Official Site for Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City Plexus BOARDWALK EMPIRE, A BOOK BY NELSON JOHNSON, IS THE TRUE STORY INSPIRING AN HBO SERIES FROM TERENCE WINTER AND MARTIN SCORSESE. Through most of the 20th century, Atlantic City was controlled by a powerful partnership of local politicians and racketeers. Funded by payoffs from gambling rooms, bars, and brothels, this corrupt alliance reached full bloom during the reign of Enoch “Nucky” Johnson — the second of three bosses to head the Republican machine that dominated city politics and society. Boardwalk Empire is the true story that inspired the epic HBO series starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, and Kelly Macdonald, with a pilot episode written by Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and directed by Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island).

New to the HBO Series Tie-in Edition Foreword by Terence Winter, Emmy Award-winning writer of The Sopranos and Executive Producer of Boardwalk Empire on HBO 16-page photo insert featuring 34 full-color photos of actors, producers, and sets from the HBO archive New Afterword by author Nelson Johnson BOARDWALK EMPIRE | HBO SERIES TIE-IN EDITION 2010 | 304 pp/softbound | ISBN 978-0-9666748-6-6 | $16.95 Boardwalk Empire Renewed for Season 4; Gets ‘Sesame Street’ Parody Boardwalk Empire Renewed for Season 4; Gets ‘Sesame Street’ Parody Share Comment After its season 3 premiere drew in over 7.2 million viewers, HBO has decided to stay loyal to its prohibition-era mob drama Boardwalk Empire by renewing the Emmy Award-winning series for season 4 – only a few weeks into season 3.

The brainchild of Sopranos writer Terence Winter, Boardwalk Empire stars Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) as Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (based on historical racketeer Enoch L. Johnson), a political figure who rose to fame by seizing control of Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the 1920s and 1930s during the Prohibition-era – via murder, bootlegging and gambling. Eventually Nucky’s guise as a political figure begins to weaken, with his lavish lifestyle and illegal activities catching the eye of the federal government. Steve Buscemi as the infamous Enoch “Nucky” Thompson Along with Winter, singer-turned-film star Mark Wahlberg and directorial legend Martin Scorsese serve as executive producers on Boardwalk Empire – with Scorsese directing the pilot episode. Boardwalk Empire marked the first time Scorsese directed an episode of a television series since an episode of Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories in 1986.

Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, had this to say on the show’s renewal, via a statement released today: “Terry Winter, Martin Scorsese and the rest of their outstanding team continue to produce a stunning show that never fails to surprise and entertain. We are excited to bring this unique series back for a fourth season.” At this year’s Emmy Awards, Boardwalk Empire took home four of the coveted awards in the categories of Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Tim Van Patten); Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series ( a tie with Game of Thrones ); Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series; and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role. Boardwalk Empire has also recently received another type of honor by being hilariously parodied on the PBS long-running children’s show Sesame Street: ‘Birdwalk Empire’ follows the fowl (get it?) misadventures of Nucky Ducky and his rival, Clucky Luciano. Check out Sesame Street’s entertaining Boardwalk Empire parody ‘Birdwalk Empire’ below: – “Pilot” · Boardwalk Empire · TV Review Boardwalk Empire: “Pilot” · TV Club · The A.V.

Club Share Tweet In the Atlantic City of 1920, the boardwalk is built for gawkers, who can encounter all manner of exotica if they’re willing to pony up two bits. A quarter will get their palm read, or will get them into a midget boxing match, or closer to a room full of incubators for preemies, where according to the sign outside they can, “See Babies That Weight Less Than Three Pounds!” Or if they’re on a budget, they can gather by the dock and watch the local fisherman empty their nets with a flourish while a barker announces “the catch of the day.” And who knows? Arrive at the right time and the catch of the day might be a corpse. In gambling parlance, HBO’s new series Boardwalk Empire is about as close as TV gets to a sure thing. It’s a drama about gangster-ridden prohibition-era New Jersey, headed up by Terence Winter, one of the most significant contributors to the success of The Sopranos, and executive produced by Martin Scorsese (who also directed the pilot). These are guys who, between them, know crime sagas, know the region, know history and know television.

Throw in a cast that includes colorful, accomplished character actors Steve Buscemi, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg and Dabney Coleman—all working with the usual budgetary and content freedoms that HBO allows—and the only real concern going into Boardwalk Empire is that it might be too good. Already, I’ve read some critics grumbling that the show is “exactly what you’d expect,” by which they mean that, yeah, sure, it’s entertaining and sophisticated and snazzy, but it’s not especially challenging. To some extent, I get where they’re coming from. Some critics prefer to root for scrappy underdogs, and touting Boardwalk Empire is more like cheering on the New York Yankees. But hell, I’m not afraid to say it: Go Yankees! (And that’s coming from a Braves fan, so you know I’m serious.) Judging by the first episode of Boardwalk Empire—debuting tonight at 9 p.m. eastern—this is going to be one of the most reliably exciting and satisfying shows of the new TV season. Is it perfect? Not quite.

