You’ve never seen Hollywood quite like the way it’s portrayed in “Babylon,” the new film from Oscar-winning “La La Land” and “First Man” filmmaker Damien Chazelle. This three-hour epic takes place in the late 1920s and opens in a debauchery-filled Hollywood in the heyday of silent films, as it then chronicles a trio of characters through the transition to talkies. Chazelle assembled an all-star cast for the film, including Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, and holds nothing back in this R-rated drama that has drawn more than a few comparisons to Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights.”
So if “Babylon” is the film you’re looking to watch over the holiday break, you may be wondering how and where to see it. All your questions answered below.
Also Read:
Watch How ‘Babylon’ Production Designer Florencia Martin Re-Created Old Hollywood in the Desert (Exclusive Video) When Did “Babylon” Come Out?...
So if “Babylon” is the film you’re looking to watch over the holiday break, you may be wondering how and where to see it. All your questions answered below.
Also Read:
Watch How ‘Babylon’ Production Designer Florencia Martin Re-Created Old Hollywood in the Desert (Exclusive Video) When Did “Babylon” Come Out?...
- 1/31/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Babylon is Damien Chazelle’s rocket-powered dive into the early days of Hollywood, decorated with orgies, elephant faeces and cocaine. There is spanking. Bacchanalian dancing. Chairs tossed through windows. And that’s all in the first 15 minutes. La La Land, Chazelle’s Oscar-winning, Bambi-eyed paen to artists, poets and the “fools that dream”, would drop dead from fright if it ever came face-to-face with it.
Tailor-made to divide audiences, this debauched drama – and a clear repudiation to those who once accused Chazelle of being too sentimental a director – puts a bullet in the head of any notion that the film industry’s silent era was ever austere or quaint. This was a frontier time, where the art of cinema was built from the ground up with zero rules and very little restraint. It was a place where the soul-sick and hungry could reinvent themselves, but not without considerable personal cost.
Tailor-made to divide audiences, this debauched drama – and a clear repudiation to those who once accused Chazelle of being too sentimental a director – puts a bullet in the head of any notion that the film industry’s silent era was ever austere or quaint. This was a frontier time, where the art of cinema was built from the ground up with zero rules and very little restraint. It was a place where the soul-sick and hungry could reinvent themselves, but not without considerable personal cost.
- 1/21/2023
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
There’s a lot to digest in Damien Chazelle’s overstuffed Hollywood epic, “Babylon.” The story of three disparate movie denziens trying to survive the transition between the silent era and the talkies boasts some stellar performances, but what people might remember after the credits roll is just how wild Chazelle’s hedonistic world is. As he sees it, the silent era of Hollywood is packed to bursting with orgies, dancing, booze, woozy elephants, and a lot of nudity. Oh, and a ton of cocaine.
To many modern-day viewers, cocaine is likely more synonymous with ’80s excess than the supposed glamour of the ’20s. Movies like “Goodfellas” and “Less Than Zero” present cocaine as a party drug of a more contemporary era, so it’s understandable that it would show up in Chazelle’s film, particularly its raucous opening party sequence, as the filmmaker threads historical accuracies with his own special skew.
To many modern-day viewers, cocaine is likely more synonymous with ’80s excess than the supposed glamour of the ’20s. Movies like “Goodfellas” and “Less Than Zero” present cocaine as a party drug of a more contemporary era, so it’s understandable that it would show up in Chazelle’s film, particularly its raucous opening party sequence, as the filmmaker threads historical accuracies with his own special skew.
- 12/22/2022
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Babylon is Damien Chazelle’s rocket-powered dive into the early days of Hollywood, decorated with orgies, elephant faeces and cocaine. There is spanking. Bacchanalian dancing. Chairs tossed through windows. And that’s all in the first 15 minutes. La La Land, Chazelle’s Oscar-winning, Bambi-eyed paen to artists, poets and the “fools that dream”, would drop dead from fright if it ever came face-to-face with it.
