The Sopranos Copied A Goodfellas Story (But Made It Darker)
The Sopranos was strongly influenced by Martin Scorsese's gangster classic Goodfellas, including one small story that The Sopranos took directly from the earlier movie but put its own dark take on. Both stories used similar plot details to comment on their lead characters' insecurities as well as the changing world around them, taking a psychological approach to the gangster genre. One of the best illustrations of this is the stories both The Sopranos and Goodfellas tell about their central gangsters having to dig up the buried body of someone they killed.
One of the reasons David Chase's The Sopranos was so influential was the self-reflexive approach it took to the mob narrative, showing Tony Soprano and his lieutenants obsessing over classic mafia movies such as The Godfather and trying to emulate them. Goodfellas was itself a more self-reflexive version of the genre, showing how Henry Hill is lured in by the mystique of gangsters. As such, there are many links between The Sopranos and Goodfellas, including Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, and several other actors appearing in both.
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Another thing The Sopranos took from Goodfellas was a plot detail about having to move the body of a previous murder victim. In Goodfellas, Henry, Jimmy, and Tommy have to dig up the corpse of Billy Batts and move it because a condo is scheduled to be built on the same ground. This is a short scene, but it is very memorable due to the red lighting that Scorsese uses as a backdrop to the scene and Henry's physical reaction to Billy's decaying corpse. Tommy and Jimmy mock his disgust, showing how they harbor less guilt. Alongside other nods to Goodfellas in The Sopranos, the
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