The Winter-penned Boardwalk Empire pilot is reasonably fleet about setting up the premise of the series and all the players involved, but at the outset it sacrifices subtlety in service of clarity. Characters actually stand up and say things like, “Gentleman, thanks to prohibition we’ll be able to charge more for illegal booze and we’ll all get rich! By the way, I’m the city treasurer, you’re the mayor, and that guy over there’s my brother.” Not exactly the most artful introduction. Once all the players have been brought out of the wings though, Boardwalk Empire becomes plenty artful, with a scenario—historically based but embellished—that promises payoffs both rich and subtle in the weeks to come. Buscemi plays Nucky Thompson, Atlantic City’s wheeler-dealer treasurer—friend to crooks and the downtrodden alike—who opens the episode by celebrating the onset of prohibition and striking deals to supply the city with case after case of Canadian Club. Helping to ease Nucky’s path: his brother, Sheriff Eli Thompson (played by Shea Whigham) and an aging AC power-broker, Commodore Louis Kaestner (played by Coleman).

Working against him: a new IRS division dedicated to enforcing prohibition, represented by the stalwart Agent Nelson Van Alden (played by Shannon). Also in the first episode, Nucky learns that his “friends from Chicago” and “friends from New York” might not be so willing to let him manage the flow of liquor into and out of the territory. They’re all smiles and handshakes, but established underworld figures like Lucky Luciano and Arnold Rothstein have their own plans. Sure, you’ve seen all this before, in movies and TV shows about how organized crime and politicians work together—now and always. Even a lot of the other characters introduced in the Boardwalk Empire pilot have a familiar air. There’s Jimmy Darmody (played by Michael Pitt), an Ivy League dropout and WWI veteran who’s frustrated that Nucky’s not fast-tracking him to the top of his organization. (The two of them have a series-defining dialogue exchange about halfway through the episode, when Jimmy says, “All I want is an opportunity,” and Nucky snaps, “This is America.

Who the fuck’s stopping you?”) There’s Margaret Schroeder (Kelly MacDonald), a distraught young wife and mother who comes to Nucky for help with her drunken, abusive husband. And then there’s Chalky White (Michael Kenneth Williams) and Mickey Doyle (Paul Sparks), rival bootleggers who aren’t sure how their up-from-the-bootstrap operations square with Nucky’s grander designs. In short, this is a story about ambition, greed, and lost innocence, played out by tough-talking ne’er-do-wells and the timid folks who become their collateral damage. Nothing especially new here, aside from the specificity of the place and the dynamic visual style. But oh, that dynamic visual style! Scorsese only helmed Boardwalk Empire’s pilot, but he was reportedly a hands-on consultant during the production of the first season’s remaining 11 episodes, and I hope that the directors of future BEs took their cues from what Scorsese does here.

He doesn’t leave any of his signature effects on the shelf: not the swift, dynamic low-angle push-ins; or the disjointed jump-cuts to indicate the passage of time; or the tracking shots through bustling casinos; or the archaic iris-in/iris-out transitions; or the freeze-frames; or the overhead shots that make characters look like pieces on a game-board. Winter’s script has some Scorsesean touches too: it begins with a bit of shocking violence and then jumps back three days to show how the story reached that point; and when the timeline catches back up to that big scene, Winter and Scorsese wring the maximum amount of tension from the moment by cross-cutting rapidly between the different staging areas for the action. The performances in Boardwalk Empire are a pleasure to watch too—especially the interplay of the usually wired Buscemi (here playing with a little more control than usual) and the usually laid-back Pitt (here a degree or two more intense).

Throughout his career, Scorsese has been fascinated by the tension between the artificiality of cinema and its capacity to document reality, and though Boardwalk Empire isn’t as fraught with friction as a Raging Bull or New York New York—both of which mix John Cassavetes-style psychodrama with Michael Powell-style floridity—there are moments when the stylization of the actors’ gestures and the cinematography rub up against something more raw, like the unfaked cry of a child actor. Why is that significant? Because it ties back in with that stroll down the boardwalk I invited you all on at the top of this review. Boardwalk Empire isn’t just about criminals at work; it’s about a flowering sense of showmanship.