Tailor-made to divide audiences, this debauched drama – and a clear repudiation to those who once accused Chazelle of being too sentimental a director – puts a bullet in the head of any notion that the film industry’s silent era was ever austere or quaint. This was a frontier time, where the art of cinema was built from the ground up with zero rules and very little restraint. It was a place where the soul-sick and hungry could reinvent themselves, but not without considerable personal cost.
Tailor-made to divide audiences, this debauched drama – and a clear repudiation to those who once accused Chazelle of being too sentimental a director – puts a bullet in the head of any notion that the film industry’s silent era was ever austere or quaint. This was a frontier time, where the art of cinema was built from the ground up with zero rules and very little restraint. It was a place where the soul-sick and hungry could reinvent themselves, but not without considerable personal cost.
- 12/16/2022
- by Clarisse Loughrey
- The Independent - Film
Margot Robbie gets unhinged in Damien Chazelle’s epic “Babylon.”
The Oscar nominee plays self-proclaimed wild child and up-and-coming actress Nellie Laroy in the 1920s-set period piece, which just released a new trailer. Laroy is an amalgam of ’20s stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, Joan Crawford, and Alma Rubens. With dreams of reaching stardom, Nellie crosses paths with aging icon Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), inspired by John Gilbert, Clark Gable, and Douglas Fairbanks.
Per the official “Babylon” synopsis, Chazelle’s film is an original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles led by Pitt, Robbie and Diego Calva, with an ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Jean Smart. A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.”
The ensemble includes Samara Weaving, Li Jun Li, Katherine Waterston, Olivia Wilde,...
The Oscar nominee plays self-proclaimed wild child and up-and-coming actress Nellie Laroy in the 1920s-set period piece, which just released a new trailer. Laroy is an amalgam of ’20s stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, Joan Crawford, and Alma Rubens. With dreams of reaching stardom, Nellie crosses paths with aging icon Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), inspired by John Gilbert, Clark Gable, and Douglas Fairbanks.
Per the official “Babylon” synopsis, Chazelle’s film is an original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles led by Pitt, Robbie and Diego Calva, with an ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Jean Smart. A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.”
The ensemble includes Samara Weaving, Li Jun Li, Katherine Waterston, Olivia Wilde,...
- 11/28/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” was just the warm up for “Babylon,” his epic comedy-drama about Hollywood during the seismic shift from silents to talkies in the late 1920s — think “La Dolce Vita” meets “Nashville” by way of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” This allowed the Oscar-winning director to step out of his comfort zone with a wild, orgiastic ride through hedonistic excess and extreme living before the sound revolution transformed the movies into a cultural phenomenon.
Judging from the mixed response to Monday’s Academy screening, however, “Babylon” might have a bumpier Best Picture ride than its singing and dancing predecessor. It should be a major crafts player, though. That means likely nominations for some or all of Chazelle’s collaborators: cinematographer Linus Sandgren (Oscar winner for “La La Land”); production designer Florencia Martin; costume designer Mary Zophres; composer Justin Hurwitz (Oscar winner for “La La Land” score...
Judging from the mixed response to Monday’s Academy screening, however, “Babylon” might have a bumpier Best Picture ride than its singing and dancing predecessor. It should be a major crafts player, though. That means likely nominations for some or all of Chazelle’s collaborators: cinematographer Linus Sandgren (Oscar winner for “La La Land”); production designer Florencia Martin; costume designer Mary Zophres; composer Justin Hurwitz (Oscar winner for “La La Land” score...
- 11/16/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
You will now be able to see Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt wreak havoc in “Babylon” even earlier this holiday season.
Damien Chazelle’s old Hollywood epic “Babylon” has officially ditched its previously limited release rollout for a wide release now on December 23.
Originally, “Babylon” was slated for a December 25 limited release, followed by a January 6, 2023 wide release. Instead, the film will open in more than 3,000 theaters nationwide on December 23.
