Gomorrah

Director: Matteo Garrone Matteo Garrone

Overview

Adapted from Roberto Saviano's controversial non-fiction book, Matteo Garrone's crime drama Gomorrah examines how organized crime reaches deep into every facet of life in Naples, Italy by telling the tale of over a dozen different characters. Among the main protagonists is a pair of wannabe thugs who take their cue from movie gangsters, a grocery-delivery boy who must learn to kill, and a criminal mastermind who plots to make a fortune while dumping toxic waste near overpopulated communities.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/24/2009
UPC:	0715515051811
Original Release:	2008
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Time:	2:17:00
Sales rank:	13,906

Special Features

Five stories, a 60-minute documentary on the making of Gomorrah; New video interviews with Garrone and actor Toni Servillo; Video interview with writer Roberto Saviano; Short video piece featuring Servillo and actors Gianfelice Inparato and Salvatore Cantalupo; Deleted scenes; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Salvatore Cantalupo	Pasquale
Gianfelice Imparato	Don Ciro
Maria Nazionale	Maria
Toni Servillo	Franco
Gigio Morra	Iavarone
Salvatore Abruzzese	Toto
Simone Sacchettino	Simone
Ciro Petrone	Ciro
Marco Macor	Actor
Carmine Paternoster	Actor

Technical Credits

Matteo Garrone

Maurizio Braucci

Ugo Chiti

Massimo Gaudioso

Gianni di Gregorio

Matteo Garrone	Director,Screenwriter
Paolo Bonfini	Production Designer
Maurizio Braucci	Screenwriter
Leslie Cardini	Costumes/Costume Designer
Ugo Chiti	Screenwriter
Massimo Gaudioso	Screenwriter
Gianni di Gregorio	Screenwriter
Mathew Herbert	Score Composer
Robert "3D" del Naja	Score Composer
Marco Onorato	Cinematographer
Domenico Procacci	Producer
Leslie Shatz	Sound/Sound Designer
Marco Spoletini	Editor

Editorial Reviews

Movies about powerful crime figures pose unique problems for socially responsible directors. After all, films about really bad men do run the risk of making murder, blackmail, and torture glamorous -- even when the director doesn't mean for them to be. But, Matteo Garrone avoids these pitfalls skillfully in his drama Gomorrah by tempering the excitement of thug life with a healthy, if scary, dose of social realism. Adapted from the Roberto Saviano book of the same name, the movie details how the Camorra, an organized crime network located primarily in Naples, controls the lives of so many citizens that, in some parts of Italy, they dictate social order more than the police. The movie uses five intertwining storylines to reveal the vast scope of the Camorra's power. For instance, there is a pair of twentysomething wannabe badasses who start out playacting scenes from Scarface, but end up in over their heads after stealing a stash of guns from a local mob boss. We also watch as a young delivery boy must help kill a woman who has been trying to escape the corrupt system put in place by the Camorra. In another segment, we learn how the men at the top of the criminal food chain make a fortune by disposing of toxic waste -- usually close to heavily populated areas where the people are too poor, or too scared, to fight back. Garrone presents all these various plot strands in a style that combines Scorsese-inspired kinetic action with John Sayles-esque humanity. From the opening scene -- a stylishly photographed mob hit in a tanning salon -- to a final crawl that reveals alarming real-life statistics about the Camorra, Gomorrah is a hard-hitting film that exhilarates and educates in equal measure.

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert