I love how every review for Babylon is like “The performances are outstanding, the cinematography and music are incredible, the themes and plot are bombastic and indulgent and it’s Damian Chazelle most ambitious movie, oh yeah it sucks btw
Those were the same reviews on don't worry darling (besides the performance from Harry). Yet it was still a bad movie. Style doesn't make a movie perfect, it's flaws can really hurt the movie like it did with this one
I'd far rather sit through a good-director-having-a-bad-film-day, than the predictable, commercial offerings, more widely available. Thanks for reviewing 'Babylon'. It is a flawed film in many ways, but it is interesting, and worth the watch.
@@dahcoconut926 No, it really isn't - there just seemed something 'off' about the script (?), the ending (?), possibly some moral lesson that just escaped me (or, was too obvious?), or maybe, I simply wanted even more of a Kenneth-Anger-Hollywood-Babylon thing - but, it was still far more interesting than much of what I see on offer. There are just those directors, actors, cinematographers, whose work you approach, feeling fairly assured of seeing something worth your time. :)
@@dahcoconut926 I couldnt sit thruh la la land turned me off about 20 mins in unrelatable characters and boring improv music numbers but I loved every minute of Whiplash though. I think of the director as a one time wunderkid
"Who banked rolled this?" Exactly my thoughts while watching this... WTF was he thinking? This movie should have been about Robbie's character and the female director. Their sequences together are true cinematic GOLD! THATS the movie....but its BURIED in nonsense. Its a Tarantinoesque MESS.
This is a movie where it’s “flaws” are for me it’s positives. I don’t need more character development like I would want in other movies. These characters reflect how we would look back on someone living a hundred years later. We mostly see their high points in life and then see how they ended up. Manny has perhaps the most backstory, but he’ll be forgotten in time.
This reminds me of something Tyler Durden said in Fight Club, and it feels present in this movie: self improvement is masturbation. Now self destruction...
I wasn’t impressed by the trailers, was turned off by the reviews, and hadn’t expected to go see it anytime soon if at all, but went on a whim after someone who couldn’t make their screening offered me their ticket for free. I fully expected to walk out part way through once I’d had my fill, my only inkling of hope lied with Damien Chazelle. 3 hours and 9 minutes later I felt drained, but blown away by the incredible experience I had so hastily stumbled upon. It’s one of the most bombastic films I’ve ever seen and its world and characters absolutely gripped my attention from start to finish. Best cinematic experience of the year for me, I might even go watch it again.
Definitely agree! It's one of the top 3 cinematic experiences of the year for me. Flaws and all, it's a much more exciting movie than the perfectly crafted but predictable Top Gun Maverick, for example.
I think the message of the film is made immediately clear from the opening scene and then by Jack Conrad's drunken monologue the next morning -- Film is a great art form but is bogged down by the industry and callous nature of the people in it, and yet, people look to the big screen as a place of hope in spite of it all. Damien is clearly asking the question, "is it worth it?" I don't understand how people are misunderstanding that in droves lol
because everybody isnt you and you are not everybody. what i dont get is how you people run away from individualism so much. "i think like this and cant get why others dont cause everyone is the same robot in the matrix" sigh humans
No one looks to 'the big screen' for hope. That is pretentious garbage, and filmmakers overinflating their value to society. In fact, Hollywood causes far more harm via pushing of mass degeneracy. Wow, such hope
I think that’s kind of the point. She knew she was never going to change so there wasn’t really any need for her to have any character development. She’s been the same since we first met her.
Meh, that shot is a corny, incredibly on-the-nose metaphor about some stars shining bright for a moment and then “going dark” just as fast as they appeared. It’s not bad, it’s just nowhere near as original or praiseworthy as you’re hyping it up to be.
@@t.k.1319 I actually didn’t read it that way on my first viewing. I felt the metaphor was more so what Elinor was describing in her monologue to Jack; there are people who trap themselves in the spotlight of the burning house and people who find a way to survive in the dark. Unlike jack in the end who couldn’t bear to live in that darkness, Elinor came to peace with herself. Even though she died, her stepping into the dark was her accepting that her time in the spotlight was over so she could end her story authentically.
I hate that box office bomb negates whether the film was good. This film will find an audience on streaming after award season. I loved it, bit long and confusing but completely riveting.
@@wisco9er536 well, marketing budgets aren’t a joke. Was either not enough, either somebody put a big chunk of that in his own pocket. Once upon a time in Hollywood had an insane amount of marketing, They played all the cards possible and usually Tarantino himself is also very involved in all the aspects.
Absolutely one of the best films of the year for me. I am so glad it showed how old Hollywood was horrible for everyone involved and how the general audience had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. Honestly, I saw a lot to take away in this film and it was fantastic the whole way through for me.
Could you expand on this a little more? I’m very open minded to plotless, provocative movies but really hated this one. I’m thinking of films like Holy Mountain and Gummo, which I consider to be important films, but I cannot credit this film similarly. I think the main dagger in my throat was the rapid editing and constant tracking shots, which would have worked well if there was a plot. Scorsese has a similar montage structure but he counter balances it with narration and slower paced moments so that I can process the plot of the movie. If Babylon had just chilled a little bit with with more static shots to breath in the scenery I probably would have liked it. The humor felt autistic. No character build up to achieve comedic delivery. Like the pointless snake scene for instance. It almost seemed like the script was written by AI after processing Kenneth angers book. Perhaps this was Chazzeles attempt to make a three hour drum solo but with visuals. Or maybe the point was to make you feel like you are in bad drugs like a Kenneth anger short film, however extended as a 3 hour DW Griffith disaster. I also don’t think big named actors like Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt were experimental minded enough to deliver an avant garde experience. They acted like they would in a rom com. Anyways, this is quite the opposite of my favorite movie. I also watched it hung over Christmas Day, so I should re watch it. But the whole thing gave me a massive panic attack. We all walked out about 2 hours in with the same attitude feeling tortured. Only other movie that made me feel that way was probably Pink Flamingo, but even that I was able to watch all the way through.
@@jazzmidiclub1269 I completely disagree with all of this honestly. I was actually worried it wouldn’t have a coherent plot but it actually had a plot I really enjoyed. Sure, the editing is crazy but calling this movie plotless makes no sense. It is told in a chronological order and talks about how Nelly becomes famous and all that comes from that newfound game, how Manny goes from a lower-class worker to the executive of a movie studio and how that subsequently makes him have to do things he doesn’t morally agree with. How Sidney is just a player at a party but gets to taste the fame due to his great playing, but compounded with the race issues at the time. How Jack Conrad falls from grace due to sound coming into cinema and him not being able to actually act. To be honest, this had a really straightforward plot that shows all of our characters grow into higher positions but discusses the negative side of working in Hollywood at that time. How people believe it’s such a beautiful thing but it was actually a really horrible time. There were comedic moments but this movie didn’t really feel like it was trying to be a comedy, rather show how all of the characters were broken in some way or the other, even though it seemed like they didn’t care at the start. They are stuck in a horrible system. I just loved that they didn’t glamorize Hollywood while still showing a love for the craft of movies themselves, despite the industry being horrible. In regards to the snake scene, I didn’t really see it as comedic despite it being shot that way. We had an entire buildup of her growing more upset with her fame and people talking shit about her, but the party scene is her last straw once her own dad talks shit about her. She wants him to own up to that story because she knows it’s a lie. Once he passed out and his story is confirmed false, she tries to do it herself to kind of prove a point and put her foot down. She’s extremely reckless and gambles with her life at a moment’s notice. There were so many moments where little things that were said or shown about her come back into play. Also there were a few scenes that were shot chaotically and fast paced, but there were actually tons of scenes that delivered levity and narrative. I honestly don’t see how someone thinks the movie is plotless. And I certainly disagree that the acting wasn’t good enough as Margot Robbie blew me away here. It’s not a masterpiece and it has flaws but to me, it was a beautifully haunting and tragic story about a different kind of lifetime that people lived, and getting to be part of that crazy lifestyle was insane. Again, I just really like how we found out how all the characters were broken in different ways. This is just my opinions and perspective on it, but you did ask me to elaborate. The final sequence of the progression of movies at the end really emphasized all the sacrifice that it took to get movies where they are today. Not to mention the score, which IS a masterpiece.
