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All Due Respect (The Sopranos episode)
Encyclopedia
"All Due Respect" is the sixty-fifth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos
and the finale of the show's fifth season. It was written by David Chase
, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess
, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on Sunday June 6, 2004.
is forced to make a decision regarding his cousin Tony Blundetto
. With the Lupertazzi family continuing to press violence onto Soprano soldiers, particularly Benny, and threatening Christopher
, Tony knows he must reluctantly take action. At Raymond Curto
's birthday dinner, Tony delivers a speech regarding the position the family currently is in. He states that "[they] must deal with this as a family and those of [them] who are not with him... will be dealt with in time". However, the soldiers are not giving up without a fight. Vito Spatafore
states that he would be willing to die for a good cause, but that this situation is "bullshit". At the pork store, Larry Boy Barese
and associates discuss Tony's favoritism towards his cousin Tony B. and that he probably would have surrendered anyone else.
Tony asks for the advice of his Uncle Junior
, who is still homebound. Junior turns out to be no help since his attention span is impaired -— he's more concerned about sending a fruit basket to his lawyer, Harold Melvoin, who recently suffered a stroke
. Tony then seeks out help from Dr. Melfi
, but as he cannot go into great detail, she is unable to advise him much, despite another reminder that anything they say remains between the two. This causes Dr. Melfi to become frustrated because a majority of Tony's life is excluded from the therapy sessions. Tony visits Paulie Gualtieri
and discovers the painting of the horse Pie-O-My and himself, which was supposed to be burned. He immediately takes it down and brings it to a dumpster. As he throws the portrait away in a dumpster at a vegetable market, he seems to focus on the military details of the portrait, possibly reminding him of his role as a general of the family.
As Tony B. arrives back at Uncle Pat's recently vacated upstate New York
farm house after buying groceries, Tony comes from around the side of the porch with a pump-action
shotgun
and shoots his cousin in the head, giving Tony B. a quick death. Soprano then informs Phil Leotardo where Tony B. is hiding. When Leotardo arrives later to exact his revenge, he expects Tony B. to be alive in the farm house, but is shocked to instead find his corpse lying on a wood pile. Johnny Sack
later calls Tony from his doctor's appointment and tells him that "it didn't solve a thing". Tony agrees to meet Johnny the following morning at Johnny's house to settle the families' feud.
Tony finds Christopher and instructs him to retrieve Blundetto's body and bury it. They discuss Adriana
's murder and involvement with the FBI. Tony asks Chris if Adriana may have mentioned anything to the FBI about Matthew Bevilaqua
or Ralph Cifaretto. Christopher still feels extremely upset and betrayed about it all, but he says that he was careful not to let go of any information leading to the murders.
A.J.
plans a party with a friend which turns out to be very successful. He and his friend make $300 each after expenses and drinks. When Carmela
and Tony learn about his sudden business scheme, Carmela reveals that A.J. asked his guidance counselor which colleges would be suitable for studying event planning
. Carmela also says that A.J. spends "all his time" watching the DVD of the movie 54
about Steve Rubell
, the man who founded the famous New York disco Studio 54
. The Sopranos find some solace in the fact that A.J. is "fired up about something".
The following morning, Tony and Johnny Sack meet at the latter's New Jersey
home, in order to try to work out a solution to the current troubles between their families. Tony offers a percentage of the Bloomfield Avenue casino, which Tony put his now deceased cousin in charge of, as a peace offering for John to pass along to Phil. John considers the offer and Tony hopes to continue working with the New York family. As Johnny invites Tony inside for coffee, Tony sees armed men coming through the forest in the backyard and runs away. Johnny attempts to do the same, but the FBI raid the Sacrimoni home and Sacrimoni is placed under arrest. A few hours later, with Tony having made his way on foot to his own neighborhood, he calls his lawyer, Neil Mink, to ask what has happened. Mink informs him that John was brought up on charges which were built with the help of Jimmy Petrille, who had cooperated with the FBI for years. Mink advises Tony to be happy, since he was not mentioned in the indictment. Tony finally arrives home, via his back garden, and bangs on the back door for Carmela to let him in, which she does, being shocked by his look with wet shoes and a ripped coat shoulder, wondering what happened to her husband.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
and the finale of the show's fifth season. It was written by David Chase
David Chase
David Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown,...
, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess
Mitchell Burgess
Mitchell Burgess is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer. He worked extensively on the HBO hit-series The Sopranos. He was a creator and executive producer for Blue Bloods. He frequently works with his wife Robin Green.-Career:...
, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on Sunday June 6, 2004.