Former “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” co-stars Robbie and Pitt reunite for Chazelle’s star-studded take on the pitfalls of fame and the slow-moving tide of change in the film industry. Set during the transitional period in Hollywood when silent movies gave way to talkies, Robbie stars as aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. With dreams of reaching stardom, Nellie crosses paths with aging...
Damien Chazelle’s old Hollywood epic “Babylon” has officially ditched its previously limited release rollout for a wide release now on December 23.
Originally, “Babylon” was slated for a December 25 limited release, followed by a January 6, 2023 wide release. Instead, the film will open in more than 3,000 theaters nationwide on December 23.
Former “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” co-stars Robbie and Pitt reunite for Chazelle’s star-studded take on the pitfalls of fame and the slow-moving tide of change in the film industry. Set during the transitional period in Hollywood when silent movies gave way to talkies, Robbie stars as aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. With dreams of reaching stardom, Nellie crosses paths with aging...
- 10/18/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Six years after winning an Oscar for “La La Land,” writer-director Damien Chazelle is gearing up for a return to Tinseltown with his next feature film “Babylon.” This time, he’s taking it back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, when silent films transitioned to talkies.
In a recent interview, Chazelle said he first came up with the idea for “a big, epic, multicharacter movie, set in these early days of Los Angeles and Hollywood, when both of these things were coming into what we now think of them as,” about 15 years ago. It was only after completing 2018’s “First Man” that he got to work on the script for the “massive” movie.
Like any Hollywood movie about Hollywood, the cast of “Babylon” is as star-studded as they come, playing a mixture of fictional and historical characters. Among them: Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt; Olivia Wilde, Samara Weaving, Tobey Maguire,...
In a recent interview, Chazelle said he first came up with the idea for “a big, epic, multicharacter movie, set in these early days of Los Angeles and Hollywood, when both of these things were coming into what we now think of them as,” about 15 years ago. It was only after completing 2018’s “First Man” that he got to work on the script for the “massive” movie.
Like any Hollywood movie about Hollywood, the cast of “Babylon” is as star-studded as they come, playing a mixture of fictional and historical characters. Among them: Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt; Olivia Wilde, Samara Weaving, Tobey Maguire,...
- 9/13/2022
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
There is another fairytale afoot in Hollywood, thanks to Oscar winner Damien Chazelle’s sweeping ode to the rise of talkies.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” co-stars Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt reunite onscreen for “Babylon,” Chazelle’s star-studded take on the pitfalls of fame and the slow-moving tide of change in the film industry. Set during the transitional period in Hollywood when silent movies gave way to talkies, Robbie stars as aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. With dreams of reaching stardom, Nellie crosses paths with aging icon Jack Conrad (Pitt), inspired by John Gilbert, Clark Gable, and Douglas Fairbanks.
“Babylon” premieres December 25 with a limited release, followed by a wide release January 6, 2023, making the feature a buzzed-about Oscars contender.
The official synopsis reads: “From Damien Chazelle, ‘Babylon’ is an original epic set...
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” co-stars Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt reunite onscreen for “Babylon,” Chazelle’s star-studded take on the pitfalls of fame and the slow-moving tide of change in the film industry. Set during the transitional period in Hollywood when silent movies gave way to talkies, Robbie stars as aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. With dreams of reaching stardom, Nellie crosses paths with aging icon Jack Conrad (Pitt), inspired by John Gilbert, Clark Gable, and Douglas Fairbanks.
“Babylon” premieres December 25 with a limited release, followed by a wide release January 6, 2023, making the feature a buzzed-about Oscars contender.
The official synopsis reads: “From Damien Chazelle, ‘Babylon’ is an original epic set...
- 9/13/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The lush land of 1920s Hollywood is now getting a modern A-lister take thanks to Oscar winner Damien Chazelle.