@@nileshollowthorn thought this was perfectly worded my dude. Have been out of the theater for the last 2 hours and I can’t stop thinking about this. Especially someone like me who plans to be in this industry soon. The romanticism within Hollywood is due to the camera that presses play. But this is such a groundbreaking perspective on everything that goes down once it’s off. I’m in disbelief honestly. Chazelle has never missed for me and I hope he never does
@@nileshollowthorn thanks for that. I’m going to re watch it. I think I went in thinking I wouldn’t like it because of the trailer. And I can admit some of my gripes were nit picky to begin with, which probably distorted my ability to process the plot. I sort of knew all of those story lines were happening, but never felt absorbed. Probably the reason I had a panic attack when watching it was that it felt kinda claustrophobic. It never felt characters left that location. Reminded me of walking through a very crowded fair. That’s not to say that a crowded fair means a bad film, necessarily. In fact, many of my dreams take place in gigantic areas with a lot of sprawling people. So I’m not sure what my biggest turn off was. I recently watched the whale and I liked that a lot, but others say it made them feel claustrophobic- which I didn’t feel. I think the older I get the more I appreciate a story and an actors ability to show me the inside of that character. I just never felt an honest feeling from any character in that movie. I know I’ve been impressed by Margot Robbie before, but there’s something about her cartoon 30s accent that really turns me off. I couldnt watch Harley Quinn for that same reason. I might also have an older movie bias. I prefer the simplicity of 70s/90s thrillers, with less emphasis on the editing/multicam and more emphasis on acting, story and dialogue. I’ve noticed with many modern oscar bait films, especially the ones packed with big name actors- that I have a hard time following the story. The trailer Amsterdam appears to be this way. Knives Out. Judas and the black Messiah, don’t look up, Chicago 7: those were all movies that most people loved but I couldn’t understand structurally. I’m still figuring out what they all had in common, if any. For me to not follow dialogue typically means I couldn’t care about the characters
A top tier movie. Misunderstood, as for now. But hey, can't blame blind people for not understanding it, movies require vision ! I'm still amazed by the experience i had yesterday !
@@mellifluente It's awful, but beautiful movie. Not something in between, but everything at once. Its a masterpiece, but it's a trash. It's a metaphor without meaning. I love it, but I hate it. And so do you, don't you?
@@faseplay. there is, for sure, a dichotomy between glory and despair, brightness and repulse, but that dichotomy itself is a loving one regarding cinema. a metaphor with a lot of meaning, but about something meaningless, us humans....
@@faseplay. and also, i wouldn't say that i hate that feeling. quite the oppostie : things that are everything all at once tend to fascinate me, cause they're closest to the reality we live in ! Nothing is black or white, everything is black and white and red and pink etc !
It’s going to be a beloved classic in 20 years. Few films really create a reason to leave the house. This one is worthy of your time. It’s a true masterpiece.
Babylon feels like the type of movie to receive harsh criticism in it's present, but slowly evolve into cinema classic status as time flies by. Given the conversation about immortality you discussed, these predictions I make unironically feel tied to the movie's theme. I haven't seen Babylon yet, but it's legacy feels similar to a story I've heard before: a movie made out of the blue receives bombarded opinions (think American Psycho or The Wolf of Wall Street) but it's rollercoaster of a cinematic experience will prove itself the winner through time.
@Stono the problem with The Irishman was that it was released to a bunch of Netflix fans. The types of people who scroll through their amazing catalog and say "ughh there's nothing to watch"
@@wisco9er536 Scorsese struggled with funding for his movies after Wolf of Wall Street. After years of trying hard, he finally got Netflix to invest. I think he didn't have much of a choice. The dude is retired now
I felt like Sidney and Lady Fay's storylines really deserved to be in their own movie. Manny's, Nelly's and Jack's storylines kind of starved theirs of oxygen
This movie didn’t care at all about anyone but the main men. They didn’t care at all to give anyone else actual characters or storylines. They were just interested in patting themselves on the back
my expectations were low to begin with so although it was definitely murky and chaotic to say the least, i thoroughly enjoyed it. i found it really easy to empathize with the characters. i rejoiced with every triumph and god did i feel every crushing blow. i cried when it was over lmao, i went in truly blind and i was overcome with emotion by the end.
I’m glad I didn’t take your advice to “steer clear of this movie”. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was quite impressed with the editing & production design. Though I never went to film school, I’ve been working in the motion picture industry for over 30 years. When I’m not busy working, I am watching films at cinemas and on DVDs. I also attend film festivals. Though I’m a filmworker not a filmmaker, I do intend to direct eventually. Until I do, I continue learning the craft more, which includes watching feature films like this one. HM, founder Highway Cinema
Most headlines I read about this movie are that "Margot Robbie's new movie bombed" or "Another bomb or setback for Margot Robbie" like they're persistent that it's her fault the film bombed. You never hear "Brad Pitt's new movie bombed " it's mostly always the female lead that takes the bullet for a film performing poorly at the boxoffice. Just saying...🤔🤔🤔🤨
Brad Pitt isn't in his prime anymore. No one's going to blame him. He has been talking about retirement for a while but continuing to work as long they hire him. Margot Robbie is still in her prime so naturally shr would be focus if movie bombs.
@@gabbar51ngh It's been pretty much the Brad Pitt show throughout every red carpet worldwide leading to the premier & even in the advertisement. But the minute it bombs, he runs & somehow stays away from the headlines. They definitely used her as the scapegoat & placed almost complete blame on her.
While I 100% agree with you that there is a sexist bias in the media, and that Women are far more likely to be blamed for a movie's failure than Men, there is some missing context to your example: Margot Robbie was Forbes' highest-paid actress in the world in 2019. Since then, her last 4 live-action movies *in a row* have failed to turn a profit, even including Worldwide Box Office (after budget, theater splits and marketing costs): Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad, Amsterdam and now Babylon. 4 losses in a row with her as the lead actress. Meanwhile, in 2022 alone, Brad Pitt has been in 2 movies that both made $100 Million each domesticatally, and also each at least broke even or made it into profitability after final Worldwide Box Office. So to mention Brad Pitt compared to Margot Robbie's current Hollywood slump is a bit like comparing Apples-to-Oranges. Sexism is real, and must not be tolerated, but there's a bit more to back up those headlines, at least in this situation. She will probably have a huge hit with Barbie this year, so she will bounce back.
@@jaygarcia8508 Every movie teaser, trailer and snippet or advertisement put Margot Robbie first not him. I very much doubt doing promotion of his movie equates to "Brad Pitt show". He's an older established star so naturally he would have a presence even if he doesn't have the same pull in audience. It's the media and public themselves claiming her movies are flopping. The studios are still giving her work. So I don't really buy the "scapegoat" claim. It's not like she's out of work or she's officially being labelled as that by any major studio. Pitt has given his due to Hollywood. He can make straight duds and no one would Question him. It's less to do with male vs female and more to do with the fact Margot is having flops in her prime.
I knew that Paramount had handed Chazelle almost one hundred million to pull this project together, and I've been following along reading bits & pieces about the production for well over a year. My takeaway and your analysis of this film are quite similar. I had family members who were in the Industry during this time, and I have worked for one of the Majors for almost forty years, so one of my interests was on the historical level. I watched it in a theater for all of the obvious reasons, especially to experience Linus Sandgeen's minutes long Tracking Shots. Art Direction, Sound Design, Music Score, and Wardrobe : There's a lot to take in. This film, for me, will need a few more viewings. I always look forward to your videos and appreciate your perspective on current releases.
This film made me fall in love with cinema all over again, while at the same time providing a bittersweet goodbye. This really felt like a farewell to the cinema as we know it. The Golden Age of Movies has come to an end, thanks to streaming.
Loved it, loved the ending. Enjoyed it more on the second viewing. Wish it would've been presented in episodic format, as you mentioned; that was a good observation. Viewer fatigue does set in. But overall, though it was an exceptionally high quality movie, especially the Toby McGaguire underground sequence - had me absolutely riveted. A-
@@Supremelord-hq9og totally respect your opinion. I liked the ending better upon a second viewing. The first time it took me by surprise (and took me out of the movie), the second time I just appreciated the artistry of it all; an epic "meta" montage.
I love how they used Tobey Maguire! I felt that he was misused as an actor in the past. They put way too much emphasis on needing him to act big, so when he does, it takes me out of the movies he is in. Not this movie, though. The role feels like it’s made for Tobey Maguire, he’s basically the combination of a spoiled rich kid and a psychopath.
