Why You're Wrong About Phil Leotardo | The Sopranos
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- čas přidán 13. 11. 2023
- In The Sopranos, Phil Leotardo - played by Frank Vincent - becomes boss of the New York Lupertazzi family. Many Sopranos fans consider Phil to be an annoying character who is too emotional to be a mob boss and is always talking about how he did 20 years in prison.
But in today's video, I wanted to offer a case for Phil Leotardo, to offer an analysis of Phil Leotardo and show he is a lot more complex and nuanced than people give him credit for. - Krátké a kreslené filmy
*How Did Phil Know Where Vito Was Hiding? The SHOCKING Truth | The Sopranos Explained*
czcams.com/video/6MOQLM0AtDQ/video.htmlsi=g942QSjKP4ElJBsy
If Phil Leotardo worked at a liquor store, he would ID check everyone under the age of 55.
It either means something or it don’t
@@CollaredConsulting Lmao, based.
He was just a kid…
I.D checks it either has meaning or it doesn’t
the walgreens by my house does that for cigarettes. my dad is 62 and he still gets carded in that place. anything less than hunch back wrinkled up old person gets carded LOL
Billy Leotardo, 47 years old, barely a toddler.
I mean dying at 47 is young
@@mogreen1232 no, but its not old. dying before 35 is young
Whatever happened there
@@mogreen1232 Not in the mob it ain't. Dude was in his golden years in mob time.
@@franciscoherrera5577WHATEVER HAPPENED THERE!?
"Played by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi"...I see what you did there 😆
You are so smart
I don’t get it
And let me tell you a couple of three things
@@ezrasalkinthat’s the real name of the Shah of Iran
@@ezrasalkinyou don’t have the makings of a varsity athlete do ya?
Phil WAS the true hero. And he was getting along with Jersey until THAT ANIMAL BLUNDETTO (I can’t even say his name) ruined it all.
Have a breadstick
The wine makes him emotional
What ever happened there?
There’s no scraps in my scrapbook
Compromise I wanted manicut I Compromise made grill cheese of that raahdiattorah aka radiator
He was a 3 dimensional character, the writers even turned him into a house to symbolise this fact.
a couple of tree dimensions
Phill is the most unintentionally hilarious character on the show
My favorite is when he was yelling at Tony and Carmine jr. go away through a curtain window after just getting off the phone with them that he would meet 🤣. He's like a 66 year old hormonal teenager.
Phil accidentally opened Pandora’s (shine) box
@@MintyFreshTurds "We just talked" well now i dont wanna talk anymore LOL
he made the guys drive from jersey to Brooklyn just to act like a heartbroken ex GF
"Uncle philly my ass"
@@SavingSoulsMinistries "Take that piece of shit, and get off my STOOP!"
I actually don't think he was any worse than Tony, but the reason he had it coming to him in the end was that he ran and hid while leaving his men to deal with the fallout. My estimation of him as a man plummeted
But don't they all "run and hide" when they're at war?
@@DaveSCameron I was thinking about when Tony was holed up with his guys and a shotty. He was in the mix a little. Felt more like Phil was vacationing with his family, didn't his guys have trouble even communicating with him? Felt kinda lame, I would be annoyed
@@keithmichael112 Ah yes I hear you mate, holed up with his John Gotti 😂👍. Unfortunately it doesn't give us enough info about where The Shah is getting off to but nice reply here..
You got no idea what it’s like to be #1.
@@Cbart23every decision affects every facet of every otha fawkin thing
Phil Leotardo: gets out of prison after 20 years, comes out of the closet, turns into a house, and gets his head squashed under a tire.
Christopher Moltisanti: where's his arc?
On the radiator
@ImSomethingDifferent6 very allegorical. The sacred and the propane.
'after i make cappo, first thing im getting my wings died'
What's the turned into a house joke?
@@Ynot2711 that one scene he’s yelling at Little Carmine and Tony from the second floor of a house, but don’t show his face 😂
czcams.com/video/LU5Vo2HRRfk/video.htmlsi=-Y9K85RTBwl1s9Ef
I watched the Sopranos back in the early 2000s. Phil Leotardo was old. Now I am the same age as he was back then. And he is still old.
He's just a kid back then and he still is I say
Any man that can do 20 years in the can and never mention it once has all my respect.