Guest starring roles
- Jerry AdlerJerry AdlerJerry Adler is an American theatre director, production supervisor and a television and film actor.Adler was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Pauline and Philip Adler, who was a general manager of the Group Theatre...
as Hesh Rabkin - Tom AldredgeTom AldredgeThomas Ernest "Tom" Aldredge was an American television, film and stage actor.-Life and career:Aldredge was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Lucienne Juliet and W. J. Aldredge, a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps...
as Hugh De Angelis - Denise Borino as Ginny Sacrimoni
- Max CasellaMax CasellaMax Casella is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Doogie Howser, M.D., and as the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.-Life and career:...
as Benny Fazio - Tony DarrowTony DarrowTony Darrow is an American actor.Darrow was born Anthony Borgese and grew up in the East New York section of Brooklyn. Darrow had plenty of opportunity to observe would be mobsters and their attitudes while growing up in his neighborhood in Brooklyn. As a child, Tony was gifted with a great...
as Larry Boy BareseLarry BareseLorenzo "Larry Boy" Barese, played by Tony Darrow, is a fictional character on the HBO original series The Sopranos. He is the only one of the five original captains of the DiMeo crime family that remains in that position of the crime family throughout the show... - Jessica DunphyJessica DunphyJessica Dunphy is an American actress.Originally from Glenside, Pennsylvania, Dunphy's most prominent roles include Devin Pillsbury on The Sopranos and Alison Stewart on the soap opera As the World Turns from April 25, 2002 until her final appearance on July 20, 2005.She has appeared in the films...
as Devin Pillsbury - Robert FunaroRobert FunaroRobert Funaro is an American film and television actor. Funaro is best known for the role of Eugene Pontecorvo in the Emmy Award-winning television series The Sopranos...
as Eugene Pontecorvo
- Joseph R. GannascoliJoseph R. GannascoliJoseph R. Gannascoli is an Italian-American actor and celebrity spokesman most notable for his portrayal of Vito Spatafore on the HBO series, The Sopranos.-Early life:Joseph R. Gannascoli was born and raised in Brooklyn....
as Vito SpataforeVito SpataforeVito Spatafore, Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a member of the DiMeo Crime Family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr., and was a closeted homosexual... - Marianne LeoneMarianne Leone CooperMarianne Leone is an American film and television actress, screenwriter, and essayist. She is likely best-known for her recurring role as Christopher Moltisanti's mother on The Sopranos....
as Joanne Moltisanti - George Loros as Raymond CurtoRay CurtoRaymond "Buffalo Ray" Curto, played by George Loros, is a fictional character on the HBO original series The Sopranos. An older Capo in the DiMeo Crime Family, Curto was an FBI-informant throughout almost the entire series....
- David MarguliesDavid MarguliesDavid Joseph Margulies is an American actor.Margulies was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Runya , a nurse and museum worker, and Harry David Margulies, a lawyer. Margulies graduated from City College of New York. Immediately afterward, he made his stage debut in the off-Broadway play Golden 6...
as Neil Mink - Arthur Nascarella as Carlo Gervasi
- Vinny VellaVinny VellaVinny Vella is an actor and part-time comedian.-Early life:Vella was born Vincet in New York City. His father raced at to win enough money to buy a scale for the pushcart he sold fish from, then earning enough to open a fish store.-Career:He is probably best known for the role of "Artie Piscano"...
as Jimmy Petrille - Frank VincentFrank VincentFrank Vincent is an American actor, musician, author and entrepreneur. He is a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull , Goodfellas and Casino . He often plays a gangster and works both in features and...
as Phil Leotardo
Episode recap
Tony SopranoTony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
is forced to make a decision regarding his cousin Tony Blundetto
Tony Blundetto
Anthony "Tony" Blundetto, played by Steve Buscemi, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is Tony Soprano's cousin who is released from prison at the beginning of the show's fifth season. Tony Blundetto first appears as a calm, composed, and reformed criminal ready to pursue...
. With the Lupertazzi family continuing to press violence onto Soprano soldiers, particularly Benny, and threatening Christopher
Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was Tony Soprano's protégé and a Capo in the Soprano crime family.-Biography:...
, Tony knows he must reluctantly take action. At Raymond Curto
Ray Curto
Raymond "Buffalo Ray" Curto, played by George Loros, is a fictional character on the HBO original series The Sopranos. An older Capo in the DiMeo Crime Family, Curto was an FBI-informant throughout almost the entire series....
