Babylon [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray]

Overview

Written and directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Damien Chazelle, the drama charts the highs and lows of the early Hollywood era in the 1920s. As sound finally enters the filmmaking scene, actors and directors lead passionate, risky projects to produce the next significant success. But the speaking films come with a wave of ambition and depravity that threatens to destroy those who aren't fit for survival in this new Los Angeles. The historical drama co-stars Brad Pitt, Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, and Jean Smart.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/21/2023
UPC:	0191329234242
Original Release:	2022
Rating:	R
Source:	Paramount
Language:	English
Time:	3:08:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Brad Pitt	Jack Conrad
Margot Robbie	Nellie LaRoy
Diego Calva	Manny Torres
Jean Smart	Elinor St. John
Li Jun Li	Lady Fay Zhu
Jovan Adepo	Sidney Palmer
Olivia Wilde	Ina Conrad
Phoebe Tonkin	Jane Thornton
Olivia Hamilton	Ruth Adler
Tobey Maguire	Mob Boss McKay
Spike Jonze	Otto Von Strassberger
Chloe Fineman	Marion Davies
Jimmy Ortega	Elephant Wrangler
Marcos A. Ferraez	Police Officer,Police Officer
J.C. Currais	Truck Driver
Shane Powers	Dale
Troy Metcalf	Orville Pickwick
Hansford Prince	Joe Holiday
Telvin Griffin	Reggie
Cutty Cuthbert	Jimmy
Albert Hammond Jr.	Guest
Flea	Bob Levine
Bregje Heinen	Female Guest
Tal Seder	Male Guest
Dana Marcolina	Female Guest
Robert Morgan	Director
Nana Ghana	Woman in Ostrich Feather Hat
E.E. Bell	Wilbur
Joe Dallesandro	Charlie/Photographer
Sol Landerman	Publicity Executive
Karina Fontes	Jen
Circus-Szalewski	Driver
Lukas Haas	George Munn
Kaia Gerber	Starlet
Patrick Fugit	Officer Elwood
Eric Roberts	Robert Roy,Studio Employee
Cici Lau	Gho Zhu
David Lau	Sam Wong Zhu
Tyler Seiple	Customer at Sam Wong's
Zack Newick	P.A.
Rory Scovel	The Count
P.J. Byrne	Max (Ruth's Assistant Director)
Alexandre Chen	Ruth's D.P. (James Wong Howe)
Bob Clendenin	Otto's Assistant Director
Carlos Nuñez	Tim
Max Minghella	Irving Thalberg
Laura Steinel	Abby (Assistant Jack's Tent)
Danny Jolles	Writer (Jack's Tent)
James Vincent	Employee (Camera Rental House)
Richard Clarke Larsen	A.C. (Camera Rental House)
Samara Weaving	Constance Moore
Jeff Garlin	Don Wallach
Anthony Burkhalter	Reporter
Terry Walters	Editor
Trisha Simmons	Woman at Door
Ariel Flores	Young Man
Karolina Szymczak	Olga Putti
Sean O'Bryan	Studio Executive
David Ury	Fan
Katia Gomez	Nurse at Sanitorium
Vanessa Bednar	Nellie's Mother
Carson Higgins	Lloyd
Armando Cosio	Grip Harry
Frederick Koehler	D.P. Bill
Spencer Morgan	Clapper
Ric Sarabia	Crew Member
Jim Allen Jackson	Set Medic
Katherine Waterston	Estelle
Yissendy Trinidad	Carmelita
Cyrus Hobbi	Footballer
Anton Hedayat	Footballer
Hayley Huntley	Liz
John Mariano	Master of Ceremonies
Christopher Allen	Manny's Assistant
Arely Vianet	Spanish Language Actress
Alex Reznik	Kinoscope Exec
Pat Skipper	William Randolph Hearst
John Kerry	Jonathan Rothschild
Sarah Ramos	Harriet Rothschild
Jennifer Grant	Mildred Yates
Julian Lefevre	Waiter
Bryan Scott Johnson	Wealthy Man
Kelly Meyer	Wealthy Woman
Brenna Power	Wealthy Woman
David Abed	Young Studio Executive
Kevin Symons	Guest at Hearst Bungalow
Jim O'Brien	Guest at Hearst Bungalow
Chris Doubek	Guest at Hearst Bungalow
Dorian Martin	Production Assistant
Todd Giebenhain	Prop Master
Mather Zickel	Distribution Executive
Ireland Sexton	Thalberg's Secretary
Andrew Hawtrey	Kinoscope Assistant Director
Mike Fletcher	Guard
Jonathan Ohye	New MGM Assistant Director
James Crittenden	Harold
Pete Ploszek	Young Actor
Robert Beitzel	Lewis the Director
Justin Hurwitz	Composer