Are you sure it was 20? I mean he never mentions it so I can’t remember
20 years in the can and not a fucking peep
@@GoldenJoe9176 that's the internet for you, I've got the DVDs and he specifically states 15 fuckin years, in a couple scenes he says 25 though. Fuckin' telephone, averaging it out to 20...
The true message behind it all is that he was an idiot for doing all of that time for people who didn’t give a fuck about him.
20 years in the can for the likes of Doc Santoro and Rusty Fucking Milip.
Rumor has it he did 20 years.
Never been confirmed but its implied
You got points for not talking about it
@@paulie-Gualtieri.heh heh
you have to make that stupid joke everytime
@@faisalkamal4319yes
I didn't even realize his character is considered a "joke". Never even occurred to me. I saw him a scary opponent for Tony to be going up against.
Same. I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of his, but he was a man’s man and a real threat.
@@gangsta8929 all the characters in the Sopranos have their funny side.
@@eljefemaximo5420except Livia
@@mrtrolly4184 cgi Livia was pretty funny.
Edit: spelling
@@mrtrolly4184 that's true.
the character was definitely well-written and almost mirrored Tony himself, almost dying, coming back appreciating life and trying to change while failing to change or even changing for the worse, becoming more selfish, his crew slowly losing respect for him, dying in the last episode and plenty of other things he shared with Tony, but he was insufferable and unlikable, that's why I liked a character like Ralphie because he had some charisma and was funny
Phil the house wasn't funny?
@@BenCanuckleheadI remember that scene when Phil said he would meet up with Tony but then he compromised and became the house
Ralphie's sense of humor was one redeeming quality he had. He was a sick fuck, but he was a hilarious sick fuck. I was rolling with the prank call to Paulie's mom... I mean Aunt... Whatever happened there.
@@jessiestoss2687 too bad he ended up in a shinebox after the PieOhMy incident, whatever happened there.
@@BenCanucklehead The house always wins. He was doomed when he turned back into a goombah.
Everyone knows Frank and Pesci were the best of friends and worked together in nightclubs and such. They made the Death Collector together, which got them into Raging Bull and the Scorsese universe. Joe of course became a major Oscar winning star and Frank stayed a steady solid character actor and not just in Mob films. But it was a masterstroke of casting as Phil Leotardo. And he's brilliant and compelling to watch. It's a shame he never received at least an Emmy nomination for his performance.
I think I have Death Collector on DVD
Correct in the 1960s they sang and write music pesci vincent are actually great singers then in 1975 they got into low budget movies rest is history frank vincent out out some albums and pesci still once in awhile will surprise ly show up to gigs
Who considered Phil Leotardo a joke? I’m a huge Sopranos fan, I was never aware he was thought of that way.
It is
Anyone who's never done 20 years in the can.
He compromised.
It's his Heritage, the Leotardo's took shit the moment they got off the vote
A force
This video really makes me re-assess Phil’s character. He was put away just as the Mafia started to deteriorate. He sacrificed for something that was almost immediately evident that it wasn’t worth going to prison for the people who surrounded him.
He was one of the very few made men who actually cared about the code they swore to obey as made their vows during induction. It’s almost like the new vs the old finally coming to a head.
The way you manage to slip in jokes so quickly is amazing.
After multiple analysis videos on this character, we still have no idea how long he was in prison for
Somewhere between 19 and 21, I think😁
I think he said like 20 months or some shit
I agree, Phil was a wonderful character, I loved when he finally got Popped, but he had good points, just look at the mean and insane shit Tony did, and he's beloved for being multi-dimensional, Phil was an O.G man.
Source?
@@chrisdawson1776🤓
Phil was hysterical, ruthless, and sympathetic (to a degree). A very complex character.
Some would say those are the traits needed to be a Shah.
He still hasn’t returned my pool cue he borrowed though 🤨😬
@@E4RLIES well he had to chalk it up and what not. learned that in prison after running out of tissues and cooking grilled cheeses on the communal radiator for 20 fuckin years
@@E4RLIES mmmm wouldn't i love to get a whiff of that 🤤🤤 must smell and taste like Johnny Cakes
Phil doesn't forget
The part where you said Phil is played by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi made me do a double take haha I honestly thought for a second that was the actors real name and Frank Vincent was like a "stage name" You got me you silly fuck you
Everytime Phil comes on screen, I pay full attention, every moment is a gift he's in sopranos.