The movie had moments but I agree with you for the most part. Damian took a wild chance and I can't hate him for that. I'll continue to rush to theaters to see his work because he's a breath of fresh air in today's movie world.
Yes, in theory an artist can live forever in their art but that's only if their art survives and lives on. About 80% of those silent films are lost and almost just as many of the early talking films are lost too. We know names and legends of some of the great flicks from that time but sadly no copies survived.
@@MadameCorgi different people want different things, if you just want to live a normal mediocre life that up to you. Many creative artists could never want that so they strive to be the best because sadly a lot times art is only recognized as art when admired by many
My only problem with the movie is that there was a lot of moments in the movie where it felt like it was going to end and it just kept going and it really just felt like a loop and also it felt like one of those movies that added a bunch of random crazy stuff to make seem like it was a great movie but nonetheless I’d give it a 7/10
It’s a mess and I loved it. All the technical stuff was great and Manny, Nellie andJack are some of my favorite characters in any movie this year and several supporting characters stood out too. It’s a love letter to cinema while showing how messed up Hollywood was/is. And like all Chazelle movies it’s a great story of ambitious people and what they have to go through to achieve their dreams.
The film makes a big deal out of sound coming to movies. From the documentaries of the "silent era" I've watched, synchronized sound (for sound effects) was around well before 1927 and the Jazz Singer(which wasn't even a full talkie film) and no one talked about silent films then, just movies. The first "talkies" wheren't that great cause the sound equipment was poor and heavy. Older films could use moving cameras more freely. Sadly many of the silent era films are lost now so we rarely can experience them now.
THIS MOVIE WAS AMAZING!!!! Singing in the rain is one of my top films and I was loving all the homages, then THEY SHOW TO MOVIE AT THE END AND TIE IT ALL TOGETHER AND I CRIED IT WAS AMAZING
The movie "was" amazing or it "is" amazing? Kindly note that one comes across as a stronger and more credible writer by composing in the present tense than in the past tense.
I think the only big problem of this movie, asides from the other smaller ones, is the runtime: 3 hours is too much for this type of movie where a lot of stuff happens on a very high pace. After 2 hours in, you're coming from a funny, crazy and overwhelming mind trip and find yourself in another hour, more or less, of a deep drama that requires for you to still focus on the plot: I really struggled, not because I was bored, because I didn't have mental energies anymore. Like a friend of mine told me: it was like you had a long and delicious meal with a lot of dishes and someone came with a giant slice of a delicious cake. It's not that you don't like that cake, you just can't have it right now.
Margot was great but some inconsistencies...like she says she hates her home yet she brings home with her. Hired her dad and went to visit her mom. I know with the Marilyn Monroe story she hated home and everything she was prior so she completely abolished the old her. To me that makes more sense. Would have liked more with Faye and Sydney. Run time was very long.
Great video! I have to say though, "This would've worked better as a limited series" is a baffling statement and makes me want to vomit all over the rug. I absolutely loved this film. Excessive, audacious movies like this are ALWAYS reviewed this way when they come out. It will age very, very well.
I loved La La Land and liked very much Wiphlash and Babylon. It's a spectacular experience, not easy to be taken in by everybody (in the cinema I've been, a few people left during the projection). Sometimes it felt poetic and soft other times it felt raw and painful like a head in a wall. I appreciated the cinematography, the humour, the three main characters -yes, addicts but strong personalities, courageous people,maybe more courageous and truthful than many of us nowadays who instead of creating something just have opinions on other's creations. I still have to process it but is that type of movie about which I still think about 3 hours after it finished. And indeed as a cinema lover I agree that I go to movies to watch other live more boldly or to live with the characters for a few hours another life and even to escape my own existence for a few hours. I don't think is the greatest movie ever made (this is subjective anyway) but I think is a great movie. And as an actor watching it is an even deeper experience. It makes you get a glimpse of the "family" history of your art (even if is fiction). Also I have actors friends who gave up this path and I wonder how they would see the movie: would their love for acting and movies be back or would they feel even more convinced that they made a good choice leaving this path? I know I want to rewatch Babylon, anyway.
I guess for me I’d say I had the opposite experience from what most people had. I enjoyed it because to me it seem like the film was more of a film that just wanted to make you feel like you were there like if you were part of what was going on in the story. Like what the one of the characters said saying he wants to be part of something bigger. And they were. All three of them were part of something bigger. Maybe it might be an overlooked kind of film or it’s just a hit or miss for people ya know? Either way the good and bad feedback for this movie is good because we all know this director made some pretty good movies. But this one wasn’t it for a lot of folk. And some people liked it.
This was such a good movie. Me and my friend just sat there at the end as the message finally came across. Imo one of the best movies of the year, even if it doesn’t get the love it deserves
It's not a love letter to old Hollywood it's a love letter humanity this film was like going through a dense jungle with multiple layers on how different individuals go after their desires via ego and in the process they begin to lose themselves the "love letter to Hollywood is just the backdrop" and the movies that were in the film are just capsules of people's humanity the movie is actually extremely intricate with details one of my favorite scenes was the one at the Rothschild's brunch wear they had to panhandle to the financiers (the ultra rich) that actually pull the strings and they all protests in their own way (the movie is a masterpiece) it's better than Once upon a time in Hollywood
it’s a hot mess though i admit it was exciting and mostly enjoyable. Chazele’s status as boy wonder was instrumental in giving him the free hand he got. He simply threw everything up there like a Jackson Pollack painting to see what would emerge. The ending is beyond self indulgent and while the score is great it is far too overwhelming
I’m so glad this film was so incredible. I have been anticipating this film and Avatar all year. Avatar was kinda boring so I’m so glad this film was a wonderful theatrical experience. I was gripped from the very first scene to the last. It was beautiful!
I absolutely loved this movie so much. It’s my favorite film so far as of 2022. I may be a bit biased because of my hobby of film making with my friends but I love this film so much.
in the last few minutes when the camera was paning over the theatre showing the audiences i felt that i was manuel, tears down my cheeks amazed by what im seeing feeling like i was part of something important
I admire and appreciate your measured critique of the film. While mostly unsuccessful as satire, its clearly not as bad as some critics have said. What really brought home "Babylon's" shortcomings, however, was Chazelle's ill-advised decision to effectively "bookend" his film with "Singin' in the Rain." I won't go into more detail than that, except to say it served to emphasize the stark contrast between the two movies in terms of the pure sublimity of the latter Donen dance sequence versus the relative inadequacy of Chazelle's vision that preceded it.
He didn’t know how to end it. It should have ended with the speech pitts character got by the gossip columnists and chekovs gun ending. It said everything the 1953 flashforward. It would have been a wonderful bookend to the convo they had in the first scene about movie making being the most magical calling anybody could pursue.
But that was the an accurate recreation of the first time the song Singing In the Rain was filmed (the Babylon character plot points not withstanding). Sound (and color) being used so awkwardly so early and then so brilliantly in a movie a couple decades later making fun of that same awkwardness...plus Don Lockwood's (and Lena Lamonts) careers Very loosely following people Manny worked with. A film like that bringing Manny to laughter and tears (and having escaped Babylon to obscurity, but safety for himself and his character). Seems a perfect bookend for director that likes musicals.
By far my favorite film of the year I plan on seeing it a third time no matter what people say. I think this film was masterfully executed by Chazelle I was sitting in that theater fully engaged with the story in no way did it drag out or lose my attention I was sucked in the whole time with the beautiful images. The film turned into a love letter to all of cinema that ending sequence was the greatest thing put to film in the last decade in my opinion. Damian turned a beloved classic such as Singin' In the Rain and sprinkled it with boogie nights and I ate it up.
I totally relate to this revue. The movie made me feel like I had done something exciting and wrong. Almost like a wild night out that began with drinks and ended up dangerous and high risk. Something I would regret the next morning. The underground (Literally and figuratively) club sequence which felt like the layers of hell was so metaphoric , with Toby McGuire's character describing it as both " the most fun! " AND the " axxhole of Los Angeles" was surreal and disturbing, a metaphor for addiction. The participants were chained and tortured to their vices. Somehow you knew that escaping alive was something almost impossible, it was " fighting" a snake. I don't think this movie is for everyone, but, as a former tv/movie professional, and recovering addict, It felt personally relevant. It felt like losing innocence, but Manny did come to redemption, as did the orchestra musician. 😇💀😇💀
This movie dared to dream and stand out that's why the harsh critics...... People complain about how unoriginal every movie is that everything is only MCU and reboot.... Damien Chezelle makes a unique movie about Hollywood about an age which is always glamorized, showing the hell of that beloved age of Hollywood. From the silent movies era when everything was incredibly loud off screen to the movies with sound when the least kind of noise could harm the whole shooting process.
