Beast In Me' edit.

'The Beast In Me 2 : Bonpensiero The Rat'
Continuing on from Adabisi's first edit, where Tony realises someone close is an informant,
Just showing how suspicion grows, and how Pussy ends up, would make an incredible movie edit.

'The Beast In Me 3 : The Release, Rise & Fall of Ralphie Cifaretto'
Ralph was one of the shows most loathsome characters. It'd be fantastic to see how Tony's patience runs
thinner and thinner until he eventually takes action.

'The Beast In Me 4 : 'Blundetto'
Season 5 was so, SO good. A movie edit could stick to the introduction of Phil Leotardo, and Tony's cousin
and the gruesome end he meets at the farm house. This whole story would set up the final movie edit.

'The Beast In Me 5 : The War'
This would be perfect, All the prior tensions boiling up in to an all out war.

Apologies for the wishful thinking, I don't in anyway want to detract from my main intention here, and that is to say that I highly recommend 'The Beast In Me' to ANY fan's of The Soprano's.

The Sopranos first season was pretty good to begin with. This edit picks up the pace, and is certainly a good way to start of the series. Focuses mainly on the principal character, as the subplots sometimes detract from this in the TV show. Excellent build-up and ending, and would love to see a sequel from Adabisi one day.

Adabisi has become quite adept at TV-to-Movie stories, this time taking season one of The Sopranos and turning it into a lean, mean 2 hour drama. The story flows quite well, and I'm amazed how much this feels like a Shakespearean tragedy. The ending is inspired, and the story feels both complete and unsatisfied, as is life.

Recommended for fans of The Sopranos. If you've never watched an episode before, this probably isn't the best introduction, but it's better than not watching anything.