's birthday dinner, Tony delivers a speech regarding the position the family currently is in. He states that "[they] must deal with this as a family and those of [them] who are not with him... will be dealt with in time". However, the soldiers are not giving up without a fight. Vito Spatafore
Vito Spatafore
Vito Spatafore, Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a member of the DiMeo Crime Family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr., and was a closeted homosexual...
states that he would be willing to die for a good cause, but that this situation is "bullshit". At the pork store, Larry Boy Barese
Larry Barese
Lorenzo "Larry Boy" Barese, played by Tony Darrow, is a fictional character on the HBO original series The Sopranos. He is the only one of the five original captains of the DiMeo crime family that remains in that position of the crime family throughout the show...
and associates discuss Tony's favoritism towards his cousin Tony B. and that he probably would have surrendered anyone else.
Tony asks for the advice of his Uncle Junior
Junior Soprano
Corrado John Soprano, Jr., played by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle Jun", he is the mentor and surrogate father for capo Tony Soprano. A younger Corrado sometimes appears in flashbacks and is played by Rocco...
, who is still homebound. Junior turns out to be no help since his attention span is impaired -— he's more concerned about sending a fruit basket to his lawyer, Harold Melvoin, who recently suffered a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. Tony then seeks out help from Dr. Melfi
Jennifer Melfi
Jennifer Melfi, M.D., is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the psychiatrist of Mafia boss Tony Soprano. She is portrayed by Lorraine Bracco.-Character description:...
, but as he cannot go into great detail, she is unable to advise him much, despite another reminder that anything they say remains between the two. This causes Dr. Melfi to become frustrated because a majority of Tony's life is excluded from the therapy sessions. Tony visits Paulie Gualtieri
Paulie Gualtieri
Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri played by Tony Sirico, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is a caporegime and later underboss in the Soprano crime family.-Plot details:...
and discovers the painting of the horse Pie-O-My and himself, which was supposed to be burned. He immediately takes it down and brings it to a dumpster. As he throws the portrait away in a dumpster at a vegetable market, he seems to focus on the military details of the portrait, possibly reminding him of his role as a general of the family.
As Tony B. arrives back at Uncle Pat's recently vacated upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
farm house after buying groceries, Tony comes from around the side of the porch with a pump-action
Pump-action
A pump-action rifle or shotgun is one in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth in order to eject a spent round of ammunition and to chamber a fresh one. It is much faster than a bolt-action and somewhat faster than a lever-action, as it does not require the trigger hand to be removed from...
shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
and shoots his cousin in the head, giving Tony B. a quick death. Soprano then informs Phil Leotardo where Tony B. is hiding. When Leotardo arrives later to exact his revenge, he expects Tony B. to be alive in the farm house, but is shocked to instead find his corpse lying on a wood pile. Johnny Sack
Johnny Sack
John "Johnny Sack" Sacramoni, played by Vince Curatola, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was the longtime underboss and later the boss of the powerful Brooklyn-based New York City Lupertazzi crime family...
later calls Tony from his doctor's appointment and tells him that "it didn't solve a thing". Tony agrees to meet Johnny the following morning at Johnny's house to settle the families' feud.
Tony finds Christopher and instructs him to retrieve Blundetto's body and bury it. They discuss Adriana
Adriana La Cerva
Adriana La Cerva played by Drea de Matteo, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the long-time girlfriend and, later, fiancée of Tony Soprano's protégé, Christopher Moltisanti.-Character history:...
's murder and involvement with the FBI. Tony asks Chris if Adriana may have mentioned anything to the FBI about Matthew Bevilaqua
Matthew Bevilaqua
Matthew Bevilacqua, played by Lillo Brancato Jr., is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos.-Background:Matthew Bevilacqua, a.k.a. Matt Drinkwater, was Sean Gismonte's partner-in-crime and an associate in the Soprano Crime Family. Matt and Sean were from West Orange, New Jersey....
or Ralph Cifaretto. Christopher still feels extremely upset and betrayed about it all, but he says that he was careful not to let go of any information leading to the murders.
A.J.
Anthony Soprano, Jr.
Anthony John "A.J." Soprano, Jr. , played by Robert Iler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually just called "A.J.", he is the son of Carmela and Tony Soprano. He is a prototypical underachiever and is a constant source of stress and anxiety for his parents...
plans a party with a friend which turns out to be very successful. He and his friend make $300 each after expenses and drinks. When Carmela
Carmela Soprano
Carmela Soprano née DeAngelis, played by Edie Falco, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the wife of Mafia boss Tony Soprano and the program's most prominent female character.-Character biography:...
and Tony learn about his sudden business scheme, Carmela reveals that A.J. asked his guidance counselor which colleges would be suitable for studying event planning
Event planning
Event planning is the process of planning a festival, ceremony, competition, party, or convention. Event planning includes budgeting, establishing dates and alternate dates, selecting and reserving the event site, acquiring permits, and coordinating transportation and parking...