I didn't like Babylon's ending but it was entirely because I couldn't see it while I was fighting an epileptic attack on the cinema, they reeeeally need too warn people with photsensitivity of flashing lights, especially constant red and blue flashing lights combined with loud music. Otherwise I loved the movie.
Chazelle is a weird director for me, as his career goes on his films becoming less interesting in a way. I haven't seen Babylon as of yet but the reviews from critics and from film fans who've seen it, it feels like it's going to be split down the middle but I wasn't that crazy on First Man and I liked La La Land but wasn't in love with it. I still think Whiplash is one of the best movies made in last 22 years, just a excellent piece of cinema with one of the great endings. The more I see of his films the more I think he works better with smaller films that aren't as overly ambitious. But you got to admire the ambition and it does look like it was shot with a lot of love and care, at over 3hrs it's got to be great to warrant that time and from this review and many others it doesn't seem like it was. Can't wait to see it as Brad Pitt is always a great watch and Margot Robbie always gives it 100% even if the films aren't always great.
That's my feeling on his work as well. Whiplash is perfect, La La Land is well crafted with a couple of excellent sequences, First Man is a bog standard biopic with a couple of great scenes. His stuff seems to get less interesting as it goes on.
Yes, whiplash was amazing and I think you are spot on about working with a smaller crew. Babylon made me feel like I was on salvia for three hours. I am typically a huge fan of avant garde cinema but this film felt like an overly funded student movie. I’m not sure you will like Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt in this. I think they were terribly casted. It feels like they walked into it like you would a Christopher Guest movie. I know they were doing and saying stuff but for some reason I am remembering them as like drunk tap dancers or something. It felt like there was no foreground and everything is in the background, but shot like everything is in the foreground. This whole movie just felt like it was made by AI
This is exactly how I feel about Chazelle as a filmmaker. Whiplash was truly excellent. La La Land was okay and First Man was kind of a bland biopic. I'm not sure if I have much interest in seeing Babylon since it looks like a another tribute to old Hollywood type of film but I may watch it eventually.
I think it's as simple as the fact that at a certain point people get tired of watching Hollywood stroke itself in a mirror for hours. No matter how well-made or gorgeous your movie is, the "movie about movies" thing just gets really old after a while
Agreed. Im a huge film buff and I tend to hate movies like this, LaLaLand, Singin in the Rain etc. Theres just something so self-congratulatory about them and with what we know about hollywood's seedy underbelly, it rings especially hollow.
I like the approach to the story, mostly seeing the history of the film industry. I like the multi perspective of an actor who had his highs only to end up a has been to the new innovations and progressive ideas where he tries to thrive but was out of his element, I like seeing Margot Robbie’s character from a woman who wanted to be a star only to end up a cautionary tale of the industry’s harsh and cruel environment and the stress it has on someone, I like the immigrant journey where Manny tries to make it be a part of something only to become one of the people who look down on him and even made a racist and uncomfortable request of a black musician to darken his skin all for a woman he loves but obviously has baggage and problems that she constantly suffers through. This movie doesn’t try to do anything new in terms of analyzing the practices of the entertainment and film industry but I like how it presents through different perspectives even showing us uncomfortable situations and imagery, it might be over exaggerating but the film is good to me at least not as good as Whiplash but still good. I wanted to see something besides the blockbusters that came out and just watch an artist at work from movies like NOPE and The Whale just a movie where filmmakers tell a story that is not an event or another generic superhero movie or reboot.
Yeah this is going to be one for me, it'll strike the same chord as Fear and Loathing did, constant stream of excess and depravity followed by the scathing ugly truth, I shall be seeing this when it releases.
Except fear and loathing had narration and brief moments of normal clarity. Fear and Loathing had a basic plot. This would be the equivalent of fear and loathings caraousel scenes, without hallucinations, for three hours.
I work in the film industry… this movie made me so anxious, I had to watch it over 3 days. It gave me nightmares the first 2 nights. The way it was filmed, the truth and realism, how accurate certain parts are… it was a lot. I enjoyed it, but I’m certain I will never watch it again.
I think you have the ability in this movie to see people who are sad because they don’t have what they want, and people who are sad because they’ve squandered what they had, which is what they wanted. It’s a true dive into motivations and morals I think.
Reading reviews people either love or hate this movie. What struck out the most was the ending. It was very experimental and almost arthouse to me. I think the ending wasn't there to really say something, but to let you feel something. And the fact that film can do that, makes it an art. (in my opinion) :)
I didn't think Damien was "glorying behind the scenes debauchery" nor entertainer "exploitation" If anything, the director did a great job giving "Babylon" it's name in that a shell of magnificence bears inside grime. This "exploitation" of workers in Hollywood in common in EVERY industry, but when Hollywood pokes it face as character media, you cannot help but feel an appropriate empathy for the cast...& crew. It is emotionally connected to on-screen faces in theatrical charades of overcoming adversity.
I think if the film had put it’s focus more on Manny and his perspective on the people within his world rather than extend itself to the different characters then it would have been interesting. It would have helped the film to not only focus itself on something but also give the diverse characters an anchor to play off of. Babylon’s main issues are it’s run time and it’s focus on the plot itself. I think Chazelle was able to blend the chaos of Hollywood culture with the magic of filmmaking perfectly but then slowly lost grip after the sophisticated party scene. At that point things seem to go the route of most Chazelle films in which the story and the characters start tripping and spiraling out of control before hitting rock bottom once again.
I enjoyed listening to your view on Babylon, but I can't fully agree. I loved the movie. Yes, it may be chaotic and nonsense, but I think it was Chazelle's intention: to show what is really Hollywood and its development throughout the years. I particularly liked watching this movie in the cinema, manly the last scene (with all the montages!). This movie really upped my mood, i don't know... I just know that I left the cinema with a smile on my face and a good mood. Also, I don't think it was too long... I liked every scene and I think it added something to the movie. And, of course, as you said, the three protagonists (actually, all the cast...) did an amazing job. I didn't know Diego Calva, but I hope to see him more times in big movies like this. One thing that's very bad in Babylon and that I just thought about today (because I saw an youtube video about it - Come Watch TV) is its marketing. Lastly, and also because I saw an UA-cam video (Mina Lee's one about the oscars best costume award), the costumes, even though very beautiful in my opinion, weren't historically accurate... which I believe that, since this is a movie about a certain period, makes the movie worse. But well, I liked it and I'd recommend it to everyone that likes cinema. This is a movie about the cinema industry, with loads of great references, so for every cinema lovers out there: watch it! :)
So let me get this straight. The director saw this geman show called "Babylon Berlin" and thought "Let me do the same. I'll even steal the title." And he made this. A jazzy old time Hollywood fever dream. Man I can't wait to see this movie.
I find that those who disliked the film only seem to comment on its excessiveness and missed its purpose in the film (spoilers): Jack Conrad's primary focus was on the art of film, to the point where the only time he could have a stable marriage was when his glory days were over. Nellie LaRoy is full of glitz and glam because talent alone doesn't turn heads. Manny Torres had to literally endure elephant poop just to get into the doors of showbiz because of his marginalisation. Despite rising up, he couldn't even find time for his old friend Jack. He even forced Sidney Palmer to change his appearance if he wanted to stay in the game. Restraint is important, but this movie isn't complete without the "unpleasantry" of Hollywood. Otherwise, it's just a film about some people. It's also ironic how movies that comment on Hollywood like Babylon and Nope don't get appreciation from Hollywood. Edit: typo
I liked _Babylon_ a lot. The party scenes seem to be an homage to the party scenes in von Sternberg's _The Devil Is a Woman_ and _Dishonored_ . The word "orgy" seems to be used a lot when describing it, but I only remember one couple actually having sex on screen. Maybe my memory is faulty or I was just focused on different things on the screen, but I watched it twice. I felt the party scenes were mostly just dancing. I think where it goes wrong is the lack of focus. It's a bit all over the place in its messaging (the movies are great and important, but the movie industry itself is the worst). I do agree that it might have been better as a TV series in order to develop its messages more thoroughly.
It had the sense of a roman orgy. The pure debauchery was heavily implied. To Me it reminded me of an eyes wide shut party. Sorta like how the knife is never shown Slicing flesh in psycho.
