Gomorrah (2008) [The Criterion Collection #493]
Full BluRay 1:1 | 1080p MPEG-4 AVC @ 20989 Kbps | 02:17:24 | 46,24 Gb
Audio: Italian DTS-HD MA 5.1 @ 3761 Kbps | Subtitles: English
Genre: Crime, Drama | Nominated for Golden Globe + 23 wins | Italy
Full BluRay 1:1 | 1080p MPEG-4 AVC @ 20989 Kbps | 02:17:24 | 46,24 Gb
Audio: Italian DTS-HD MA 5.1 @ 3761 Kbps | Subtitles: English
Genre: Crime, Drama | Nominated for Golden Globe + 23 wins | Italy
Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah is a stark, shocking vision of contemporary gangsterdom, and one of cinema’s most authentic depictions of organized crime. In this tour de force adaptation of undercover Italian reporter Roberto Saviano’s best-selling exposé of Naples’ Mafia underworld (known as the Camorra), Garrone links five disparate tales in which men and children are caught up in a corrupt system that extends from the housing projects to the world of haute couture. Filmed with an exquisite detachment interrupted by bursts of violence, Gomorrah is a shattering, socially engaged true-crime story from a major new voice in Italian cinema.
IMDB
Criterion
DVDBeaver
Interweaving five stories of figures on the periphery of Camorra life – from teenage Tony Montana wannabes to timid middle-men – this pleasingly low-key gangland anti-drama, which never feels any less than thoroughly authentic, takes its viewers on a painfully eye-opening journey into a violent world populated by grotesques and hopeless innocents.Iain Stott
Garrone uses an unadorned documentary style, lean, efficient, no shots for effect. He establishes characters, shows their plans and problems, shows why they must kill or be killed – often, be killed because of killing. Much is said about trust and respect, but little is seen of either. The murders, for the most part, have no excitement and certainly no glamor – none of the flash of most gangster movies. Sometimes they're enlivened by surprise, but it is the audience that's surprised, not the victims, who often never know what hit them.
The actors are skilled at not being "good actors," if you know what I mean. There is no sizzle. Only the young characters have much life in them. Garrone directs them to reflect the bleak reality of their lives, the need and fear, the knowledge that every conversation could be with their eventual killer or victim. Casual friendship is a luxury. Families hold them hostage to their jobs. The film's flat realism is correct for this material.
You watch with growing dread. This is no life to lead. You have the feeling the men at the top got there laterally, not through climbing the ladder of promotion. The Camorra seems like a form of slavery, with the overlords inheriting their workers. The murder code and its enforcement keep them in line: They enforce their own servitude.
Did the book and the movie change things? Not much, I gather. The film offers no hope. I like gangster movies. "The Godfather" is one of the most popular movies ever made – most beloved, even. I like them as movies, not as history. We can see here they're fantasies. I'm reminded of mob bosses like Frank Costello walking into Toots Shor's restaurant in that fascinating documentary "Toots." Everyone was happy to see him: Jackie Gleason, Joe DiMaggio, everyone. At least they knew who he was. The men running the Camorra are unknown even to those who die for them.Rober Ebert's Review
Edition Details:
• New high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Matteo Garrone and director of photography Marco Onorato (with DTS-HD master audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
• Five Stories, a 60-minute documentary on the making of Gomorrah (1:02:32 in HD!)
• New video interviews with Garrone (22:37 in HD!) and actor Toni Servillo (13:54 in HD!)
• Interview with writer Roberto Saviano (43:00 in HD!)
• Short video piece featuring Servillo and actors Gianfelice Imparato and Salvatore Cantalupo (10:14 in HD!)
• Six Deleted scenes (12:13 in HD!)
• Theatrical trailer (2:28 in HD!)
• New and improved English subtitle translation
Disc Title: Gomorrah - BluRay
Disc Size: 48.169.886.339 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: Yes
Size: 26.965.432.320 bytes
Length: 2:17:24
Total Bitrate: 26,17 Mbps
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 20989 kbps / 1080p / 23,976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: Italian / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3761 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitle: English / 25,264 kbps