. Carmela also says that A.J. spends "all his time" watching the DVD of the movie 54
54 (film)
54 is a 1998 drama film written and directed by Mark Christopher, starring Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, and Neve Campbell...
about Steve Rubell
Steve Rubell
Steve Rubell was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York disco Studio 54.-Early life:Rubell and his brother Don spent their childhoods with their parents in Brooklyn, New York. His father worked for the U.S. Postal Service and later became a tennis pro...
, the man who founded the famous New York disco Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
. The Sopranos find some solace in the fact that A.J. is "fired up about something".
The following morning, Tony and Johnny Sack meet at the latter's New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
home, in order to try to work out a solution to the current troubles between their families. Tony offers a percentage of the Bloomfield Avenue casino, which Tony put his now deceased cousin in charge of, as a peace offering for John to pass along to Phil. John considers the offer and Tony hopes to continue working with the New York family. As Johnny invites Tony inside for coffee, Tony sees armed men coming through the forest in the backyard and runs away. Johnny attempts to do the same, but the FBI raid the Sacrimoni home and Sacrimoni is placed under arrest. A few hours later, with Tony having made his way on foot to his own neighborhood, he calls his lawyer, Neil Mink, to ask what has happened. Mink informs him that John was brought up on charges which were built with the help of Jimmy Petrille, who had cooperated with the FBI for years. Mink advises Tony to be happy, since he was not mentioned in the indictment. Tony finally arrives home, via his back garden, and bangs on the back door for Carmela to let him in, which she does, being shocked by his look with wet shoes and a ripped coat shoulder, wondering what happened to her husband.
Deceased
- Tony BlundettoTony BlundettoAnthony "Tony" Blundetto, played by Steve Buscemi, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is Tony Soprano's cousin who is released from prison at the beginning of the show's fifth season. Tony Blundetto first appears as a calm, composed, and reformed criminal ready to pursue...
: Shot in the head with a 12 gauge shotgun by Tony Soprano in order to save him from a more painful death at the hands of Phil Leotardo after Tony B. killed Phil's brother Billy Leotardo
Title reference
- Vito prefaces his criticism with "All due respect" when discussing with the other captains, the family's problems with New York.
- Silvio does the same before criticizing Tony for having too much pride. The phrase is intended to be one of reverence, but usually precedes someone in authority being told something they don't want to hear.
- The phrase has been heard very frequently in previous Sopranos episodes as well. While it's normally rendered "With all due respect", in The Sopranos the "with" is nearly always omitted, as it is in the title of this episode.
Production
- This is the final episode directed by John Patterson, who died in 2005.
- At the end of the episode, Tony's emergence from the rustling bushes reaffirms the use of the bear as a symbol for Tony's dominating presence in his house. Based on the emerging location of the bear in earlier episodes, there is uncertainty as to the identity of the rustling figure.
- Drea de MatteoDrea de MatteoDrea de Matteo is an American television actress, perhaps best known for her roles Joey Tribbiani's sister Gina on the NBC sitcom Joey, as Angie Bolen on ABC's Desperate Housewives, and as Adriana La Cerva on the acclaimed HBO TV series The Sopranos, a role for which she won the Primetime Emmy...
reveals in the DVD commentary for the previous episode, "Long Term Parking", that the character of Tony Blundetto was not initially supposed to die in the fifth season finale. - Blooper: when Carmela confronts A.J. about his college applications, his sleeves appear alternately as rolled up and not rolled up.
- The scene in which Johnny Sack is arrested is shown again in the sixth season episode "Soprano Home MoviesSoprano Home Movies"Soprano Home Movies" is the thirteenth episode of the sixth season of the HBO television drama series The Sopranos and seventy-eighth episode overall. It served as the midseason premiere to the second part of the show's sixth season, the broadcast of which was split into two...
", but a different take is used.
Music
- The song played over the end credits is "Glad TidingsGlad Tidings (song)"Glad Tidings" is the tenth and final song on Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison's 1970 album Moondance.-Recording and composition:...
" by Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
. It is also played earlier when Christopher talks to Silvio at a Roy Rogers, and later during a scene where Tony B. arrives at Uncle Pat's farm, shortly before his murder. A The Star-LedgerThe Star-LedgerThe Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
review of this episode explains the song's importance to the plot: "The episode's use of Van Morrison's "Glad Tidings" as a recurring motif was a classic example of the show's attention to detail. Moments before buckshot hit Blundetto, we heard the verse that opened with "And we'll send you glad tidings from New York" and closed with "Hope that you will come in right on time." - In the scene wherein Tony is sitting on the steps of an elementary school, a version of "Mr. Tamborine Man" is heard.