Winter and Scorsese weave the popular culture of the time into the series cleverly: the local cinema is showing a short starring Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle (a year before the scandal that would derail his career); the headliner at the theater is singer/comedian Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Iskowitz); the beginning of prohibition is marked by a New Orleans style jazz funeral for booze, complete with black balloons and white men in blackface carrying a bottle-shaped casket; the music coming from the phonographs and vaudeville halls is a mix of early R&B and Tin Pan Alley, including the songs of Russian-born innuendo queen Sophie Tucker, who split the difference between those genres. Meanwhile, the show’s cast is full of characters trying to remake themselves: Nucky (whose real name is Enoch) is working to build the empire of the show’s title; bootlegger Mickey Doyle changes his name when he launches his business; Jimmy strikes up a friendship with a scrappy, scar-faced thug who introduces himself as Al Capone. The lines between public and private, fake and real, obscurity and infamy… they’re all blurring as Boardwalk Empire opens.

Everything’s on display in Atlantic City, but there’s always a back room that passersby can’t see from the storefront window. The citizens have had time to prepare for prohibition, and see it as a chance for renewal. (As one of the songs on the soundtrack says, “I never knew I had a wonderful wife until the town went dry.”) Opportunity is everywhere, but the stakes are high: as the citizens of Atlantic City refashion themselves, they risk following the path of the whiskey-boats in the show’s opening scene, and disappearing into the fog. Grade: A- Stray observations: -HBO provided me with the first six episodes of Boardwalk Empire, but generally speaking I’m not a big one for watching ahead on shows I’m reviewing, so I’ll be writing these each week with no foreknowledge of what’s to come. For as long as the screeners keep coming though, I will be able to post these reviews as soon as an episode finishes airing. Given that this review is running before the debut, I didn’t get into too many specific plot details above, but feel free to spoiler it up in the comments. Next week’s piece and the ones to come will be fuller.

-That said, there are points I want to make about the pilot (and good scenes I want to note) that require more particulars, so you may want to wait until after you see the episode to read what’s next. Consider all the stray observations below to be Spoilers…. -We first meet Nucky when he’s delivering a speech to a temperance league about how drinking so ravaged his family that they had to eat wharf rats. Everything about the scene is niftily staged: from Margaret watching from the audience in quiet admiration to Jimmy leaning against a wall in the back and waiting for his cue to drag Nucky away on “urgent county business.” And there are payoffs to the scene, both immediate and delayed: as they leave, Jimmy baits Nucky into admitting that the wharf rat story is pure fiction; and later in the episode, the head of the temperance league gives Nucky a framed copy of the anti-booze poem she read before his speech, which he promptly tosses in the trash as soon as she’s out of sight.

-In the weeks to come, we’ll talk more about the real historical figures in the show: like Luciano, Johnny Torrio, and poor Jim Colosimo, the Chicago boss who gets slain in his own café while listening to Caruso at the end of the episode. (This is a famous incident in the history of the Chicago gangs, by the way; it happened in May of 1920.) For now though, I’m particularly fascinated by Rothstein, a man who embodies the blurring lines between crime, politics and business in the ‘20s. Rothstein’s credited with helping to put the “organized” in organized crime (as well as conspiring to fix the 1919 world series) and was known as a gambler who worked the percentages until they were overwhelmingly in his favor. He skirted legitimacy, and was never one to leave money on the table that could fit comfortably in his pocket. -What’s interesting about Rothstein in the context of Boardwalk Empire is how far ahead he is of Nucky, who himself so far seems to be a pretty smart guy.

Early in the episode, we see Nucky out-negotiating his liquor supplier (and then dismissing his man’s request that they have a drink together, saying, “I already got what I wanted, what the fuck would we talk about?”) and then we see him working his advantage to turn a $35,000 investment in Canadian Club into $60,000 from the mob. He goes to bed rich, then wakes up and learns that Rothstein was won $90,000 in one of his casinos, putting Nucky in debt to the mob. Even slicker: Rothstein made his money from Nucky without breaking any laws. -So, is Nucky smart? Or is he too small-time? His biggest weakness seems to be his sentimentality. When he hears Margaret’s story of poverty and abuse—delivered in her lilting Irish brogue—he explains how he lost his own wife to consumption, and then hands her a pile of money to help her out, saying, “We’re all immigrants, are we not?” Then Margaret’s husband smacks her around, takes her money, and blows it in Nucky’s casino, on the same day that Rothstein’s winning his money back.

You’d need a map to chart the cashflow in this episode. -I love the shot of Jimmy peeling kids off his car when he takes Margaret home. -When Agent Van Alden brings Jimmy in, Jimmy’s told that Van Alden and his men aren’t interested in Nucky’s election-rigging or graft… “just the liquor.” And so another theme is introduced: a preoccupation with minor vices blinding the law to the major ones. -Very intriguing the way this episode plays out, with Jimmy and Capone massacring some men they shouldn’t have massacred, all because Capone was distracted by a deer, while at the same time the feds storm Doyle’s bootlegging operation, in the basement of a funeral home, and thus miss the real action on the other side of the woods. -Remember this line: “Ambition can be read as impatience.” I have a feeling that’s going to be a recurring theme as the series plays on. -The Commodore tries to help Nucky with his Rothstein problem by handing him a copy of The International Jew, by “Henry fuckin’ Ford.” Nucky’s reply?