I loved this movie. After watching everything everywhere all at once I thought to myself: this is gonna be the movie of the year for me, but then I saw Babylon. It is truly a masterpiece, Justin Hurwitz’s catching music, the cinematography, the characters and the overall experience. For me it was first time I went to the cinema alone (19), and there was like 9 others there, but still Babylon made me feel something special. I couldn’t care less about the other audience. I could av been alone in the room. The amount of details and Intertextuality is incredible. And you get that satisfaction when you are able to catch multiple references. My last year of high school I had this big project where I analyzed La La Land and it’s Intertextuality. After watching a dozen musicals and classic Hollywood movies, you truly begin to admire Damien Chazzeles work. La La Land went from a 9/10 to a solid 10/10 after all the time i put into the movie. I’m telling you guys this because of all the time I spent analyzing La La Land made be understand a lot of Babylons references and it’s tribute to Hollywood. Chazelle is a genius and I can’t wait to see more from him. Before you comment this, let me just excuse my English and the overall flow of this text. I wrote it on my phone and I am not a native English speaker.
Another thing that seems rarely commented on is just how fucking *funny* the film is! Lots of legitimate, uproarious laughs! ("Who wants to see my dad wrestle a snake?!" and the perfectly paced and executed sight gag of the camera guy dropping dead out of the booth like a jack-in-the-box.) I have a taste for the bizarre and this film was many things, among which was bizarre. And just so many allusions to cinema history (Joe Gillis face down in the pool; the very opening scene (I think it was) made me think of Chinatown, where the kid comes by on the horse, and of course so many more...) It's a move for people who love movies, in so many ways. And I LOVE the bit where the Diego Calva and Margot Robbie characters meet and the Calva character flies into a breathless ecstasy talking about film: "People get shot and the die but they don't really die! They're not really dead!" God, I just loved that. So many moments like that that just kept me entranced. And feeling all sorts of stuff even though ostensibly, it was a hedonistic, showy, vacuous romp. And so much of the film was all of those things and yet still I felt things.
I liked this film but don't think it was good enough to pull off that ending montage. Could have done without Toby's character and the snake scene and had more on developing Conrad instead
Babylon is a masterpiece, Chazelle's greatest film and one of the great American movies. Over time, it will gain the reputation it deserves just like Night of the Hunter.
I like my movies to be brief, to the point and have clean editing that makes lean storytelling. BUT...if there's a movie about indulgence and its made in an indulgent way, I'm there for that also. Babylon turns it up to 11 and that's the way I accept it. I loved it...and it also didn't commit one of the biggest movie sins, which is to be boring.
I agree in so many points yet, If I had to see again any of Chazelle's movies, BABYLON would be my one to go back to by far. Yes, it is probably 30 minutes too long, not that it felt long at the time, and yes, I feel once it goes down to a TV screen size much of the magic will be gone, this is because there is definitely magic in it. The Rise and fall or individuals and a lifestyle, the idea that all beauty gets corrupted and the failure to adapt to changes is just a piece of truth on the movie. The Darkness of the story starts with a bang, its first scene which seems to be coming out of a Robert Rodriguez road bar Mexico, and then pics up again as the stories evolve from the beauty of the rise in the industry to its fall (to many) as the end of silent cinema show a s new rise to some and a end of the road to others, and I feel that end scene attempts to put us at easy normalizing it all up! The score is wonderful and all stories work (at least for me) with fabulous performances.
The silver-lining in this movie's financial failure: Chazelle's next movie will probably have a much lower budget, which in turn will force him to deliver a much-more focused movie. Many directors have followed-up large-scale bombs with smaller-scale classics.
Where "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" felt like a love-letter to 50's and 60's Hollywood, this movie felt like hot, passionate french kissing with 20's and 30's cinema followed by grief when you realize she was only ever a one-night stand. A lot of people didn't like it for the chaos and vulgarity but that's how the real world is and was, unfettered, unfiltered, unrestrained. It's a molotov cocktail made of expensive strawberry champagne and a motor-oil soaked dirty dish rag, and it's thrown directly at the viewer's face. This movie brings out the worst kind of critic in me, because I think it's phenomal and there are brief flashes where I have to force myself not to call people philistines for disagreeing.
But why would you think about calling people phillistines anyway? The movie is a chaotic deconstruction of Hollywood sure but it's not intelligent to stoop down that low.
@@gimmeyourrights8292 Did you not read the words "This movie brings out the worst kind of critic in me" that come immediately prior to "I have to force myself not to call people philistines?" Like, it's right there. I genuinely do not understand the point of this reply.
Hollywood needs this movie, even if its not ready for it. props to Chazelle for full sending with the most in demand actors of the day. I think this will be a classic in the future
After hearing the line "it's like if Federico Fellini snorted an elephant trunk size line of coke and directed Eyes Wide Shut" I immediately subscribed :D
I finally streamed the movie, and I thought it captured the essence of the Wild West of young Hollywood. It should have been split into two movies or, as suggested on this video, as a limited series because it was too intense to watch it in one sitting.
I haven't seen the filmed as I've been repelled by the comments of "indulgence and dbatchery, coupled with its length". And of course there has been some debate that it is not historically accurate. Your review, out of the few that I've seen, is the one that inspires me to see it. And the black and white still frame of Margot Robbies face is magnetic, complicated, troubled. Haunting. I haven't seen her in a film for a while, but from that image, I may very well see it. It is hard to fathom her immense talent. But like I said, I haven't seen her in a film fir a while.
I hope chazelle moves from artistic love letter films (as great as whiplash was) to more original ideas. I feel like he's going down the path Tarantino did, which is essentially film genre masterbation.
I have a feeling that this movie will have a reappraisal in a few years. This type of movie reminds me of the films in the later years of the New Hollywood era. Some of the films from that era, like, New York, New York, 1941, and Sorcerer, were negatively received, both financially and critically, but they eventually found reappraisal years later.
I didn't have a lot of expectations going in and it was really good. Unfortunately the showtimes were cut so I went at 9pm and dozed off for a few minutes. The ending was puzzling, but it was really enjoyable to see- what I saw as- a heartfelt proclamation of the love of cinema. Overall, very good performances all around, good lighting and sound, the pace was pretty good with character development slowing down the chaotic scenes, definitely a good one for the silver screen
Who did this? Stumbled across this review, with no previous awareness of its creator. It is so beautifully written, the video is not even necessary. I was wildly impressed by Babylon, but even more so by this analysis. Bravo to the person who made it.
It feels like the unnecessary criticism is from industry people who were exposed by the film. The shallow, prideful, deceitful and power-hungry are put on blast, the ugliness put on full display probably makes them uncomfortable. For me it looks like any Tuesday in LA.
My first ever experience of going to the movies by myself included me watching this film off an edible. I loved it, and the empty theater to myself made it better
a letterbox review said it absolutely perfectly, "Chazelle is more in love with the size of the canvas than anyone on it." he clearly had a picture, just nothing close to a story anyone would care about.
Babylon felt like a weird concoction/mix of Magnolia, The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Cinema Paradiso, La La Land (shocking, I know), and a bit of every Kubrick movie all rolled into one film that is worse than everything it was inspired by. But it’s still extremely well made, it just needed much more editing and a much tighter script.
They actually had a more concise version of this film but Chazelle pushed for a lengthier final film. And it’s one of the best edited films to come out of the big studio system in the last 20 years.
I've always thought of Babylon as a love letter to cinema and a suicide note to Hollywood, which are two very distinct things imo.
Did you hear that on the panel? “Always” is funny…
@@territorialtea747 Well, I should've specified that from the moment the movie finished, that was my stance on what it was going for.
@@territorialtea747 😂
I think you hit the nail on the head and that’s why I loved it. It’s everything.
Indeed!!
I love how every review for Babylon is like “The performances are outstanding, the cinematography and music are incredible, the themes and plot are bombastic and indulgent and it’s Damian Chazelle most ambitious movie, oh yeah it sucks btw
Those are fair criticisms though. There has to be substance and not just style.
Because Hail Caesar and Singing in the rain exists.
Its like a marriage of both.
I like it. Its not a masterpiece though. But he swung for the fences.