Phil had a great talent for finding the right things to fly off the handle about. It's the Khruschev-madman theory: make everyone else walk on egg shells. It's probably why he rose through the ranks so quickly where other ex-cons stagnate on the margins. The whole thing that happened to his brudda was gonna be the gift that kept on giving, and a card he could play against Jersey and NY. The problem was that it wasn't an act, and he didn't understand the value of keeping the Jersey crew intact--both financially and as a power bloc. It was a stupid move, and had he won the war, it would have been death by a thousand cuts in keeping the territory.
Phillip “Killer Queen” Leotardo
I just love all the winks to inside jokes In your videos. "Stopping to smell the shine box." No fair! That's one isn't even from Sopranos!
Tony didn’t get whacked we did . Our time was over and we didn’t see it coming or hear anything when it happened . Tony was looking at us and we disappeared.
Worst. Theory. Ever.
Ending is yet another Goodfellas reference - Pesci shoots the viewer at the end.
Tony was silenced at that moment.
"...No more Tony ,no more of this..."
I loved him like a brother in law… that one just kills me 😂😂😂
Did 20 fvckin years for this, that's my legacy.
yep
You were a man Phil, and that's saying something
At least you didn’t suffah.
Your brother Billy, whatever happened there…
You can't keep doing this to yourself, skippah
Phil was an old school soldier, capo perhaps, but as a boss he falls way short of old school Carmine Sr., whom Tony could get along with.
Or even Carmine Jr. who actually seems to live by the "every day is a gift" , tried to broker peace, and really seemed to hate violence.
Of course Phil is more of a classic gangster archetype that's why they cast Vincent to play him. Just because the qualities that Tony admires in Phil become a problem for him does not mean he would lose his respect and admiration for those traits because they are now turned against him and conflict with his interests, it is what is to be expected under the circumstances.
In my opinion, the show peaked when Phil went on his reign of terror. Great character 👏, RIP Frank Vincent 🙏
I wish these analyzers would stop referencing “20 years.” There’s no evidence in the Soprano’s canon to indicate how long Phil was in the can.
I gotta say your descriptions of The Shah and the Devouring of Billy by Sasquatch keep getting better and better. Keeps the channel fresh. Love it.
It is very subtle, but there are a lot of hints that Tony Uncle Al is a werewolf sprinkled throughout the show.
I really like how the threats got bigger each season Junior[a capo vs the real boss, tony always had the upper had but was dealing with the moral side of things]> Big Puss being a mid level threat as things could ahve gotten worse if he wasnt found out in time but tony kinda always knew. > Richie [another capo riding the coat tail of junior and a very dangerous individual on his own. > Ralph [huge potential as all around dangerous and powerful guy] Feech [ first time Tony is dealing with someone who likely was an equal and if not taken care of quick could possibly had a successful revolt] Phil [ first time tony has the odds stacked against him.]
This is unreadable.
Bro I spat out my drink after those first 30 seconds 😂😂😂
You're editing is gold, carmines "end of phucking story" was great
Wait wait wait back up... Phil did 20 years? Who would of guessed...
I know, when did they ever mention that? Oh well shucks. I musta missed it.
Many of you are wrong about how many years Phil Leotardo did in the can. It was vaguely explained but he in fact did 20 WHOLE YEARS in the can
Where did you get that crazy theory from? Next are you gonna tell me Christopher was a drug addict?
Not a squeak
Stranded up like a man
Yep. This mirrored my own view on Phil. His interactions with Tony and the generational wedge between them always reminded me of the very first episode of the Sopranos when Tony was complaining to Dr Melfi about Christopher and the current generation. Every new group of old farts looks down on the younger generation and idealizes their own and older generations. But the reality is always different from the ideal.
“In this house Phil also turns into a house!”
You don't really have to explain why Phil referred to his little brother as just a kid. It's an American idiom. We get what is meant. That said, I agree about Phil. He looks around at these half assed wise guys, and has some strong opinions. I can't blame him.