“I think my problems go beyond world finance.” -Jimmy and Al Capone meet at the midget boxing match. Jimmy’s advice to Al? “Bet on the little guy.” Boardwalk Empire – EW.com Pinterest Craig Blankenhorn/HBO A big, enjoyably nasty piece of work, Boardwalk Empire zooms in on Atlantic City in the 1920s. Prohibition has just gone into effect, and the city’s corrupt treasurer—Steve Buscemi’s oily, funny, nihilistic, knobbykneed Nucky Thompson—is handing out favors and calling in markers right and left. You barely need to check the credits to know that Martin Scorsese directed the pilot, because even the planks in the boardwalk gleam with his beautiful, cynical rot. And Sopranos writer-producer Terence Winter has clearly taken what he learned about the allure of amorality and run with it here. Based on a real-life Nucky (Johnson, not Thompson), Buscemi’s shifty-eyed fixer has no scruples about ordering beat-downs, but he also has a soft heart for a few people who impress him.

One is Michael Pitt’s Jimmy Darmody, a smart but indigent World War I vet who’ll do as he’s told with tortured loyalty to rise in Nucky’s operation. The other is Kelly Macdonald’s Margaret, a poor, honest woman trapped in an abusive marriage whom Nucky helps out?why? It remains a poignant mystery in the early hours of the series. What bodes well for Boardwalk as a weekly endeavor is that its Scorsese-fancy pilot is the weakest (the showiest, the slowest) of the episodes I’ve seen. The production becomes more sleek, emotionally complex, and sly in its subsequent hours. The casting of Buscemi—a veteran character actor who’s been great in movies ranging from Reservoir Dogs to The Big Lebowski—as a leading man and lover is both daring and mostly a success. I say “mostly” because, however terrific it is to see someone as gifted as Buscemi star in his own show, he falls a bit short in the area of screen magnetism. Unfortunately for Buscemi and Boardwalk, there are important precedents to which it should be compared. Is this show better than William A.

Wellman’s The Public Enemy (1931) or Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), both Prohibition-era gangster tales? No, it’s not. Boardwalk lacks their narrative momentum—both movies put the roar in the Roaring ’20s—and Buscemi doesn’t possess the feral energy of Enemy’s James Cagney or the brute force of Scarface’s Paul Muni. Boardwalk is very much a gangster saga for our times. (It even finds a role for one of the great modern gangsters: Michael Kenneth Williams—the magnificent Omar on The Wire—plays bootlegger Chalky White.) What Buscemi brings to this production is his great gift for channeling neurotic self-consciousness into a man of action. He may fret about retaining his empire, but you believe Nucky Thompson is a lord of venality, right down to his immaculate spats. B+ Show Full Article "Boardwalk Empire" Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 150 out of 213 people found the following review useful: Simply ... WOW! Greetings from Lithuania. What a wonderful pilot!

First i read some reviews before watching pilot, and they where saying how "boooring" this episode was. Hell no! That was one of the best pilots in a ... ever! When you have screenwriter of "Sopranos" and Mr. M.Scorsese in a director chair - nothing can go wrong! A pilot of "Boardwalk Empire" reminded my of "Goodfellas", "Sopranos" (i read that behind this show is a writer of "Sopranos" after watching pilot) and ... "Departed" - it's was THAT good. If this show will live up to the pilot - we have a new Emmy winner in all possible categories. Watch it and don't wary about negative reviews - this is a really great show. Was the above review useful to you? 108 out of 130 people found the following review useful: Buscemi should get an Emmy. from USA 16 October 2010 This show is loaded with excellent acting and writing!!!!! It's worth watching every minute and shot.