💯
Those were the same reviews on don't worry darling (besides the performance from Harry). Yet it was still a bad movie. Style doesn't make a movie perfect, it's flaws can really hurt the movie like it did with this one
It’s the same with way of water to be honest
I'd far rather sit through a good-director-having-a-bad-film-day, than the predictable, commercial offerings, more widely available. Thanks for reviewing 'Babylon'. It is a flawed film in many ways, but it is interesting, and worth the watch.
Well said, and on your first point I definitely agree. Thank you for watching!
This wasn’t a bad film though. Not as good as Whiplash and La La Land but still good
@@dahcoconut926 No, it really isn't - there just seemed something 'off' about the script (?), the ending (?), possibly some moral lesson that just escaped me (or, was too obvious?), or maybe, I simply wanted even more of a Kenneth-Anger-Hollywood-Babylon thing - but, it was still far more interesting than much of what I see on offer. There are just those directors, actors, cinematographers, whose work you approach, feeling fairly assured of seeing something worth your time. :)
@@dahcoconut926 I couldnt sit thruh la la land turned me off about 20 mins in unrelatable characters and boring improv music numbers but I loved every minute of Whiplash though. I think of the director as a one time wunderkid
"Who banked rolled this?" Exactly my thoughts while watching this... WTF was he thinking? This movie should have been about Robbie's character and the female director. Their sequences together are true cinematic GOLD! THATS the movie....but its BURIED in nonsense. Its a Tarantinoesque MESS.
This is a movie where it’s “flaws” are for me it’s positives. I don’t need more character development like I would want in other movies. These characters reflect how we would look back on someone living a hundred years later. We mostly see their high points in life and then see how they ended up. Manny has perhaps the most backstory, but he’ll be forgotten in time.
Well freaking said 👏
Your right man we only see the beginning and ending we never see the middle
This reminds me of something Tyler Durden said in Fight Club, and it feels present in this movie: self improvement is masturbation. Now self destruction...
@@user-rt7vo5fr8e Kindly note that your use of "your" should be "you're" as in "you are".
Kindly note that your two possessive uses of "it's" should be "its".
I wasn’t impressed by the trailers, was turned off by the reviews, and hadn’t expected to go see it anytime soon if at all, but went on a whim after someone who couldn’t make their screening offered me their ticket for free. I fully expected to walk out part way through once I’d had my fill, my only inkling of hope lied with Damien Chazelle.
3 hours and 9 minutes later I felt drained, but blown away by the incredible experience I had so hastily stumbled upon. It’s one of the most bombastic films I’ve ever seen and its world and characters absolutely gripped my attention from start to finish. Best cinematic experience of the year for me, I might even go watch it again.
Definitely agree! It's one of the top 3 cinematic experiences of the year for me. Flaws and all, it's a much more exciting movie than the perfectly crafted but predictable Top Gun Maverick, for example.
Same here! I love it so so much
same!
I agree. A wonderful expérience, a beautiful depiction of the era, great acting, great editing, great music..
I actually loved it - I don’t understand the hate.. best film I’ve seen recently
I think the message of the film is made immediately clear from the opening scene and then by Jack Conrad's drunken monologue the next morning -- Film is a great art form but is bogged down by the industry and callous nature of the people in it, and yet, people look to the big screen as a place of hope in spite of it all. Damien is clearly asking the question, "is it worth it?" I don't understand how people are misunderstanding that in droves lol
God point. "Is it worth it" is defiantly a big theme in the movie.
because everybody isnt you and you are not everybody. what i dont get is how you people run away from individualism so much. "i think like this and cant get why others dont cause everyone is the same robot in the matrix" sigh humans
@@serenityq26 Such is art and humanities...
Nailed it..
No one looks to 'the big screen' for hope. That is pretentious garbage, and filmmakers overinflating their value to society. In fact, Hollywood causes far more harm via pushing of mass degeneracy. Wow, such hope
That shot of Nellie walking into the darkness is so poetic it overcomes any lack of development I thought was missing
Bruh I got so bummed out when she did that
I think that’s kind of the point. She knew she was never going to change so there wasn’t really any need for her to have any character development. She’s been the same since we first met her.
Meh, that shot is a corny, incredibly on-the-nose metaphor about some stars shining bright for a moment and then “going dark” just as fast as they appeared. It’s not bad, it’s just nowhere near as original or praiseworthy as you’re hyping it up to be.
@@t.k.1319 I actually didn’t read it that way on my first viewing. I felt the metaphor was more so what Elinor was describing in her monologue to Jack; there are people who trap themselves in the spotlight of the burning house and people who find a way to survive in the dark. Unlike jack in the end who couldn’t bear to live in that darkness, Elinor came to peace with herself. Even though she died, her stepping into the dark was her accepting that her time in the spotlight was over so she could end her story authentically.
@@t.k.1319 we got the edgy different kid over here
I hate that box office bomb negates whether the film was good. This film will find an audience on streaming after award season. I loved it, bit long and confusing but completely riveting.
Scorsese feels the same way.
awful, horrible marketing campaign.
@@bztrd80 it had a great campaign in the beginning, and then it's like they gave up. Never saw the trailer pop up again after Christmas.
@@wisco9er536 well, marketing budgets aren’t a joke. Was either not enough, either somebody put a big chunk of that in his own pocket. Once upon a time in Hollywood had an insane amount of marketing, They played all the cards possible and usually Tarantino himself is also very involved in all the aspects.
Fight Club bombed, too. :D
Saw it at the cinema, at instantly loved it.
Absolutely one of the best films of the year for me. I am so glad it showed how old Hollywood was horrible for everyone involved and how the general audience had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. Honestly, I saw a lot to take away in this film and it was fantastic the whole way through for me.
I feel the same. Most underrated film I've seen. Absolutely amazing. Quite possibly one of the best films I've seen.
Could you expand on this a little more? I’m very open minded to plotless, provocative movies but really hated this one. I’m thinking of films like Holy Mountain and Gummo, which I consider to be important films, but I cannot credit this film similarly. I think the main dagger in my throat was the rapid editing and constant tracking shots, which would have worked well if there was a plot. Scorsese has a similar montage structure but he counter balances it with narration and slower paced moments so that I can process the plot of the movie. If Babylon had just chilled a little bit with with more static shots to breath in the scenery I probably would have liked it. The humor felt autistic. No character build up to achieve comedic delivery. Like the pointless snake scene for instance. It almost seemed like the script was written by AI after processing Kenneth angers book. Perhaps this was Chazzeles attempt to make a three hour drum solo but with visuals. Or maybe the point was to make you feel like you are in bad drugs like a Kenneth anger short film, however extended as a 3 hour DW Griffith disaster. I also don’t think big named actors like Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt were experimental minded enough to deliver an avant garde experience. They acted like they would in a rom com. Anyways, this is quite the opposite of my favorite movie. I also watched it hung over Christmas Day, so I should re watch it. But the whole thing gave me a massive panic attack. We all walked out about 2 hours in with the same attitude feeling tortured. Only other movie that made me feel that way was probably Pink Flamingo, but even that I was able to watch all the way through.
@@jazzmidiclub1269 I completely disagree with all of this honestly. I was actually worried it wouldn’t have a coherent plot but it actually had a plot I really enjoyed. Sure, the editing is crazy but calling this movie plotless makes no sense. It is told in a chronological order and talks about how Nelly becomes famous and all that comes from that newfound game, how Manny goes from a lower-class worker to the executive of a movie studio and how that subsequently makes him have to do things he doesn’t morally agree with. How Sidney is just a player at a party but gets to taste the fame due to his great playing, but compounded with the race issues at the time. How Jack Conrad falls from grace due to sound coming into cinema and him not being able to actually act. To be honest, this had a really straightforward plot that shows all of our characters grow into higher positions but discusses the negative side of working in Hollywood at that time. How people believe it’s such a beautiful thing but it was actually a really horrible time. There were comedic moments but this movie didn’t really feel like it was trying to be a comedy, rather show how all of the characters were broken in some way or the other, even though it seemed like they didn’t care at the start. They are stuck in a horrible system. I just loved that they didn’t glamorize Hollywood while still showing a love for the craft of movies themselves, despite the industry being horrible.
In regards to the snake scene, I didn’t really see it as comedic despite it being shot that way. We had an entire buildup of her growing more upset with her fame and people talking shit about her, but the party scene is her last straw once her own dad talks shit about her. She wants him to own up to that story because she knows it’s a lie. Once he passed out and his story is confirmed false, she tries to do it herself to kind of prove a point and put her foot down. She’s extremely reckless and gambles with her life at a moment’s notice. There were so many moments where little things that were said or shown about her come back into play.