The lil references you make always make me giggle 😆
It’s videos like this that will keep you in BUTTER BRICKLE
I forget what we were talking about?
Great analysis. This is your most insightful video yet. Love your well place quotes and sense of humor
I think most people have met a small scale version of Phil Leotardo: A person who's mindset seemingly regressive because they can't get past that period in their life. Sometimes, it works and you get fine older gentlemen like Frank Vincent himself...
...And sometimes you get guys like Phil.
I mean i absolutely understand the vendettas against vito and blundetto, but he definitely expected too much of the jersey families to deliver them to him- especially if they were so weak that they couldnt prevent captains and high bloodlines from going off the reservation and into San Francisco. You can't really eye-for-an-eye everything in the family business and expect it not to set a poor precedent and lay the foundations of war, but backing down in the wake can really knock a man's standing. Especially to a bitter prisoner who thinks he's got nothing to lose but his standing
@@antonioreconquistador Did you mean to reply to me?
I can't remember where i heard it from but it was about The Walking Dead. They said the only reason Negan was seen as a villain was because Rick was the main character, reverse it and there's really no difference. The only reason Phil was seen as the villain was becasue Tony was the main character, reverse it and there's really no difference.
I saw Negan as a villain for bashing someone's head in every time he encountered a new group.
@@c.r.parish5908 What about when Rick and his group snuck into one of Negan's compounds and killed everyone in their sleep?
Phil is much older than Tony. He may have nostalgia. But guys like Phil, Carmin, and Junior are old school AF. These guys were so much different than Tony and his guys. Yes. They believe in codes. Respect and honor. They were the definition of "wise guys". And you'd honestly be able to notice them immediately. I've met a few in my lifetime and I will say that they carry themselves in a way that they don't even have to say a thing. You just know. Some are more quiet and subdued as well. And like to keep a low profile as well as saying very little. However sometimes when they do talk, ppl listen. And when he tells you a story you don't question a thing because you have no doubt in my mind that it's true. And I can say it's very intimidating. Even though they are a friend of yours and you have nothing to fear personally. But I definitely wouldn't want to be on the receiving end. And they are still very active today. With fronts like real estate agency's and a lot of them have funeral homes. I actually had a member of my family on a few occasions actually, and I could tell you that aside from talking to a few of these old timers. I could easily pick it of that this older man and his son's were definitely involved. They were very honorable and respectful. And it was all family working there. I'm Italian myself and it's much easier to tell who's who very easily.
Actually, Carmine didn’t seem to care about the codes of the mafia. In his eyes La Cosa Nostra was a business, and these codes they follow are bullshit in his eyes.
whats this the fkn un now?
Bro, I've always enjoyed your videos, cause you're really funny and it's a favorite show. Sometimes you're quite insightful. Today you changed my whole understanding of the show. Deep analysis, man. Respect.
Thank you!
Your intro bruh lmao
PING POW POO .... POW PING POOP !!... (Henry dying laughter)
Always cracks me up
I love how cineranter weaves in jokes in every other sentence 😂😂
The mere appearance of his eyebrows sends audiences into a fit of shinebox and 20 years jokes. Thats so true.
6:50 Luciano wasn't the who got insulted over every little thing; You're thinking of Gyp Rosetti.
I was thinking the same.
@jackbits6397 It's funny because he made a video on Gyp a week ago. 😆
I wonder if he's planning on making a Luciano vid next?
@@Delightfully_Bitchy yup I just watched the other day.
In the early season Lucky had angry outbursts all the time, though he calmed down eventually
@@chrisjzh He did, but "every other sentence" is too extreme of a description, even for dramatic effect. Hell, Lucky didn't even get angry every episode, while I'm pretty sure Gyp like twice an episode *minimum.*
It was a minor slip-up.
Phil was a stand up, old school guy in the mob world(sort of, still paid people late) but he just let his ego get the best of him in the final season. He couldn't put the personal behind him when he decided to be become boss and never let his brothers murder go. His business dealings with Tony were never going to work and he was even pissing off people like Butch in his own family by being too uncompromising by the end and uncompromising and arrogant with everyone.
Phil basically signed his own death certificate in season six part 2 episode 2 when he decided he would never compromise again but that's ironically a big part of being a mob boss and led to his own downfall. He was a guy who probably would have been okay as boss before his brothers murder but he was not cut out for the gig after that.
