Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.5

Gomorrah: The Fifth and Final Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 11, 2022

"Gomorrah: The Fifth and Final Season" (2019) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The only bonus features on the release are original trailers for the other seasons in the series and Marco D'Amore's directorial debut. In Italian or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The Immortal is back.

Gomorrah: The Fifth and Final Season begins exactly where Marco D’Amore’s directorial debut, The Immortal, ends. Correct, not where Gomorrah: Season Four ends, but at that exact spot where Genny Savastano's (Salvatore Esposito) stylish Mercedes Benz pulls in front of the warehouse in Riga and Ciro di Marzio (D’Amore) emerges in the back. Are you confused now? Don’t be. I will explain why it makes perfect sense, and why you should plan to see The Immortal immediately after you finish Season Four.

If you ignore the existence of The Immortal the transition between the two seasons is still very good and completely organic, but the material from the feature film prepares the arrival of the grand finale exceptionally well. Why? Because it makes it a lot easier to understand the smaller but crucial nuances of Ciro’s decision to permanently walk away from Genny after his ‘death’ on the luxury yacht in Naples and begin a new life in the Latvian capital. Also, a very large portion of this material comes from Ciro’s childhood years where Genny is not yet a factor, so there is a bigger picture that needs to be seen and understood, and The Immortal is where it is revealed. Early into the Fifth Season there are a few very revealing segments as well, but they only highlight crucial developments and then focus on the drama that emerges from them. The Immortal is about the big picture, which is about Ciro’s philosophy of life, and everything that takes places in the Fifth Season is directly related to it. (Despite producing plenty of intimate material where Ciro’s internal struggles are revealed, the previous seasons of Gomorrah were structured around his journey to the top of the criminal power structure that has been run by the Savastano clan for decades).

After their reunion in Riga, Genny and Ciro part ways again, only this time as mortal enemies. Genny returns to Naples to finalize his takeover of Secondigliano with the assistance of his new right-hand man, Mistral (Mimmo Borrelli), who has grand ambitions of his own, while Ciro is left to rot in a secluded gulag-esque camp that has been reopened by local mafiosi. However, as Genny begins clashing with his biggest rivals, first the remaining members of the Levante family and then The Gentleman (Antonio Ferrante), an aging but very powerful crime boss from Ponticelli who has refused to accept his vision of the future, news breaks out that Ciro has reappeared in Secondigliano and began organizing an uprising. The ripple effects from the news divide the local drug dealers, so in an attempt to keep as many of them as possible in his orbit Genny begins negotiating directly with the shady character Little Monk (Carmine Paternoster), an old rival of Mistral, and promises to keep the cocaine flowing at half-price while the war lasts. Genny also vows to destroy Ciro and anyone that is foolish enough to be with him, not realizing that his former ‘brother’ has already reunited with Pitbull (Vincenzo Fabricino) and Enzo (Arturo Muselli), and began building an army.

The intensity of the drama is almost unbearable. There are a few segments where it does begin to look like the grand battle between Genny and Ciro is unnaturally altered by religious symbolism, but this is an unavoidable development considering that faith is so important in Southern Italy. In fact, it is practically guaranteed that a lot of the statements with religious overtones will be completely misjudged by international viewers because they could resemble carefully scripted recitations whose intent is to enhance the drama in a Hollywood-esque manner. But they are not. In Southern Italy, and especially amongst Neapolitans, faith remains an essential part of existence, which is why it is recognized in numerous ways. In its pursuit of authenticity, the Fifth Season emphasizes this recognition as well.

The resolution is hardly surprising, but the buildup and its delivery are absolutely phenomenal. It looks grand and hits hard while it remains logical and authentic, just as it needs to be so that it leaves a lasting impression.

Ambient rockers Mokadelic once again impress with a terrific selection of atmospheric tunes. However, there are some equally great tracks by the likes of Lucariello & Raiz (“Aria”), Franco Ricciardi (“Te Sento”), and Vale Lambo (“Nemici Miei”).

Gomorrah: The Fifth and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Gomorrah: The Fifth and Final Season arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

On my system the entire season looked wonderful. Delineation, clarity, sharpness, and depth were terrific during daylight and nighttime footage. However, if you begin pausing some particular areas from darker nighttime footage, you could dig up minor issues. I accidentally noticed a few while viewing the show and took screencaptures to illustrate them, but I was looking for something else. So, if you take a look at screencaptures #10 and 32, you should see that some of the blacks are plagued by artifacts. Why is that? Well, the entire season is given three discs, while the previous three seasons received four discs each. (Only the first season was given three discs). Obviously, there is room for some encoding optimizations. But the darker footage is usually quite dark, plus the locations are such that these minor encoding issues become awfully difficult to spot. Colors are outstanding. Image stability is terrific as well. All in all, while I would have preferred to see this season given four discs as well, I still think that it looks very good. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Gomorrah: The Fifth and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the entire show with the Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and was again very impressed. Obviously, the people that are responsible for the audio mixes on all Gomorrah seasons did some pretty incredible work to ensure that the action and music create some absolutely incredible contrasts, so the consistency of these tracks is entirely predictable. The Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is very solid too, so you can view the show with it and be just as pleased. (Gomorrah: Season One had only an Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track and I thought that it was terrific). The English translation is great.

Gomorrah: The Fifth and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - each disc has original trailers for Gomorrah Season Two, Season Three, Season Four, Final Season, and The Immortal.

Gomorrah: The Fifth and Final Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It was a long wait to get the final season of Gomorrah on Blu-ray, but all of my expectations were met. Its intensity, which I wanted to be even greater than before, was almost unbearable, and the finale was simply astonishing. Also, this season introduced yet another group of powerful new characters played by actors whose work I will be following very closely now. Mimmo Borrelli, who plays Mistral, Genny Savastano's new right-hand man, became an instant favorite of mine, so I hope that he is given even bigger roles in the future. If you plan to pick up this release for your library, I would like to encourage you to get Marco D'Amore's directorial debut, The Immortal, with it as well. The feature film fits perfectly between Season Four and Season Five, and very effectively prepares for the grand clash in the latter. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.