Also there were a few scenes that were shot chaotically and fast paced, but there were actually tons of scenes that delivered levity and narrative. I honestly don’t see how someone thinks the movie is plotless. And I certainly disagree that the acting wasn’t good enough as Margot Robbie blew me away here.
It’s not a masterpiece and it has flaws but to me, it was a beautifully haunting and tragic story about a different kind of lifetime that people lived, and getting to be part of that crazy lifestyle was insane. Again, I just really like how we found out how all the characters were broken in different ways.
This is just my opinions and perspective on it, but you did ask me to elaborate. The final sequence of the progression of movies at the end really emphasized all the sacrifice that it took to get movies where they are today.
Not to mention the score, which IS a masterpiece.
@@nileshollowthorn thought this was perfectly worded my dude. Have been out of the theater for the last 2 hours and I can’t stop thinking about this. Especially someone like me who plans to be in this industry soon. The romanticism within Hollywood is due to the camera that presses play. But this is such a groundbreaking perspective on everything that goes down once it’s off. I’m in disbelief honestly. Chazelle has never missed for me and I hope he never does
@@nileshollowthorn thanks for that. I’m going to re watch it. I think I went in thinking I wouldn’t like it because of the trailer. And I can admit some of my gripes were nit picky to begin with, which probably distorted my ability to process the plot. I sort of knew all of those story lines were happening, but never felt absorbed. Probably the reason I had a panic attack when watching it was that it felt kinda claustrophobic. It never felt characters left that location. Reminded me of walking through a very crowded fair. That’s not to say that a crowded fair means a bad film, necessarily. In fact, many of my dreams take place in gigantic areas with a lot of sprawling people. So I’m not sure what my biggest turn off was. I recently watched the whale and I liked that a lot, but others say it made them feel claustrophobic- which I didn’t feel. I think the older I get the more I appreciate a story and an actors ability to show me the inside of that character. I just never felt an honest feeling from any character in that movie. I know I’ve been impressed by Margot Robbie before, but there’s something about her cartoon 30s accent that really turns me off. I couldnt watch Harley Quinn for that same reason. I might also have an older movie bias. I prefer the simplicity of 70s/90s thrillers, with less emphasis on the editing/multicam and more emphasis on acting, story and dialogue. I’ve noticed with many modern oscar bait films, especially the ones packed with big name actors- that I have a hard time following the story. The trailer Amsterdam appears to be this way. Knives Out. Judas and the black Messiah, don’t look up, Chicago 7: those were all movies that most people loved but I couldn’t understand structurally. I’m still figuring out what they all had in common, if any. For me to not follow dialogue typically means I couldn’t care about the characters
Just saw this movie. Felt like an acid trip and I felt dazed but at the same felt the love of film in it. Loved it.
A top tier movie. Misunderstood, as for now. But hey, can't blame blind people for not understanding it, movies require vision !
I'm still amazed by the experience i had yesterday !
@@mellifluente It's awful, but beautiful movie. Not something in between, but everything at once. Its a masterpiece, but it's a trash. It's a metaphor without meaning. I love it, but I hate it. And so do you, don't you?
@@faseplay. there is, for sure, a dichotomy between glory and despair, brightness and repulse, but that dichotomy itself is a loving one regarding cinema. a metaphor with a lot of meaning, but about something meaningless, us humans....
@@faseplay. and also, i wouldn't say that i hate that feeling. quite the oppostie : things that are everything all at once tend to fascinate me, cause they're closest to the reality we live in ! Nothing is black or white, everything is black and white and red and pink etc !
It’s going to be a beloved classic in 20 years. Few films really create a reason to leave the house. This one is worthy of your time. It’s a true masterpiece.
It’s absolute chaos in a beautiful and horrifying way. It’s movie magic to the extreme.
Shut up bot..
For sure, i felt as if this movie will be the future and will be appreciated in the future…. Someone has to switch it up and he did.
@@thanosmaster-abel559 Another bot trying to hype trash film. Be gone paid for bot
Not really, people won't remember this movie the same way no one remembers La La whatever that movie was
Babylon feels like the type of movie to receive harsh criticism in it's present, but slowly evolve into cinema classic status as time flies by. Given the conversation about immortality you discussed, these predictions I make unironically feel tied to the movie's theme. I haven't seen Babylon yet, but it's legacy feels similar to a story I've heard before: a movie made out of the blue receives bombarded opinions (think American Psycho or The Wolf of Wall Street) but it's rollercoaster of a cinematic experience will prove itself the winner through time.
I feel like The Irishman is another example of such a movie
Shawshank Redemption comes to mind as a heavily criticised contemporary work, but a legendary masterpiece that would define our culture in the present
Lol what Wolf of Wall Street was immediately loved right after its release. Has great critic ratings. Babylon and American Psycho though, yes. 100%
@Stono the problem with The Irishman was that it was released to a bunch of Netflix fans. The types of people who scroll through their amazing catalog and say "ughh there's nothing to watch"
@@wisco9er536 Scorsese struggled with funding for his movies after Wolf of Wall Street. After years of trying hard, he finally got Netflix to invest. I think he didn't have much of a choice. The dude is retired now
I felt like Sidney and Lady Fay's storylines really deserved to be in their own movie. Manny's, Nelly's and Jack's storylines kind of starved theirs of oxygen
Amen!
This movie didn’t care at all about anyone but the main men. They didn’t care at all to give anyone else actual characters or storylines. They were just interested in patting themselves on the back
I felt like Sidney was a token black jazz musician who exists solely because La la land was criticized for the lack of one.
But the movie was about those who will ride & die for Cinema,
Palmer & Fay were self sufficient and left when the ride got rough.
@@gabriellaberman Just like Hollywood in general then huh. Ever think that might be a metaphor...
my expectations were low to begin with so although it was definitely murky and chaotic to say the least, i thoroughly enjoyed it. i found it really easy to empathize with the characters. i rejoiced with every triumph and god did i feel every crushing blow. i cried when it was over lmao, i went in truly blind and i was overcome with emotion by the end.
I cried when it was over, too-but not until I got to the rest room urinal!
I’m glad I didn’t take your advice to “steer clear of this movie”. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was quite impressed with the editing & production design.
Though I never went to film school, I’ve been working in the motion picture industry for over 30 years. When I’m not busy working, I am watching films at cinemas and on DVDs. I also attend film festivals. Though I’m a filmworker not a filmmaker, I do intend to direct eventually. Until I do, I continue learning the craft more, which includes watching feature films like this one.
HM, founder Highway Cinema
Most headlines I read about this movie are that "Margot Robbie's new movie bombed" or "Another bomb or setback for Margot Robbie" like they're persistent that it's her fault the film bombed. You never hear "Brad Pitt's new movie bombed " it's mostly always the female lead that takes the bullet for a film performing poorly at the boxoffice. Just saying...🤔🤔🤔🤨
Brad Pitt isn't in his prime anymore. No one's going to blame him. He has been talking about retirement for a while but continuing to work as long they hire him.
Margot Robbie is still in her prime so naturally shr would be focus if movie bombs.
@@gabbar51ngh It's been pretty much the Brad Pitt show throughout every red carpet worldwide leading to the premier & even in the advertisement. But the minute it bombs, he runs & somehow stays away from the headlines. They definitely used her as the scapegoat & placed almost complete blame on her.
While I 100% agree with you that there is a sexist bias in the media, and that Women are far more likely to be blamed for a movie's failure than Men, there is some missing context to your example:
Margot Robbie was Forbes' highest-paid actress in the world in 2019. Since then, her last 4 live-action movies *in a row* have failed to turn a profit, even including Worldwide Box Office (after budget, theater splits and marketing costs): Birds of Prey, The Suicide Squad, Amsterdam and now Babylon. 4 losses in a row with her as the lead actress.
Meanwhile, in 2022 alone, Brad Pitt has been in 2 movies that both made $100 Million each domesticatally, and also each at least broke even or made it into profitability after final Worldwide Box Office.
So to mention Brad Pitt compared to Margot Robbie's current Hollywood slump is a bit like comparing Apples-to-Oranges. Sexism is real, and must not be tolerated, but there's a bit more to back up those headlines, at least in this situation.
She will probably have a huge hit with Barbie this year, so she will bounce back.
