Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Drama > Gangster > Crime > Italy > Gomorrah (2008/Criterion Collection Blu-ray)

Gomorrah (2008/Criterion Collection Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B     Sound: B     Extras: B     Film: B

 

 

Matteo Garrone has been one of the most interesting filmmakers Italy has seen in a while, with films like The Embalmer (2002) and Primo Amore (2004, both reviewed elsewhere on this site) to his credit, but he suddenly we did not hear from him.  It turns out he was working on what has turned out to be his most daring and complex work to date, Gomorrah (2008), a very realistic look at how the Neapolitan Mafia works and functions and it is far from the oversimplifications of the Gangster Genre, especially as it stands in commercial Hollywood fare.

 

To show this, he has to show the complex, evolved web of deceit, deception and how it functions.  The well-rounded, effective screenplay based on Roberto Saviano’s book has a screenplay Saviano co-wrote with other collaborators (Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Gianni Di Gregorio, Massimo Gaudioso and Director Garrone) takes five different, supposedly unrelated stories and uses them to show how all-encompassing and absolute the power of organized crime can be, especially when the government is not doing or cannot do anything about it.

 

It becomes a culture that is more ingrained than you would ever imagine beyond some pop culture cache (there is a reference to the 1983 Scarface that is simple and telling) and though the Chinese actually invented the Mafia concept, the Italians perfected it.  However, in either and any case, it is fueled by a masculinity that is more fragile and twisted than any bravado could cover and along with exposing how the criminal aspects function, it exposes how the men, boys and their souls function.

 

It is nice to see someone attempt this kind of storytelling and actually pull it off versus the Hollywood (especially post-Crash) counterparts that tell some poorly written tales unrelated that are boring before and after they are crossed.  Here, we get a complexity worthy of Robert Altman.  Some elements of Italian Neo-Realism are here too and Italy is rightly a character in itself.  The acting is also very impressive throughout to the point you could believe you are watching a documentary, even though that is not the style here.

 

The result is the next step in the Gangster genre after The Sopranos, with new deconstructions, constructions and reconstructions, making this one of the most important gangster films of any kind since Martin Scorsese’s modern classics GoodFellas (1990) and Casino (1995).  Scorsese has put his name on the film as a presenter to get it wider attention.  With the complex story, good acting and some classic moments, Gomorrah will only find a larger and larger audience and turn out to be one of the best Italian films of the decade.  It is so haunting and turns out to be so accurate; the real life organization is now threatening the director’s life, so he really hit the nail on the head here.

 

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in Super 35mm film by Director of Photography Marco Onorato, Garrone’s collaborator on The Embalmer and Primo Amore.  They have established a look, feel and style that is rich and functions to further the narrative (and approved this transfer), but while the DVDs of those films disappointed throughout, the transfer here is very impressive.  Their switch to a scope frame from 1.85 X 1 on the last two films is seamless.  The film has been styled in a way that uses shadow and eschews detail in many instances, then we get shots that are vivid, colorful, clean, clear and have fine depth for this format that would rate higher than the overall transfer.  The sacrifice is worth it to make the film work and this one of the best Super 35mm film transfers we have seen on Blu-ray in a long while.

 

The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix is from a 24-bit source of the original multi-channel master that is pretty good throughout with its interesting use of silence and sound effects.  This is clean, smooth and clear, but some audio can sound limited from the location recording and that results in a sometimes inconsistent soundfield.  Otherwise, this is a rich mix and is satisfying for the most part.

 

Extras include a booklet inside the DVD case with tech info, illustrations and an essay by Chuck Stephens, while the DVD has the Theatrical Trailer, Deleted Scenes, Five Stories (a 60-minutes making of piece), new interviews with Garrone & Actor Toni Servillo, another video interview with Writer Saviano and a short video piece featuring Servillo and Actors Gianfelice Imparato and Salvatore Cantalupo.

 

 

For more of Garrone’s films, try these links:

 

The Embalmer

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1011/Embalmer+(2002,+Italy)

 

Primo Amore

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3031/Primo+Amore+(First+Love)

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com