“The Many Saints of Newark” is offal we must refuse. In darkening the silver screen with this lurid prequel to “The Sopranos,” David Chase concocts an origin story for the thuggish Tony Soprano that resurrects all the anti-Italian tropes and blood libels that made the original HBO series a showcase for society’s only socially acceptable prejudice.

Picking up where “The Godfather” left off, “The Sopranos” allowed audiences to revel in the trendy schadenfreude afforded by the program’s vile depiction of Italian-Americans. Chase lustily revivified anti-Italian intolerance, garnering himself fame and a motherlode of filthy lucre.