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William Ludwig will appear in scenes this week on General Hospital. Soap Opera Digest has reported that the talented actor will be taking on the role of Gordo, a pal of Jake’s (Hudson West). William Ludwig is recognized for his performances in notable productions such as The Many Saints of Newark, Side Hustle, and Just […]

The post William Ludwig to Appear on General Hospital appeared first on Soap Opera News.

In the opening scenes of Alan Taylor’s “The Many Saints of Newark,” Christopher Moltisanti’s ghost rises from the concrete of Pier 49 to follow his father, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), and eight-year-old Tony Soprano (William Ludwig). Young Tony skips through the sharply dressed ‘60s-era crowd, play-fighting with his Uncle Dickie. The piercing cry of three seagulls sweeps across the pier. Young Tony smiles. And the disembodied voice of Christopher describes how, 40 years from now, this grinning kid, his very own Uncle Tony, will murder him.

Nearly all of the stories in “The Sopranos” universe are told by men and boys: The newest is even narrated by a male ghost. Women of “The Sopranos” tend to be preternaturally voiceless, silenced, beaten, or all three, at least when they are not seducing men or complaining. Young girls and daughters experience this misogyny twofold, and “The Many Saints of Newark” carries on...

[Editor’s note: The following post contains spoilers for both “The Sopranos” and “The Many Saints of Newark.”]

Christopher Moltisanti haunts Alan Taylor’s “The Many Saints of Newark,” and not just in name (you don’t need to be too familiar with Italian to realize that “Many Saints” translates to “Moltisanti”) but in actual spirit. The film literally opens in a New Jersey graveyard, one filled with headstones boasting the names of families familiar to any seasoned “Sopranos” watcher, before settling on a discomfitingly familiar face, forever imposed on his own gravestone: Christopher Moltisanti, Aka Chrissy, the son of Dickie Moltisanti, who serves as the film’s leading man (as played by franchise newbie Alessandro Nivola).

Voiced by Michael Imperioli, who starred in the original series as the misguided if plucky young mobster, Chrissy guides us through the opening moments of the film — Chrissy! from beyond the grave! — which follows the exploits of his father and a young Tony Soprano...

(L-r) Billy Magnussen as Paulie Walnuts, Jon Bernthal as Johnny Soprano, Corey Stoll as Junior Soprano (in back), John Magaro as Silvio Dante, Ray Liotta as “Hollywood Dick” Moltisanti and Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti in New Line Cinema and Home Box Office’s “The Many Saints Of Newark,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo credit: Barry Wetcher / Warner Bros. Courtesy of Warner Brothers Studios

The highly-anticipated “Sopranos” prequel The Many Saints Of Newark finally arrives in theaters and proves that it was worth the long wait. “The Sopranos” was the influential, award-winning television series that likely started the binge-watching phenomenon, but one of the nice things about this mobster drama is that there is no need to be a fan of the long-running series, or even to have seen a single episode, to fully enjoy this film and be drawn into its well-rounded world and thrilled by its surprise-around-every corner plot.

Oof, Madonna. It’s a good thing Tony Soprano came in at the end of this thing of theirs during the series, because it turns out the glory days of the New Jersey mob family were a mess. The lingering question at the end of the film shouldn’t be who killed the main character, but why didn’t Tony finish college. Director Alan Taylor’s The Many Saints of Newark is not really a standalone film. It requires a knowledge of The Sopranos. More than that, the series is a Dutch uncle to the movie, holding its hand a little too tightly, and afraid to let go.

The film opens on a jarring and unexpected note, which is reminiscent of the classic film Sunset Boulevard: It is narrated by a dead person. The character is a beloved figure in the series, his voice is unmistakable, and he will...