The “La La Land” director helms highly-anticipated epic “Babylon” starring Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt as two movie stars at the opposite ends of fame. The film is set for a December 25 limited release and a wide release January 6, 2023, making the feature a buzzed-about Oscars contender.
The period piece focuses on the transitional period in the film industry when silent movies gave way to talkies. While the specific plot details remain under wraps, IndieWire can confirm that Robbie plays aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. Nellie has a “bold, hungry kind of edge to her,” as Chazelle revealed to Vanity Fair.
Meanwhile, Robbie’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Oscar-winning co-star Pitt plays Jack Conrad,...
The “La La Land” director helms highly-anticipated epic “Babylon” starring Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt as two movie stars at the opposite ends of fame. The film is set for a December 25 limited release and a wide release January 6, 2023, making the feature a buzzed-about Oscars contender.
The period piece focuses on the transitional period in the film industry when silent movies gave way to talkies. While the specific plot details remain under wraps, IndieWire can confirm that Robbie plays aspiring actress Nellie Laroy, who is an amalgam of early “talkies” stars Clara Bow, Jeanne Eagels, John Crawford, and Alma Rubens. Nellie has a “bold, hungry kind of edge to her,” as Chazelle revealed to Vanity Fair.
Meanwhile, Robbie’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Oscar-winning co-star Pitt plays Jack Conrad,...
- 9/8/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Six years after winning an Oscar for "La La Land," Damien Chazelle is returning with yet another ode to the Cty of Angels. According to an exclusive chat with Vanity Fair, this particular project has been a long time coming — Chazelle has been working on the story for his upcoming feature film "Babylon" since he first moved to Los Angeles 15 years ago. When the idea first dawned on him, the plan was "just to do a big, epic, multi-character movie, set in these early days of Los Angeles and Hollywood, when both of these things were coming into what we now think of them as." After years of chipping away at the story, the character and dynamics finally emerged, and later this year, we'll see for ourselves what it all became.
For obvious reasons, it sounds like "Babylon" might share a lot in common with the very successful "La La Land.
For obvious reasons, it sounds like "Babylon" might share a lot in common with the very successful "La La Land.
- 9/7/2022
- by Shania Russell
- Slash Film
'The Magnificent Ambersons': Directed by Orson Welles, and starring Tim Holt (pictured), Dolores Costello (in the background), Joseph Cotten, Anne Baxter, and Agnes Moorehead, this Academy Award-nominated adaptation of Booth Tarkington's novel earned Ricardo Cortez's brother Stanley Cortez an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White. He lost to Joseph Ruttenberg for William Wyler's blockbuster 'Mrs. Miniver.' Two years later, Cortez – along with Lee Garmes – would win Oscar statuettes for their evocative black-and-white work on John Cromwell's homefront drama 'Since You Went Away,' starring Ricardo Cortez's 'Torch Singer' leading lady, Claudette Colbert. In all, Stanley Cortez would receive cinematography credit in more than 80 films, ranging from B fare such as 'The Lady in the Morgue' and the 1940 'Margie' to Fritz Lang's 'Secret Beyond the Door,' Charles Laughton's 'The Night of the Hunter,' and Nunnally Johnson's 'The Three Faces...
- 7/8/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ricardo Cortez in 'Ten Cents a Dance,' with Barbara Stanwyck. No matter how unthankful the role, whether hero or heel – or, not infrequently, a combination of both – Cortez left his bedroom-eyed, mellifluous-voiced imprint in his pre-Production Code talkies. Besides Barbara Stanwyck, during the 1920s and 1930s Cortez made love to and/or life difficult for, a whole array of leading ladies of that era, including Bebe Daniels, Gloria Swanson, Betty Compson, Betty Bronson, Greta Garbo, Florence Vidor, Claudette Colbert, Mary Astor, Kay Francis, Joan Crawford, Irene Dunne, Joan Blondell, and Loretta Young*. (See previous post: “Ricardo Cortez Q&A: From Latin Lover to Multiethnic Heel.”) Not long after the coming of sound, Ricardo Cortez was mostly relegated to playing subordinate roles to his leading ladies – e.g., Kay Francis, Irene Dunne, Claudette Colbert – or leads in “bottom half of the double bill” programmers at Warner Bros. or on loan to other studios. Would...