So well done! Definitely an enlightening deep dive, thank you
The man was compromised. His cuisine took a couple of three L's on the radiator. His estimation of his surname plummeted via the Americanization process. Also, the fact of the mob looking like a Puerto Rican whooah after his release tarnished the entire shine box. No wonder the man had laser beans coming out of his eyes, trying feverishly to hold on to the old traditions. This is what caused dysentery in the ranks. Phil did have the makings of a varsity athlete, but unfortunately for him, the coaches ships sailed long ago. Quasimodo predicted this.
the amount of references is crazy 😂
mohammad reza killed it with the performance
The Shah of Iran (LOL) I love the way you threw in all the metaphors.
"I love him like a brother-in-law" one of the greatest lines ever
"Tony's willing to give Phil a PASSSCH ." Nice 😂
Once again, one of yer best vids
Thank you
I think Phil is really interesting in that he represents both old school values and the degradation of quality in high-level mobsters at the same time. In a very short time frame, the Lupertazzi family passed from Carmine Sr. (the most intelligent and competent mobster in the show, by far) to Johnny Sac, (a competent businessman and schemer who was also emotionally volatile and unreasonable) to Phil who was basically a walking hard-on.
Phil was the guy you’d send to smack someone around. Not a boss. The scene in the bar with Lorraine Colluzo was Phil at his absolute best. Doing what he was meant to do. Keep a bunch of greedy criminals from cheating the boss. The muscle, not the brains.
Twenty fuckin years I’ve been waiting for this video John
Guy was an iron chef he man grilled cheese on the radiator
I always laugh during that scene, where Tony and Chris are mocking the way his face looks, because Phil looks like an older version of Chris😂
Just one thing, but in Boardwalk Empire, that was Gyp Rosetti who looked for offence in every sentence. Lucky Luciano was actually more personable if you showed him a degree of respect and was more likely to bargain with you first.
“Stopping to smell the shine box” fucking dead 😂
I totally agree with you and your take on Phil Leotardo. He was actually my favorite character. Not so much his character but how Frank Vincent stole every scene he was in. I think most Sopranos fans whether they want to admit or not were always glued to the TV just little bit more whenever there was a scene Phil in it.
Awesome awesome video. Loved all the references!
"things happen how they happen" is such a great line
Philly was the best. No compromise, for best or worst. 20 years in the can, no snitching. True OG. RIP. Phil was a wake-up call that "The Sopranos" was a story about a weak mob family that had lost its way.
Outstanding video; had me LOL a few times. Well done. Well done.
Leotardo and Soprano ended up as they did because their realities crashed into their fantasies. You capture that well. Life is all about the stories we tell ourselves, but sometimes the world makes those stories impossible to believe, even by us.
What a great analysis, I never knew Phil did 20 years in the Can! That makes a lot of sense.
I mean, Phil had a very old school mentality toward the mafia, and had to deal with that glorified crew in Jersey making a complete mockery out of the process.
Bruv, love the work you're doing! Concerning this particulair video - these were my thoughts exactly after the very first time I watched the series in 2009.
I argued alot with my friends about him
I get it. Phil Leotardo was a stand up, sit down, come from behind kind of guy. He was loved like a third cousin’s step-brother.
That said, everyone else in Phil’s universe says “finook” or “fanook” in describing Vito’s orientation. Philly Leotardo says “finoik”. Is that how they said it at Fort Dicks? Was that written into the script, or was it a mispronunciation that they simply left in the show?
Phil had a strange way of pronouncing Sicilian-Italian words. “Finoik,””Midigan,””Manigoat,” “you can sit there til San Genna(ro)”
Never forget that Paulie told him that Tony called him the shah of iran. It's significant to phil's hatred and the end.
Excellent video, your best analysis yet..with some very clever jokes in there ("Played by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi" LMAO!). I never saw Phil as a joke, maybe a tragic comic one, tragic like Feech LaMana, my fav character, but definately with funnier lines. I would like to see an analysis like this of Richie Aprile, another all-time star and fav psycho of the show. Wasn't he more than just a psycho? And of Carmine Junior ofc, an obvious candidate for a deeper take than just seeing him as a fool, and with even funnier lines than Phil.