Steve Buscemi definitely deserves an Emmy for his portrayal of "Nucky." I haven't enjoyed a show from HBO this much since "Deadwood." The characters are well layered and the dialogue is fantastic. The supporting cast is immensely talented and the scenery is simply gorgeous. Michael Pitt is a pleasure to watch in his, complex role of the war hero gone bad. I hope this show lasts a lot longer than "Deadwood" did and makes household names out of its cast. I'll keep my HBO subscription forever if more shows like these are on the horizon. Was the above review useful to you? 79 out of 97 people found the following review useful: My 347th Review: ...this is as good as TV gets.... from the big screen 4 November 2010 With production values that are mind-boggling, cast, and a budget to die for HBO is now what film studios were in the 1930s, they have the clout and the ability to go way further than most films can - and you get episode after episode.

the detailing is beyond accurate and lavish - every stitch, every furnishing, every telegraph wire looks and feels authentic and it is all shot and lit to the highest standards of film not TV. The story of prohibition and Atlantic City is fully detailed, complex, with Steve Buscemi heading up a great cast. I have a gripe that the F-word was not ubiquitous at the time and strikes a jarring note in an otherwise near perfect production. Where this shines is in the details - I just hope the story lines and acting live up to the promise - they certainly have so far. Was the above review useful to you? 78 out of 100 people found the following review useful: The best show on small screen since the last best show on HBO from United States 15 November 2010 The show doesn't need any introduction and neither does the cast. It encompasses a generation where the political landscape is much the same as today but it is laced with more violence, sexism and corruption and in the midst is a thriving business of illegal alcohol. A new standard is set with the storytelling, cinematography, elaborate sets on the shores of Brooklyn, carefully chosen custom tailored clothes and costumes that match the opulent lifestyles of the characters.

The occasional inserts of magazines, books, manuals; all in their original form, which not only gives originality (to the show) for the era that is being depicted but also takes you back in time into the deeply woven lives of characters like Mrs Schroeder, Nucky, Eli, Nelson and my personal favorite character Mr. Kessler. A barrage of other prominent real life characters like Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Liciano, Al Capone, (Jimmy Darmody?), Johnny Torrio, Senators, Congressmen, President and VP contenders make the show complete and give it a political as well as a mob dimension. Much of what is in the show is based on true events and a cursory search on Wikipedia on some of the famous characters validates it. This is what makes this brilliant show dark just like it's setting - theme song with clouds over Atlantic city. One of the less talked about part of the show perhaps are the melodious songs that the producers/writers have decided for the background score. The songs fill up the environment with melancholy just like much of the show and leaves us eagerly waiting for the next episode. Any less than ten stars for the show would only reflect lack of fine taste. Was the above review useful to you?

97 out of 141 people found the following review useful: Best Pilot I've Ever Seen! A New Milestone for TV? from Bahrain 23 September 2010 A couple of days a go, I saw the pilot of Boardwalk Empire, directed by Maestro Martin Scorsese and written by Terence Winter, one of the main writers of the Sopranos. This is by far the best pilot I've ever seen. Impeccably directed; pure Scorsese, brilliantly written, perfectly casted, amazingly acted and just visually stunning! The look Mr. Scorsese established for the show is a joy to watch and hopefully the other directors will be able to emulate it, but I guess since we have Tim Van Patten, Allen Coulter and Alan Taylor directing most of the episodes, we're safe! From the first episode, Boardwalk Empire shows a great promise. It's about time Steve Buscemi got a leading role, a fine actor and a show stealer, and he's nothing short of great here, with a great supporting show to carry the show with him. If the show continues like the pilot, and keeps using great soundtracks like the ones Mr.

Scorsese used for the pilot. Then we have a third show to join the Sopranos and the Wire. And the fact that HBO renewed the show for a second season two days after it's premiere says something. Will be watching. from Canada 4 October 2010 This is a fantastic series; its the kind of outstanding, must-see programming that drives new subscribers to HBO. The series has superb production values and masterful direction by Scorsese. The acting is first-rate all around, especially the portrayal of Rothstein. Nucky's girlfriend (played by Paz de la Heurta) spices the show up with wonderful flashes of her beautiful nude body. The dressing room scene in episode #3 where she strips naked is magnificent to behold! The lady is a work of art... There is also a subtle complexity to the character of Nucky. He is not just a "bad" villain; a simple,one-dimensional caricature. Instead, he shows loving emotions, such as his desire to have children and his attraction to the good-hearted, honest immigrant girl.

(who on the surface appears to be his antithesis) He doesn't just commit crimes or violence for enjoyment of evil, but its often part of a Machiavellian purpose.He doesn't just take from the community, but he gives back as well. Perhaps he is the benevolent dictator or Philosopher King that Plato imagined. In many cases he redistributes wealth to those who need it most. Even if he is primarily doing it to serve his own interests, he is providing a critical function and service to the community and time in which he lives. The series also makes stinging criticisms of how the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and how powerful political and economic interests often manipulate naive, well-intentioned fools. Even today, soft drugs like marijuana are illegal, while far more addictive and socially harmful products (such as tobacco and alcohol) are legal. Marijuanna has been kept illegal because the powerful alcohol and tobacco lobby groups don't want competition to cut into their profits. But dumb people still believe the politicians who outlaw soft drugs like this are doing it to "protect" society.