- 7/7/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Ricardo Cortez biography 'The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Films of Ricardo Cortez' – Paramount's 'Latin Lover' threat to a recalcitrant Rudolph Valentino, and a sly, seductive Sam Spade in the original film adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's 'The Maltese Falcon.' 'The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Films of Ricardo Cortez': Author Dan Van Neste remembers the silent era's 'Latin Lover' & the star of the original 'The Maltese Falcon' At odds with Famous Players-Lasky after the release of the 1922 critical and box office misfire The Young Rajah, Rudolph Valentino demands a fatter weekly paycheck and more control over his movie projects. The studio – a few years later to be reorganized under the name of its distribution arm, Paramount – balks. Valentino goes on a “one-man strike.” In 42nd Street-style, unknown 22-year-old Valentino look-alike contest winner Jacob Krantz of Manhattan steps in, shortly afterwards to become known worldwide as Latin Lover Ricardo Cortez of...
- 7/7/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
'Humoresque': Joan Crawford and John Garfield. 'Humoresque' 1946: Saved by Joan Crawford Directed by Jean Negulesco from a screenplay by Clifford Odets and Zachary Gold (loosely based on a Fannie Hurst short story), Humoresque always frustrates me because its first 25 minutes are excruciatingly boring – until Joan Crawford finally makes her appearance during a party scene. Crawford plays Helen Wright, a rich society lush in love with a tough-guy violin player, Paul Boray (John Garfield), who happens to be in love with his music. Fine support is offered by Paul's parents, played by Ruth Nelson and the fabulous chameleon-like J. Carroll Naish. Oscar Levant is the sarcastic, wisecracking piano player, who plays his part to the verge of annoyance. (Spoilers ahead.) Something wrong with that woman The Humoresque scenes between Paul and his mother are particularly intriguing, as the mother conveys her objections to Helen by lamenting, "There's something wrong with a woman like that!
- 7/27/2015
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
Douglas Fairbanks The Half-Breed in ‘The Amazing Tales from the Archives’: 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival At the 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival, "The Amazing Tales from the Archives" began with film preservationist Rob Byrne’s documentation of how the 1916 movie The Half-Breed was found and restored to its present condition. Starring Douglas Fairbanks and Alma Rubens, and directed by Allan Dwan, this tale of the American West was thought to be lost until various versions and excerpts cropped up in some very unlikely places. For instance, one surviving — but fast-decomposing — The Half-Breed print was found in 1978, buried in a swimming pool in the Canadian Yukon. Other prints were from later (and incomplete) releases, with different titles and some reediting. (Photo: Douglas Fairbanks in The Half-Breed.) Rob Byrne told the by now familiar story of how a complete restoration is developed through painstaking work and lots of time before...
- 7/30/2013
- by Danny Fortune
- Alt Film Guide
John Gilbert, Eva von Berne in Victor Sjöström's The Masks of the Devil Eva von Berne, the Austrian actress brought to Hollywood as a potential Greta Garbo rival and who played the ingénue in the apparently lost John Gilbert-Alma Rubens silent drama The Masks of the Devil (1928) — her sole American movie — has died. Again. Von Berne, according to many sources including the IMDb, had already passed away in 1930, purportedly from "excessive dieting." (Other "reports" claim she died in a car crash.) Now, via the Everett Collection's Eve Golden — sourcing content originally posted at the online forum voy.com, also published in the German newspaper Die Welt — I learn that von Berne actually died "after a short illness" on Nov. 9, 2010, in the Hungarian town of Hedervar. Von Berne was 100 years old. Much as I tried in the last couple of hours, I couldn't find any [...]...
- 1/18/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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