While it may be surprising to some that Babylon has received a Steelbook release, collectors of the style will be happy to know that this is a beautiful one. On the cover we’ve got the film’s main stars in a kaleidoscope-style pattern, which looks gorgeous on the cases solid black background. The film’s title is in the center, and the names of the cast are also found nicely above. As a whole it’s incredibly pleasing to the eye and definitely a winner for Steelbook collectors out there.
The back has a champaign glass center stage, though it’s been shattered by what’s likely a bullet. It’s incredibly well captured and fits the film perfectly. It’s simple, yet elegant, all while frozen in time with its inevitable destruction on the horizon.
As always, my favourite part of any Steelbook is opening it up and seeing the choice of the interior slip covers. There are a multitude of ways to go here, with posters, scenes from the film, promo shots, or simple scenes from the film, and with Babylon it could’ve gotten even crazier with some sort of ode to Hollywood and film that wasn’t even in the movie. Here they chose to go the movie scene route, and it’s the perfect scene to capture the early vibe of the film, with Margot Robbie’s character riding the party wave at the film’s opening celebration. It’s a spectacular shot that flawlessly spreads across both slip covers and was just an excellent choice overall.
As for the discs, we’ve got the 4K release, a Blu-ray disc and a second Blu-ray disc that houses the film’s extras. There’s also a digital copy of the film inside as well.
Babylon is a harder movie to review because it really is one of those movies that will polarize audiences with its delivery. It’s a movie that’s incredibly beautiful in its production design, costumes and cinematography, but it’s also lacking in clear direction and its bashes you over the head with its narrative consistently for its quite hefty three-hour runtime. And even though Babylon lacks proper pacing, it still finds ways to be utterly captivating at various times throughout.
It’s because of this lack of balance that some won’t give the film a chance, while others who do will give up on it before it’s over; while at the same time there will be those that fall completely in love with it, or those who enjoy it enough for what it is and for what writer/director Damien Chazelle was trying to do despite its flaws. That’s why it’s not as easy in this scenario to say, “If you loved Die Hard then odds are you’ll love Olympus Has Fallen!” because Babylon is its own thing. It’s the tale of Hollywood moving from silent films in the 1920s to those with sound into the 30s, and it does earn the often used “love letter to Hollywood” tag given to films with this sort of industry, inside focus.
Babylon is loud, it’s graphic, it’s dark, it’s funny, it’s sporadically violent and often ridiculous. It makes a lot of things larger than life, which is how Hollywood is viewed by those on the outside – and how it’s seen through the eyes of some of the lead characters at the start of the film. It takes a more comedic and sometimes cartoonish approach to its storytelling, with extras or crew dying on set in the early days of film because there’s no accounting for safety. These comedic beats are morbidly some of the funnier bits in the movie (the scene capturing their first attempt of filming with sound is perfection), and its this presentation and delivery that make Babylon both captivatingly unique and lacking in true depth.
Even as I write that I realize it may be a bit too harsh, and maybe it is just the runtime that hurts the film more than anything else. The film starts off booming with a massive Hollywood elite party filled with drugs, orgies, dancing and an elephant. It’s loud, boisterous and sets the stage for the film’s centric characters. From here we go to the silent soundstage of Hollywood and it’s fun to see everything being put together so closely, and we keep chugging along until things sort of begin to just continue forth at a slower pace and you realize that you’re only at the halfway mark of the movie. While there are a number of truly engrossing and fun moments, there are also times when you’re just waiting for the plot to move forward.
It’s an odd feeling because the acting here is top tier, so even when the film’s pacing flatlines, the actors are what keep your attention over their sometimes-meandering stories. Brad Pitt leads the way for this ensemble cast as silent film star Jack Conrad. While there are similarities to actors back then, these characters aren’t meant to be anyone specific. Jack is someone who brought audiences to theaters in droves during the silent film era where Babylon begins, but as the film progresses and sound is introduced, he’s someone who finds the transition harder than expected and can’t figure out why. While no character has incredible depth in the film Pitt does elevate the role and give Jack the charisma needed to make the role work as well as it does.
Margot Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy, a confident, overly ambitious, self-proclaimed star who attends the party that begins the film thanks to the help of Manny Torres, a Mexican immigrant played by Diego Calva whose path intertwines with Nellie’s throughout the film. Robbie is superb and continues to just steal scenes in whatever movie she’s in, and here she even gets to crank it up an extra notch or two. Calva, who is a fresher face on the Hollywood scene also just absolutely nails all he’s given in this role. He’s someone who will benefit greatly from his work here.
Last but not least there’s Jovan Adepo who plays Sidney Palmer, an African American jazz trumpeter, and Li Jun Li, who plays Lady Fay Zhu, a Chinese American, lesbian cabaret singer. While everyone in the film must deal with change, both Palmer and Zhu face the racial, as well as homophobic side of things. Both do incredible work and have moments that give them their time in the spotlight.
As mentioned at the start, Babylon is a hard movie to gauge. I enjoyed it overall, though I’m not exactly frothing for repeat viewings. That shouldn’t be something that makes it or breaks it for you though, as sometimes experiencing a film once is all you need. I’d say that if a tale about Hollywood moving from silent films to sound and the casualties in the industry that came because of it is of interest then Babylon is worth checking out. It’s a tale told in dark comedic fashion, which does help with its tempo – even though it does begin to stall out in the middle before launching into an almost shockingly bonkers final act. In short, Babylon is a movie you must experience to know whether you’ll love it, like it or hate it, and I’d say its worth the shot for the actors, score and presentation alone.
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review
The video transfer is top tier, which isn’t overly surprising given Paramount’s 4K history. The 2160p/Dolby Vision looks phenomenal and with the set pieces, costumes and cinematography being some of the bigger selling points of the film, the fact that they’re all given exquisite treatment here bodes well for those watching for the first time at home.
Jumping over to the sound and we’ve got another homerun. The Dolby Atmos track rocks from start to finish, with clean and clear dialogue coming through despite the roaring score that will showcase your speaker system depending on how loud you’ve got them set. With both the audio and visuals reaching outstanding levels at least Babylon can be experienced at home as close to its theatrical counterpart as possible.
Special Features:
A Panoramic Canvas Called Babylon – Here we’ve got the biggest feature that comes in at 31-minutes in length. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the story, shooting various parts of the film, bringing Hollywood of old back to life, and lots more. Those who enjoyed the film will likely enjoy this as well.
The Costumes of Babylon – Here’s a quick, three-minute featurette that touches on the costume pieces found in the film.
Scoring Babylon – If you thought costumes didn’t get a lot of time, the film’s score gets less than two minutes in this featurette!
Deleted/Extended Scenes – Here we’ve got six deleted and extended scenes for those who want to see more of these characters.
Paramount Pictures Presents Babylon Steelbook. Written and Directed by: Damien Chazelle. Starring: Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Jean Smart, Diego Calva, Jovan Adepo, Phoebe Tonkin. Running time: 189 minutes. Rating: R. Limited-Edition Steelbook Blu-ray Released: March 21, 2023.
About Brendan Campbell
