The Sopranos iconic title sequence is over 20 years old, so why does it still look so fresh?

Craft.

I don't think David Chase and HBO's decision making process was guided by the need to create something trendy. They were not jumping on a late 90s ‘shaky cam’ bandwagon.

Nothing about The Soprano's was style over substance, it was style WITH substance. Every tight crop of Tony's face, every snippet of the environment, every immaculate edit is there to tell us a story.

We learn some basics, like Tony lives in New Jersey and his house is big.

But more importantly, we FEEL what it’s like to be Tony Soprano. We feel his disrespect for authority. Look at the way he grabs that toll-gate ticket. Through small details like this, we understand Tony's mindset before we see one line of dialogue. It's so good.

When someone tells me they haven’t seen this show, honestly, I lose a little bit of respect for them. If that’s you, go watch all 6 seasons right now. I mean it. Stop reading this deck and add this essential piece of culture to your brain.

It’s the moment TV challenged cinema as the home of proper sophisticated storytelling. An outrageous notion in 1999 but commonly accepted norm in 2021.

Read more about The Sopranos enduring legacy on The Guardian

NOTE: At the time of writing, the show is available on Amazon Prime Video