10770 Godfather voted best film of all time.

Rave review for Gomorra? I don't think this writer of this piece of perfect drivel even watched the film. Gomorra can be compared with The Godfather in the same way as A Clockwork Orange can be compared with Bambi.

[url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/film_reviews/article4907928.ece]Gomorra - The Sunday Times review review | Film Reviews - Times Online[/url]

Haha - I wonder how big a slice of the cake the Camorra are getting from this film. I bet Saviano wishes he had kept his trap shut - and that his pen had run out of ink.

about Gomorrah; Actually the director has recieved death threats from the Camorra.Obviously some films do require a certain amount of intellectual ability to appreciate and this brilliant and moving work will not mean anything to those lacking these basic requirements.

I agree with Charles that one cannot compare [URL="http://www.mymovies.it/gomorra/"]Gomorra[/URL] with any of the Godfather trilogy, based on a mistaken review by the Murdoch rag. The book, Gomorra, is a work of great courage, written in the face of a very real threat to the life of the author, [URL="http://www.robertosaviano.com/"]Roberto Saviano[/URL]. The book has opened the eyes of a great many people to the realities of the camorra - which is a growing and important issue affecting many people both in Italy and elsewhere.

The film which is not only based on the book, but also presents new insights into the workings of the camorra not covered in the book, is not a work of fiction at all, sadly. It is not a gangster movie either - much as watching Parliament Today is not a love story. The film deserves an audience far beyond the kind of audience that would want to watch Donnie Brasco, or any of other members of that genre, such as the Godfather trilogy.

The fact that Roberto Saviano is now having to live under police protection 24 hours a day and is having to leave the country of his birth because of these threats to his life, should give pause for thought to anyone that would think to conflate Gomorra with Godfather.

The Times review is, unfortunately, yet another example of cut-price, sensationalist journalism written for the uneducated and the ill-informed. I suspect that the writer is, in fact, merely the tea boy in the editorial office - as well as a dyed-in-the-wool Conservative wannabe. Sigh.

I find it very strange that this film appears to be showing only in Rome! In the uk I saw it in Cambridge but I could also see it in Brighton and several other places.but in Italy its only showing in rome?

They showed it in Perugia earlier in the year at a theatre that shows films in English, so if you have such a place ask them if they will show it as it must be doing the "cultural" rounds.

UK listings here.

[url=http://www.gomorrahmovie.co.uk/]Gomorrah Movie[/url]

I missed this thread while I was away; however, I am going to watch the movie tomorrow. The reviews here in Spain have been excellent. I am looking forward to seeing it... although I have the feeling that the film will make me feel quite sad... and sick....

I must be a glutten for punishment as we are going to see it for the 2nd time!Partly because I am amazed its come to Cornwall and still not made it out of Rome in Italy as far as I know.Apparently doesnt show some Italians in a particullary good light so there's a reason to stifle it then.

There was a very interesting piece on the R4 today programme talked to the book's author who the Camorra say they will kill by Christmas.He seems to be getting little moral support from Silvio Belusconi (no surprise there) and there seem to be quite a few politians who wish the film hadn't been made.

Overall I think the author will come to be regarded as some sort of hero ( although perhaps not in Italy) even though he never set out to be one he just wanted to write a book!

Just a warninig if you are feeling in the least depressed dont go to see the film as you'll be suicidal once you have.It really is that bleak.

You are talking absolute conspiracy theory rubbish myabruzzohome - Gomorra (in Italian) has been shown this spring and summer all over Italy - it showed on at least six occasions between June and October in my tiny neighbouring town.

I very much doubt that it is only on view in Rome 'this evening' - it is simply that your sources of information are incomplete, (or refer to the dubbed version into English), and you are drawing silly conclusions.

Yes it is true that I have been relying on word of mouth so in this case it was a mistake to state that it had only been shown in Rome.

I meant to add that in October there was a debate / meeting in Penne , Abruzzo on the subject of the film book.But[I] most[/I] of the Italians I've spoken to are saying that there is a general state of denial in [I]Southern Italy[/I] that the film is actually based on reality.

Sorry myabruzzohome, wrong again - there is no denial in southern Italy, especially in Napoli and even more so in Scampia (where a lot of it was filmed) that the film is not based on reality. As for the claim that the Camorra want to kill Saviano (the author) by Christmas - well, what they want and what they get are two different things and since when have you ever found any Italian - let alone any Neapolitan Cammuristi - be on time for anything?

Saviano has until at least Easter before he has to start fretting. :winki:

Just back from the movies. An excellent film, frightening at times but it only confirms the idea we had about what the Camorra is all about. I am going to read the book now as I think it will give me further information which could not appear in the film.
In a recent interview for a Spanish newspaper, Saviano has said that he leads a miserable life. His only company are his bodyguards, he lost his girlfriend who could not handle the pressure, he can't see his mother who is also very frightened. He has paid a very high price for his success... and then this death threat.... I do hope that he will not be hurt by anybody, any time of the year.....

If you fancied it, you could buy the 2CD set with Roberto Saviano reading Gomorra (I assume in Italian, rather than napolitano). I noticed it in the supermarket today.