In any case, this series is highly entertaining and will help people to understand the futility of prohibition policies and start to think about the real political and economic interests that are operating behind the scenes. The show is fun and addictive. (hopefully the government won't outlaw it) Watch it; you'll be glad you did. Was the above review useful to you? 58 out of 82 people found the following review useful: One of the best series on Hbo 20 September 2010 *** This review may contain spoilers *** When I watched this it kept me to the edge of my seat waiting to know what will happen next and when. The music with the movie is just like drinking a beer and feeling your first buzz It plays at the right time. The historically reality is just stunning, The silent movies the comedy play mixed with the raids from the feds. It shows how many people were actually poor in certain types of town with low pay. How men who drink beat their wives I did not enjoy watching that though that got me kind of mad at the guy and wanted to see him dead in the show because he killed a unborn child buy beating the mother of it,and Martin Scorsese roll in it.

A big $50 million just for the pilot their investing a lot into this show. I enjoyed all the way through even the credits.One of the best pilots I have ever seen. Was the above review useful to you? 50 out of 69 people found the following review useful: A brilliant crime story filled with flare, emotion, and memorable characters. from United States 6 December 2010 I am not a big TV lover. Mostly I watch South Park, but this show has gotten me interested in more live-action shows. It tells its stories with the same quality as a normal theater film for each episode making it feel like a massive crime drama experience. I have been waiting for a while now to review it, and now that the first season is over I can make my honest opinion clear. I live on a barrier island in New Jersey named Long Beach Island. It is about an hour drive away from Atlantic City so as you can guess I've been there a few times. My favorite part about Atlantic City is the boardwalk. Since this show is named Boardwalk Empire it should do a good job at showing what it looked like back in the 20's. Simply put it captures the 20's perfectly.

The show is directed so well I felt like I was transported back to those days. They also capture the feel of the 20's in other ways by showing historic events such as the World Series scam. In the end though it best captures the spirit of the 20's on the boardwalk. As for the plot it is set in the 1920's. Prohabition has begun starting a whole decade of illegal alcohol smuggling. The Treasurer of Atlantic City Nucky Thompson is starting a smuggling business that results in some bloody consequences. Along the way he meets a woman named Mrs. Schroeder, deals with an oncoming election, and more. It is a very well told story. It manages to tell several different stories throughout the show, but none of them feel underdone. They all are extremely well put together story lines. You have the main alcohol smuggling story, the story of Nucky and Margaret, the story of Jimmy, the story of Capone, the story of Lucky, the story of Eli Thompson, the story of Agent Nelson Van Alden, and many more. All these different stories keep things fresh. The emotions that are shown in the episodes are powerful.

As the episodes go on emotions get stronger like layers of an onion. Something that is also present in this show is flare. Every gangster flick needs that style to it. It needs to have that gangster feel. While this show doesn't have a lot of that when it happens it is really cool. Now I end this review on the acting. Everybody does a swell job. Buscemi is great as usual, and everyone else is great. The person who I'm most interested in is Michael Pitt who is a relatively unknown actor, but here is great and I would like to see him other things. He could make it real big. Overall I love this show. I will be a viewer of the next season for sure. Was the above review useful to you? 43 out of 61 people found the following review useful: TV's best drama that's compelling and informative it shows the early days of America's Playground as it ran with politics, corruption, greed and power struggle! from Petersburg, Virginia 9 November 2010 HBO has once again done it, they are simply the best at putting out provocative, and compelling interesting original series and this time period piece drama "Boardwalk Empire" is clearly a big knockout winner.

It's filled with enough drama, intrigue, suspense and complex emotions to make a viewer hooked and addicted to me it's like an early version of "The Sopranos" as producer and creator Terence Winter does a crafty and great job with this new work just the way he did when he wrote for "The Sopranos". As long before the days of slot machines, Donald Trump, Chinese massage places, street walking hookers, and rundown buildings this period piece shows the real and early days of Atlantic City. Set in 1920's Atlantic City, NJ when Prohibition has just gone into effect this series shows how the city's kings became outlaws. Dealing with the real life Nucky Johnson, yet the series changes the name to Nucky Thompson(played brilliant by veteran Steve Buscemi)who is A.C.'s treasurer and as with any central character Nucky is a complex man. He's a good politician standing for what he believes in, still he's quickly amoral by doing favors and bribes overseeing criminal enterprises and money from booze that's imported with the help of his brother the sheriff.