Technical Credits

Damien Chazelle

Damien Chazelle	Director,Screenwriter
Michael Beugg	Executive Producer
Dave Caplan	Executive Producer
Jason Cloth	Executive Producer
Helen Estabrook	Executive Producer
Wyck Godfrey	Executive Producer
Tobey Maguire	Executive Producer
Adam Siegel	Executive Producer
Olivia Hamilton	Producer
Marc Platt	Producer
Matthew Plouffe	Producer
Luis Rosales	Casting
Tobias Poppe	Sound/Sound Designer
Francine Maisler	Casting
Steven Morrow	Sound Mixer
Ai-Ling Lee	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Writer/director Damien Chazelle (La La Land) takes on Hollywood again in Babylon. This time, he interweaves the lives of rising stars, falling stars, and hangers-on in a tale that brilliantly crosses the time barrier by crossing the sound barrier. Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) is confident she is a star; so, she crashes the insanely hedonistic party whose centerpiece is Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt). Almost derailed, she is helped by Manny Torres (Diego Calva), who also wants to leave a mark that no one will ever erase. Random circumstances allow them both to achieve their dreams. In doing so, their actions cause others to rise and fall around them, most notably the seductive Lady Fay Zhu (Li Jun Li) and the talented jazz musician Sidney Palmer (Jovan Adepo). But Nellie's ties to excess and Manny's ties to her soon change everything for both of them, with an extra nudge from the arrival of talking motion pictures. Chazelle creates a world that portrays what everyone expects the birth of Hollywood to be like and does a fantastic job of bringing many whispered rumors of the early days of Tinseltown to life. The wild parties are accompanied by frenzied camerawork where audiences only get glimpses of what is happening, much like what is assumed the players would remember on the mornings after. The pseudo-romance story that ties it all together is a brilliant Frankenstein made partly of My Fair Lady, partly of Romeo and Juliet, and partly of Forrest Gump. It plays exactly as it sounds it would, to amazing effect. Along the way, viewers get a raw glimpse of how Hollywood had to come to terms with sound and lighting through the eyes of those in the background. It also addresses the two-sided coins of race and sexuality and having to cater to those who cared more about it than anyone at any studio. Stunning portrayals by Li and Adepo accomplish this well. Pitt continues to do his best work yet and seems to have decided he'll only take on films where he can have fun with the roles. It suits him well. Calva's calm intensity plays well throughout the film, making the last half hour all the more startling. This plays well against Robbie's fine manic performance, as they do a law-and-chaos dance through showbiz. Jean Smart, who plays a tabloid writer that drifts in and out of the tale, gives the performance of her lifetime in a brief monologue that ties everything up into a nice bow, even though it is quite long by film's end. The cinematography deserves a second nod because amazing things are accomplished in almost every aspect. Framing, lighting, angles, motion, colored lenses, and more are all meticulously used to present everything, from romantic to horrific moments throughout the movie. All of this is tied together with a subtle yet frenzied soundtrack. The combination of these keeps the audience awestruck for over three hours. Babylon may not be a perfect film. But it is a near-perfect representation of all that is real and imagined about giving up everything for a life in Hollywood. It also provides an excellent perspective to everyone who ever made that sacrifice - both the blessed and the cursed.