Babylon

Babylon

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters in an era of unbridled decadence and depravity during Hollywood's transition from silent films and to sound films in the late 1920s.

  • Released: 2022-12-23
  • Runtime: 188 minutes
  • Genre: Comedy, Drama
  • Stars: Diego Calva, Cici Lau, James Wellington, Trisha Simmons, Armando Cosio, Taylor Nichols, Todd Giebenhain, Bregje Heinen, Li Jun Li, Kaia Gerber, Frederick Koehler, Vanessa Bednar, Douglas Fruchey, Aurielle Simmons, Margot Robbie, Jimmy Ortega, Circus-Szalewski, Samara Weaving, Katia Gomez, Hayley Huntley
  • Director: Damien Chazelle
 Comments
  • fredelm - 6 June 2024
    A generational masterpiece
    It is a fantastic movie about the generational switches in Hollywood. It has happened 100 times before and it will happen 100 more but the to put the focus on silent movies to talking movies is brilliant. I also think the tempo in this picture is fantastically done. Starting quick to get the attention of the viewer and then making it slower to really make you feel all the emotions the characters are going through, trying to keep up knowing they are ultimately left behind... 10/10 bet Damien Chazelle movie ever made. I unfortunately think he willnever top this. But I hope to be surprised. Amazing.
  • shakercoola - 15 April 2024
    Dazzling, manic, insubstantial ode to the movie industry
    An American epic historical black-comedy drama; A story about the rise and fall of multiple characters during Hollywood's transition from silent to sound films in the late 1920s. The burgeoning era of the U. S. film industry was no less prurient, harsh, or nasty on its stars than modern-day Tinseltown so this is good background for a theme about excess and rapid change and how characters choose suffering for success. This is a provocative, tragicomic film which succeeds in presenting all that is grand about Hollywood but its own excess was its many character stories that don't lead us anywhere, so it pounds us with lavish Felliniesque scenes, lots of sweeping camera shots, high-spirit music, which are overindulgent at times, testing the patience in the long sequences. It doesn't quite capture the period either because of the with the over-polished look in sets, costumes and props and the self-entitled way people speak which sounded more like 2020s than 1930s. There's not much to care about either, only Brad Pitt's Jack Conrad is relateable. All in all, it is dazzling to watch and there is a definite feel there was a good intention to show us the magic of the movies despite its lack of cohesion.
  • cottonlee-90605 - 7 February 2024
    A Brilliant Tapestry of Drama And Intrigue - A Triumph in Filmmaking!
    A Captivating Journey into the Heart of Hollywood.

    From the moment the opening credits roll, Babylon immerses viewers in a mesmerizing world of glitz, glamour, and gripping drama. Director Damien Chazelle's masterful storytelling weaves together a rich tapestry of characters and narratives set against the backdrop of 1920s Hollywood.

    The film's visual splendor is matched only by its profound exploration of ambition, power, and the price of success. Led by a stellar ensemble cast, including standout performances from lead actors, each character is brought to life with depth and nuance, making their triumphs and tribulations feel both personal and universal.

    Chazelle's direction is nothing short of genius, seamlessly blending stunning cinematography, evocative music, and meticulous attention to detail to create a cinematic experience that is as emotionally resonant as it is visually breathtaking.

    At its core, Babylon is a love letter to the golden age of Hollywood, but it also serves as a timely reflection on the industry's past, present, and future. Through its compelling narrative and unforgettable characters, the film offers a thought-provoking exploration of fame, fortune, and the pursuit of artistic excellence.

    In the end, Babylon is a triumph of storytelling and filmmaking, earning its place as one of the year's most unforgettable cinematic experiences. With its impeccable craftsmanship, powerful performances, and compelling themes, this is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
  • cricket30 - 11 January 2023
    This picture does an excellent job of teaching us . . .
    . . . about America's most cherished Beloved Amendment. During the fifth or sixth hour of this flick, when hero "Jack" staggers into the bathroom of his apartment--realizing, as they say, that his Life is all over "but the shooting"--and viewers see him lurching past a bathtub, many will be squeezing their eyes wide shut, praying that he doesn't fill the tub with hot water and slit his wrists, as so many used to do prior to the invention of Peacemakers, Man's Newest Best Friend. However, film goers are reassured 12 seconds later when they spy him pass by the partially open door once again, this time with a trusty shooting iron in his hand. Sure enough, Jack reaches his happy ending 9 seconds later, going out with a bang rather than a whimper. A shooting iron later saves the life of Jacks's protege, Manuel, inducing the sort of dampness down below that persuades an empathetic hit man to let him off with a warning. This all is enough to make you wish that Lady Fay had had a shotgun handy when that rattlesnake sank its fangs into Nellie's neck.
  • flicklover - 8 January 2023
    A self indulgent mess with some great scenes that doesn't add up to much....
    It seems that Babylon has sparked some debate online. It is being hailed as both a masterpiece by some and complete self indulgent trash by others. I try to not let the chatter influence my desire to see or what I think about a film bit I knew I was in for an experience.....

    To be honest I got almost exactly what I thought I would get. It is a 3 hour and 10 minute celebration of debauchery and filmmaking but it is not as daring and original as many might think. Damien Chazelle is a very talented director and has an energetic style but he can't overcome his self indulgent script that seems to want to say many things and actually says nothing.