Still Nucky has a soft heart for people in need especially for that of a local lady Margaret Schroeder(played wonderful by Kelly MacDonald)who captures Nucky's fancy with her loving care, a big difference from the hot steamy passion that Nucky has with hot spirited flame Lucy(Paz De la Huerta). Aside from that a good supporting turn for the series and Nucky is that of hot young buck sidekick and want to be leader Jimmy Darmody(Michael Pitt)who's an aggressive loose cannon kick butt kind of guy. As he skates in the business of battling rivals while trying to impress Nucky with scores and he even brushes in business for Nucky in Chicago and New York as this series even shows the early start of legends Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. As Jimmy's the great wild card of the series a hot headed war war I vet who couldn't be tamed at home by his sexy wife Angela(Aleksa Palladino)as this boy is just a little complex from having a showgirl for a mom Gillian(Gretchen Mol).

And with any early mob drama it's only fitting to have a good guy trying to sort out the mess and bring corruption down well enter federal agent Nelson Van Alden(played with toughness and zeal from Michael Shannon)an intense by the book lawman who's determined as it's always interesting to watch him follow Nucky's dealings and travels. Overall this now is the best show on TV and only the best in the business HBO could have done it. "Boardwalk Empire" shows the roaring twenties as vibrant and classic meanwhile the life of this place is a violent underworld that had to be in a time of social prosperity and progress that was upstaged by corruption and booze debauchery in the Prohibition era. It's such a historical drama that it's educational really as it shows with it's central character Nucky Thompson life is complex and always temptation will override playing by the book as easy money is the way to live, still when dealing with money, booze, and sex it's tough and violent. Still "Boardwalk Empire" does all of this in such a classic way that's exciting and exhilarating as it's dazzling make it a must see for yourself and toast up and drink up to this it should last a little bit.

Was the above review useful to you? 29 out of 40 people found the following review useful: Damn Good Start 22 September 2010 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Boasting only a pilot episode (for now), Boardwalk Empire proved to be highly entertaining, at least for me. I never once thought it was slow, although if I recall correctly, the premiere lasted for more than an hour, and I didn't think it was overstuffed or overly dramatic, as many have taken the time to notice. Well, okay, maybe it was a little high-strung towards the end, but it managed to restrain itself nicely on that account. I mean, it could've been much worse. But that's not the kind of sentence I'd like to employ with this series. I can tell this is going to be a good one. Not because we have as backdrop the fiery, blood-fuelled mob wars between two powerful cities, or the facetious, slippery trade of liquor during the Prohibition era. While all these are very interesting to watch in their own respect, especially the accurate depiction of the violence and crimes of the time, what I like best about this show, so far anyways, are the characters.

I am not saying the plot isn't fairly fascinating itself, but I am more drawn to the protagonist, rather than the actual story. Nucky Thompson is fascinating to watch simply because he is a lonely man with too many people around him. He is like an island (cleverly depicted in the opening theme), standing in the midst of a raging era. He is a strong man with a strong head, but when it comes to his heart, well - he tends to show a much more vulnerable side. He looks like a cold bastard and acts like a pragmatic, self-complacent, crafty and almost cruel business man. At the same time, however, he's a warm fellow, with a heart made of tiny sheets of gold, that likes to protect all things pristine and innocent in the world. He is almost too aware of the fact that he can't accomplish that. He knows that his principles, while set in stone, are morally wrong and that he can't do his job and also do what he thinks is right. He can't be half a gangster, as Jimmy tells him. So he compromises and tries doing both, with somewhat peculiar consequences.

Here is man who can seem completely accustomed to the world he lives in, while, simultaneously, finding a hard time adjusting to it. When Steve Buscemi's character (who, by the way, was perfectly cast in my opinion - opinion which is not shared by many apparently) gives his touching, over-the-top, speech at the beginning of the episode, narrating how he procured some rats as dinner for his family on a cold winter night, we know it's a ruse and we as audience can already guess he is using it as a ploy to earn the trust and admiration of the ladies gathered there. And yet, we kind of hope and believe that part of his story is true. And that, although he lied about it, in his heart, he would actually do that. And that, a bit of that little boy resembles this grown weary man. You almost start thinking, towards the end of the episode, that maybe he wasn't lying to them at all,that maybe he was actually telling a real story. And that's when the character becomes fascinating to watch. And Nucky isn't the only character to watch. There are many well-rounded characters here that surprised me in many good ways.

I never expected this much depth from these supporting characters. At least at first, Jimmy's character did not seem so complex to me. It's only when the story progresses, that we do see how twisted the little fellow really is. Same goes for Arnold Rothstein's character, played by the grossly underrated Michael Stuhlbarg, as a cool, stoic mobster with a charming and affable personality. His poised elegance appears almost sinister at times. Especially after his gambling success, when he explains to Nucky how in actuality, he's the one who owes him money. Another good one for me is Margaret's character, the abused Irish wife that Nucky takes a peculiar interest in. Her quiet innocence and deliberate, unaffected candour make for a refreshing change from the sensual femme fatale of the jazz era, portrayed by Nucky's girlfriend. Many critics complained that she is a stale stereotype of the victimised woman portrayed as a saint, as opposed to the promiscuous vain, self-absorbed tart. So this would be the reason why Nucky's interested in her. But I disagree, she brings a lot more to the screen than a stereotype of an abused wife.