Thank you. Funnily enough I have done one for Ritchie: czcams.com/video/uBB3OnkGINg/video.htmlsi=JnsEMAh5Y2omB4lb
love these videos and the lil jokes
Great video! I never thought about a lot of this; it really shows he easily we can fall into main character biases.
I think a lot of people still "feel" like Phil is a "worse" guy than Tony, even though they're both murderous criminals with their own complex backstory, internal justifications etc.
It's just because we're shown much more of Tony's perspective that we sympathise more
Phil did 20 years? In my book you get points for staying out of the can...
*Phil lives by a code and was the old skool gangster and clearly*
*vito had to go nuff said!*
You are a true raconteur my friend, it's always interesting listening to your content.
Frank Vincent was brilliant as Phil.
This is the NEW undisputed Champion of making videos to make the case for the Shah of Iran aka "Uncle Philly my ass, being a real old school stand up guy and a Man... which says alot these days.
Great video, as always.
Fanastic Mohammad Reza Pahlavi reference too.
When Phil finds out about Vito: He married my cousin. He dishonoured me PERSONALLY
When Phil is asked to financially help his cousin and her son to have a better life: Waddyagonnado
0:28 was honestly confused on the "actors" name until I googled it. It's the Shah Of Iran😂😂😂. Good one man
Not after he came outa the closet. My estimation of him as a man plummeted after that.😂
that rewind of Phil walking backwards into the closet was epic. It's the Sorpanos version of the Homer-retreating-into-the-bushes meme (Vito also retreated into the bushes, if you know what I mean)
That revers closet scene was great, but you know what would be epic? If the romance with the pool cue was actually filmed. I'd love to see the guys trying to pull it out, as Vito desperately tries to fight it.
mate your videos are pure quality
Phil was always one of my favorite characters, largely due to the guy playing him as u said, but I still respect the character. I never new he was seen as a joke by Sopranos fans. R u sure about that? The only time I gave Phil the side eye is when he made a big deal about Vito. "What's the big deal," I thought, "what's it to u?" But u made a video that clarified that a bit, but I still take Big Carmine's stance on it, of course it's about the money. Ur really goin in on this video, I don't think you've ever gotten this in depth on a Sopranos character. Ur making him my favorite character with this shit. I can't currently think of anyone else and I used to feel like he represented my take on things in this world. I would never join a gang because I don't take the fall or orders, but if I was into all that, I'd be like Phil, an I'd wanna kill whoever wasn't.🤷
Hey there my East American coast cinematic character it's always nice to see you uploading and this one is again better than your previous so please keep them coming. 👍
Not so sure about him and The Bard however.. 😂😂
My estimation of CineRanter as a youtuber just fucking plummeted. This comprehensive video covers everything related to Phil Leotardo except the vexing question of how many years he did in the can.
20 years
*Gengis Khan once said a quote that resonates here....and it was basically saying that god sent me to punish yall for the sins yall committed and when think about Tony, he has wronged so many people especially working stiffs he to said he "respects" that it would only make sence that Phil was Tony's karma for all his sins....and to put insult to injury just like said in the video Phil was an idea of a person Tony idolized but when you really want something you might just get it...and Tony went down with him...*
Counting like Phil: One, Couplea, Tree, Twenty.
I always thought phil was a good antagonist you knew once he became boss tony wasn't gonna be able to negotiate with him and that ish was about to get real frank vincent was always great in any role rip
"I loved him like a Brother In-Law" has to be one of the best lines in TV
Phil, though I can see why people find him too emotional, the fact of the matter is if someone killed your brother and you knew that the bastard who did it was still out there that would hurt a lot. Then once he has his chance for revenge he instead finds out that someone else got to do what was his right. He even manages to stomach his pain and works with Tony for a while after this sort of "betrayal". I should probably clarify that I am a new fan and have only seen this thing of ours maybe 3 times over the past couple of years so maybe I'm missing a ridiculous situation or detail on the matter, but Phil at the bare minimum did sacrifice 20 years and had to adapt to the changing rules in the mob which couldn't have been easy considering the rule back then were the rules. Any thought of changing them before he was in prison would of had him shunned. Imagine Phil being ok with Vito being gay back before he was in the can. Shit would not have flown for even a day.