I haven't as yet seen the film (but will), so all at this point I can offer is a link to Saviano's official website. [url=http://www.robertosaviano.it/]Roberto Saviano[/url]

He must have known what he was getting into by writing this book - known that he was taking a risk - he is a reporter - a Neapolitan reporter - with experience. For him not to have studied his subject matter in detail without knowing how dangerous it was, would be impossible.

However, it is nice to see he pays tribute to Miriam Makeba.

This is the article in his Web that I find very poignant.... and very true:

[url=http://www.robertosaviano.it/articoli/9564/116/0]Roberto Saviano | articoli | Striking Back Against the Mob[/url]

" Its better to light a candle than curse the darkness" (apologies to MLK if I misquoted slightly)

....and its in very bad taste at the very least to make jokes about the death threats this author has received. Can you really feel so cynical?

Yes, I do feel cynical and I have every right to feel so! There is very little chance of Saviano being gunned down, shot in the back, having a horses head placed in his bed or even a feather shoved up his backside in reality.

You shouldn't go off half cocked when trying to validate your opinions by telling me that it's in bad taste to make a joke. I can almost guarantee you have little knowledge of the Camorra or its day to day workings and I'm certain you understand absolutely nothing about it's mindset.

Have you even been to Naples? :bigergrin:

[quote=Charles Phillips;103356]If you fancied it, you could buy the 2CD set with Roberto Saviano reading Gomorra (I assume in Italian, rather than napolitano). I noticed it in the supermarket today.[/quote]

The DVD of the film can be bought from Amazon UK etc from the 3 Dec but if you can't wait, they are already selling pirated copies in Napoli!

5 Euro each - place orders here. :laughs:

Just reading this article on ANSA -

Saviano No Love For Gomorra Book

:[url=http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2008-11-17_117283156.html]ANSA.it - News in English - Saviano: no love for Gomorra book[/url]

Ah well that just goes to prove that you cant believe everything you read. Log on to Savianos Facebook blog and you will see that he has well over 8,000 members - then log onto his Myspace profile and you will find another 21,000 supporters on just these two blogs - with well over 10,000 comments made. Di certo, questo spazio - benche' ufficiale - non viene gestito direttamente da Roberto Saviano, so can you imagine how many supporters there would be if it was?

For those really interested there are a couple of tracks from 'A67 (A Camorra song'io and Tammorr Anti Camorra) that are worth listening to and are linked on his Myspace homepage.

Saviano is big business - the wheels of money making are turning his life at the moment - not the Camorra. In saying this, I don't doubt he is a marked man and that it is impossible for him to enjoy an espresso or a beer at his local bar anymore - but that's probably due to too many people wanting to grab his autograph than any Camorra foot soldier wanting to cut certain parts of his anatomy off and shove them down his throat. I assume what most may not understand is that for all the bravado and noise the so called Camorra are supposedly making about this - those with the real power - the ones who actually order these hits - haven't said a word - otherwise he would already be dead.

Saviano knows this - and so do those protecting him. What he probably has to be more careful of is that some deranged and deluded little wannabe doesn't do the job to try and make a name for himself. I wish him well, but I don't believe for one minute that all this was not a long and well thought out calculated risk - that will pay off handsomely. Saviano is too smart to make such a basic mistake - he knows his friends - but I bet he knows his enemies better.

[quote=Noble;103440]The DVD of the film can be bought from Amazon UK etc from the 3 Dec but if you can't wait, they are already selling pirated copies in Napoli![/quote]

Looking at amazon.co.uk, the DVD isn't available until February 2nd. (I was hoping to give a copy as a Christmas present this year).

I already have my copy. I suppose could tell you where to go to get one - but then I'd have to kill you. :bigergrin:

[B]Review:[/B]

"Saviano has created a perfectly realized, morally compelling journey through the brutal world of contemporary Italian mob life in this ceaselessly violent tale of the Camorra, a network of thugs, exploiters and killers who run Naples and the surrounding countryside. Armed with a police band radio, Saviano visits one crime scene after another, recording the final words and circumstances of the dying and dead. The murders described are savage, cruel and senseless: 'The head... hadn't been cut off with a hatchet, a clean blow, but with a metal grinder: the kind of circular saw welders use to polish soldering. The worst possible tool, and thus the most obvious choice.' Jewiss's translation of Saviano's intense prose flows beautifully from the pestilence and degradation of everyday life in the teeming Neapolitan slums to the futile efforts of the police to control the rich, organic chaos that is the only way the Camorra know how to live. A stunning achievement, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the state of contemporary Europe." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

I typed into Google "Download Gomarrah" and even on page 30 there are entries about the book and the film.

For the Blind or Partially Sighted I found this - [url=http://www.learnoutloud.com/Sale-Section/Education-and-Professional/Journalism/Gomorrah-A-Personal-Journey-Into-the-Violent-International-Empire-of-Naples-Organized-Crime-System/27177]Gomorrah: A Personal Journey Into the Violent International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System by Roberto Saviano Audio Book on CD, MP3 CD[/url] It's available it appears on Audio CD - 9 discs