    The film is set in 1928 and follows a group of characters through the end of the silent film era to the transition to talkies. The best scenes in the film deal with how silent films were producesld and some with the difficulties in filming films with sound in the infancy of the format. There truly is no main character but the character we follow most is Nellie LaRpy played by Margot Robbie. She is a wild aspiring actress that becomes the Hollywood " it girl". There is Manny played by Diego Calva that plays a film assistant that wants to grow within the film industry. And Brad Pitt plays John Conrad. A big silent film star that is having problems transitioning to films with sound. The film focuses very much on the lavish and wild parties of the day which are pretty much mass orgies. All of this is done with great cinematography and set design and there is an emphasis on being as raunchy as possible but the film isn't really as daring in it's presentation this. It's been done before. The film is really long and though not boring it does get tedious in is outrageousness. There is a switch in tone in the last couple ofi Utes that is so unearned that it feels like it's from a completely different film.

    The film wants to put a mirror to Hollywood with its excess but it's been done before. As good as the film is made and acted it just has nothing new to say that hasn't been said before about Hollywood and filmmaking. It is beautiful to look at and certainly not boring but there is nothing that hadn't been said before.

    Grade: C+
  • freiheit-68780 - 4 January 2023
    WTF did I just see
    Singing in the rain meets Nightmare alley. There's a great 90 minute movie in there somewhere. Much of it is juvenile gross outs.

    The story line is basically singing in the rain. There's the aging actor not transitioning to talkies. The not so ingenue like ingenue play well at first. Well there is that teen movie barf scene. There is a wild kingdom moment.

    It's like if Hollywood A listers had acted in porkys. Can't tell you how it ended. We walked out at 2:30 out of 3:09. It's been years since we walked on a movie. Can't unsee it, cant get a refund.

    Like the characters in the movie the movie self destructs after a while.
  • kevin_robbins - 3 January 2023
    A movie that should be considered for best picture and is an absolutely must see
    Babylon (2022) is a movie that my wife and I caught in theaters last night. The storyline follows two aspiring young people in Los Angeles, one that wants to become a movie star and one a Hollywood elite director. They happen to be trying to rise to stardom during the end of the silent movie age and beginning of the talking pictures. The directors love for the actress, and the actress' dependency issues, may cause them both to miss their rise to stardom unless they can quickly align to the new ways of Hollywood.

    This movie is directed by Damien Chazelle (La La Land) and stars Brad Pitt (Fight Club), Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad), Diego Calva (I Promise You Anarchy), Jean Smart (Garden State), Olivia Wilde (Don't Worry Darling) and Jovan Adepo (Fences).

    The settings, attire and cinematography for this picture are beautiful. The cast is perfectly selected and deliver tremendous performances top to bottom. The circumstances are over the top, unpredictable and wildly entertaining. The drastic turn of the movie industry mid movies combined with the wild circumstances and unpredictable characters made for a fun ride and the end was sad but felt realistic.

    Overall, this is a movie that should be considered for best picture and is an absolutely must see. I would score this a 9-9.5/10 and strongly recommend it.
  • hassaan-35802 - 1 January 2023
    Not perfect but wow
    So glad I decided to ignore the lukewarm feedback and watched this movie. I loved his first two films and was looking forward to this project but the trailer did turn me off. The movie is not perfect but it almost earns its 3 hour runtime. I saw avatar 2 a week back which is almost just as long and felt way more bored there because even though visuals are great everything else was flat. Not here.

    The movie was so chaotic and honest and truly went all the way there and didn't hold back. Music , cinematography, acting direction set design production costumes all were great. The ending was really moving and reaffirming and I've loved all his movie endings.

    I'm so glad we have this original work that dares to go places where others won't.
  • sandddarden - 1 January 2023
    Why did I waste an hour of my life watching this three hour mess
    This movie was a total waste of time. We spent an hour with this beast and that was just so we could finish our pizza and drinks. There is no discernible reason to watch this fiasco: Unless you like debauchery, elephant feces, one human peeing on another human. I am not a prude nor a snob, but this movie probably had the worst screenplay I have ever see. There was no plot that you could follow because it was so Schizophrenic. Nothing made sense. The direction was "oddball" to the point that I believe the director was either on crack or could not speak any discernible language to the actors and staff. He could have been from Mars maybe? The actors seemed as though they were all high on something and that may be because they realized how bad their production was as going to turn out.
  • JankiSharma - 30 December 2022
    Hollywood magical sets and stars
    Movie Babylon is Directed and written by Damien Chazelle (LaLa Land and Whiplash ). The movie is about Hollywood in 1920s/1930s. Nellie LaRoy (talented Margot Robbie) steps into Hollywood "a star", confident, loud, brash, wild, able to shed true tears at "action". Diego Calva as Manny Torres from Mexico comes to Hollywood starstruck, timid, no specific talents and is awestruck with exuberant Nellie and does not take long to fall in love with wild Nellie. Nellie LaRoy is focused on making it big in Hollywood and has courage to leave no stone unturned to get what she wants. Jack Conrad, aging but extremely successful actor ( perfectly cast Brad Pitt) notices nice and timid Manny.

    The transition from silent movies to value of sound in movies is shown very well.

    Jack Conrad's true love for Hollywood and magical sets cannot be matched with talkies going into sound mode of movies. Nellie a star can handle any and all changes. Timid Manny settles with a quiet family life with a wife and child. The loss of love and true passion for Hollywood is expressed very well by Diego Calvo.

    I am glad i finally mustered up courage to see the 3hr10min long movie.. superb Direction/writing, excellent editing and extremely talented star Margot Robbie, pleasant Diego Calvo and aging nicely Brad Pitt who can bring magic to the sets made time spent in front of the big screen worthwhile. Oscar worthy.