Yes, she is placed there to show a contrast between different women at the time, but she has something of her own, her expressions, her mannerisms, her actions that speak louder than her role and position in society. For me at least, she was riveting to watch. The weak characters of the show (like Van Alden, Lucy or Lucky Luciano) I suppose have not yet been developed after only one episode and I look forward to seeing more of them. However, all in all, the cast is a delight to watch. And for me, the characters make this show better than it actually is. The plot is elegantly handled (I speak as an amateur of this particular genre) and it swerves and turns enough times to distract us from any loose ends, making sure we focus on some key moments of the story, but the characters really do bring out the best of it, for me at least. I give it a nine, because I have a feeling this show will grow into something worthwhile. Was the above review useful to you?

Page 1 of 15: Boardwalk Empire: HBO Confirms Show To Finish Weather Boardwalk Empire: HBO Confirms Show To Finish The crime drama has won a string of awards and producers say they want to bring it to a "powerful and exciting conclusion". 10:58, UK, Friday 10 January 2014 Image Caption: The prohibition-era series stars Steve Buscemi as Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson Mail The next season of award-winning TV drama Boardwalk Empire will be its last. On the show's official Twitter feed, US TV network HBO confirmed: "The final call for drinks on the Boardwalk comes this fall". The prohibition-era series stars Steve Buscemi as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, a politician-gangster in charge of Atlantic City in the 1920s and 30s. It has won a string of awards, including two Golden Globes and more than a dozen Emmys, since its creation in 2010 by award-winning writer-producer Terence Winter, who co-scripted ground-breaking show The Sopranos.

Hollywood veteran Martin Scorsese directed the pilot episode of the show, which airs on Sky Atlantic in the UK. Mr Winter said: "After much discussion with my creative team and HBO, we've decided to wrap up the series after such a great run." "They look forward to bringing it to a powerful and exciting conclusion," he added, according to the Hollywood Reporter . :: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202. Top Stories Boardwalk Empire Will End - Business Insider HBO US premium cable TV provider HBO announced that the next season of award-winning prohibition-era show "Boardwalk Empire" will be its last. "The final call for drinks on the Boardwalk comes this fall," program makers announced on the Twitter feed of the show, starring Steve Buscemi as a politician-gangster in charge of Atlantic City.

The series has won a string of awards, including two Golden Globes and over a dozen Emmys, since its creation in 2010 by award-winning writer-producer Terence Winter, who co-scripted ground-breaking show "The Sopranos." The crime drama recounts the life and prohibition times of Enoch "Nucky" Thompson grappling with mobsters, bootleggers and politicians while running the infamous New Jersey city in the 1920s and 30s. Hollywood veteran Martin Scorsese directed the show's pilot episode, in an example of the trend for big-screen money and talent to migrate to the small-screen. Winter, who wrote the screenplay for Scorsese's currently Oscar-tipped epic "The Wolf of Wall Street," said: "After much discussion with my creative team and HBO, we've decided to wrap up the series after such a great run." They "look forward to bringing it to a powerful and exciting conclusion," he said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. HBO programming head Michael Lombardo added: "Terry Winter has created one for the ages ...

It has been an incredible honor to bring this powerful and groundbreaking series to our subscribers." Movie News: Mark Wahlberg Wants Martin Scorsese to Direct a 'Boardwalk Empire' Movie | Movie News | Movies.com "I like women. I don‘t understand them, but I like them." Movies.com > Movie News > Movie News: Mark Wahlberg Wants Martin Scorsese to Direct a 'Boardwalk Empire' Movie Movie News: Mark Wahlberg Wants Martin Scorsese to Direct a 'Boardwalk Empire' Movie Movie News: Mark Wahlberg Wants Martin Scorsese to Direct a 'Boardwalk Empire' Movie Tweet Boardwalk Empire: Mark Wahlberg, who served as a producer on the HBO crime series Boardwalk Empire (starring Steve Buscemi, above), says: "My next goal now is to get the movie made and start talking to Martin Scorsese about directing it." Scorsese directed the pilot episode of the series, set largely in Atlantic City in the 1920s; it concluded its five-season run earlier this year. Wahlberg wants to structure the movie much like Entourage, the big-screen version of the HBO series on which he also served as a producer.

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Question: Who directed the pilot episode of the award-winning US TV series "Boardwalk Empire"?
Answer: Martin Scorsese