@@jaygarcia8508 Every movie teaser, trailer and snippet or advertisement put Margot Robbie first not him. I very much doubt doing promotion of his movie equates to "Brad Pitt show". He's an older established star so naturally he would have a presence even if he doesn't have the same pull in audience.
It's the media and public themselves claiming her movies are flopping. The studios are still giving her work. So I don't really buy the "scapegoat" claim. It's not like she's out of work or she's officially being labelled as that by any major studio.
Pitt has given his due to Hollywood. He can make straight duds and no one would Question him. It's less to do with male vs female and more to do with the fact Margot is having flops in her prime.
@@gabbar51ngh why? Tom cruise is still considered at his prime Brad Pitt should too if he’s starting in such a big movie.
I knew that Paramount had handed Chazelle almost one hundred million to pull this project together, and I've been following along reading bits & pieces about the production for well over a year.
My takeaway and your analysis of this film are quite similar.
I had family members who were in the Industry during this time, and I have worked for one of the Majors for almost forty years, so one of my interests was on the historical level.
I watched it in a theater for all of the obvious reasons, especially to experience Linus Sandgeen's minutes long Tracking Shots.
Art Direction, Sound Design, Music Score, and Wardrobe : There's a lot to take in.
This film, for me, will need a few more viewings.
I always look forward to your videos and appreciate your perspective on current releases.
And I appreciate you watching and sharing your take, Michael!
This film made me fall in love with cinema all over again, while at the same time providing a bittersweet goodbye. This really felt like a farewell to the cinema as we know it. The Golden Age of Movies has come to an end, thanks to streaming.
That was a golden age? LOL.
But its also condemning hollywood excess right? So maybe its good if the industry moves away from ghe old wats
Loved it, loved the ending. Enjoyed it more on the second viewing. Wish it would've been presented in episodic format, as you mentioned; that was a good observation. Viewer fatigue does set in. But overall, though it was an exceptionally high quality movie, especially the Toby McGaguire underground sequence - had me absolutely riveted. A-
Honestly for the movie is a one time watch. The experience is great but I would not watch it a second time
@@Supremelord-hq9og totally respect your opinion. I liked the ending better upon a second viewing. The first time it took me by surprise (and took me out of the movie), the second time I just appreciated the artistry of it all; an epic "meta" montage.
Agree would have been a great mini series I would have liked to have known the characters more especially Nellie and Manny
I feel like the acts transitioned well, but I’d say the beginning and ending were far better than the middle act which dragged on a bit
I love how they used Tobey Maguire! I felt that he was misused as an actor in the past. They put way too much emphasis on needing him to act big, so when he does, it takes me out of the movies he is in. Not this movie, though. The role feels like it’s made for Tobey Maguire, he’s basically the combination of a spoiled rich kid and a psychopath.
The movie had moments but I agree with you for the most part. Damian took a wild chance and I can't hate him for that. I'll continue to rush to theaters to see his work because he's a breath of fresh air in today's movie world.
Yes, in theory an artist can live forever in their art but that's only if their art survives and lives on. About 80% of those silent films are lost and almost just as many of the early talking films are lost too. We know names and legends of some of the great flicks from that time but sadly no copies survived.
That why so many artist strive to be the best of the best.
That's why preservation is very key
@@Rlrlrl1962 no, that's why you shouldn't dedicate your whole existence to one thing
@@MadameCorgi different people want different things, if you just want to live a normal mediocre life that up to you. Many creative artists could never want that so they strive to be the best because sadly a lot times art is only recognized as art when admired by many
My only problem with the movie is that there was a lot of moments in the movie where it felt like it was going to end and it just kept going and it really just felt like a loop and also it felt like one of those movies that added a bunch of random crazy stuff to make seem like it was a great movie but nonetheless I’d give it a 7/10
The only time I felt that was when Margot Robbie walked off into the darkness.
It’s a mess and I loved it. All the technical stuff was great and Manny, Nellie andJack are some of my favorite characters in any movie this year and several supporting characters stood out too. It’s a love letter to cinema while showing how messed up Hollywood was/is. And like all Chazelle movies it’s a great story of ambitious people and what they have to go through to achieve their dreams.
The film makes a big deal out of sound coming to movies. From the documentaries of the "silent era" I've watched, synchronized sound (for sound effects) was around well before 1927 and the Jazz Singer(which wasn't even a full talkie film) and no one talked about silent films then, just movies. The first "talkies" wheren't that great cause the sound equipment was poor and heavy. Older films could use moving cameras more freely. Sadly many of the silent era films are lost now so we rarely can experience them now.
THIS MOVIE WAS AMAZING!!!! Singing in the rain is one of my top films and I was loving all the homages, then THEY SHOW TO MOVIE AT THE END AND TIE IT ALL TOGETHER AND I CRIED IT WAS AMAZING
The movie "was" amazing or it "is" amazing? Kindly note that one comes across as a stronger and more credible writer by composing in the present tense than in the past tense.
@@Russell-rc6qq Get out, RuSsEl.
Everyone talking about how "hard" it was for the poor actors in that time period. Forgetting how hard that time period was for people in general.
Can someone give Margo Robbie a role which doesn’t require her to play a Harley Quinn type character. Feel like I’ve seen it all before.
I think the only big problem of this movie, asides from the other smaller ones, is the runtime: 3 hours is too much for this type of movie where a lot of stuff happens on a very high pace. After 2 hours in, you're coming from a funny, crazy and overwhelming mind trip and find yourself in another hour, more or less, of a deep drama that requires for you to still focus on the plot: I really struggled, not because I was bored, because I didn't have mental energies anymore.
Like a friend of mine told me: it was like you had a long and delicious meal with a lot of dishes and someone came with a giant slice of a delicious cake. It's not that you don't like that cake, you just can't have it right now.
Margot was great but some inconsistencies...like she says she hates her home yet she brings home with her. Hired her dad and went to visit her mom. I know with the Marilyn Monroe story she hated home and everything she was prior so she completely abolished the old her. To me that makes more sense.
Would have liked more with Faye and Sydney.
Run time was very long.
Great video!
I have to say though, "This would've worked better as a limited series" is a baffling statement and makes me want to vomit all over the rug.
I absolutely loved this film. Excessive, audacious movies like this are ALWAYS reviewed this way when they come out. It will age very, very well.
Agreed, a limited series would definitely reshape the film’s central message of happiness through movies.
I loved La La Land and liked very much Wiphlash and Babylon. It's a spectacular experience, not easy to be taken in by everybody (in the cinema I've been, a few people left during the projection). Sometimes it felt poetic and soft other times it felt raw and painful like a head in a wall. I appreciated the cinematography, the humour, the three main characters -yes, addicts but strong personalities, courageous people,maybe more courageous and truthful than many of us nowadays who instead of creating something just have opinions on other's creations. I still have to process it but is that type of movie about which I still think about 3 hours after it finished. And indeed as a cinema lover I agree that I go to movies to watch other live more boldly or to live with the characters for a few hours another life and even to escape my own existence for a few hours. I don't think is the greatest movie ever made (this is subjective anyway) but I think is a great movie. And as an actor watching it is an even deeper experience. It makes you get a glimpse of the "family" history of your art (even if is fiction). Also I have actors friends who gave up this path and I wonder how they would see the movie: would their love for acting and movies be back or would they feel even more convinced that they made a good choice leaving this path?
I know I want to rewatch Babylon, anyway.
I guess for me I’d say I had the opposite experience from what most people had. I enjoyed it because to me it seem like the film was more of a film that just wanted to make you feel like you were there like if you were part of what was going on in the story. Like what the one of the characters said saying he wants to be part of something bigger. And they were. All three of them were part of something bigger. Maybe it might be an overlooked kind of film or it’s just a hit or miss for people ya know? Either way the good and bad feedback for this movie is good because we all know this director made some pretty good movies. But this one wasn’t it for a lot of folk. And some people liked it.
This was such a good movie. Me and my friend just sat there at the end as the message finally came across. Imo one of the best movies of the year, even if it doesn’t get the love it deserves
Normally I wouldn't watch this movie, but because you did a review on it, I will. You're the best critic on all of youtube.
Thank you Ryan! Appreciate your support as always!
This movie is 100% worth the watch I adored every second
go watch it, worth the 3 hours
It's not a love letter to old Hollywood it's a love letter humanity this film was like going through a dense jungle with multiple layers on how different individuals go after their desires via ego and in the process they begin to lose themselves the "love letter to Hollywood is just the backdrop" and the movies that were in the film are just capsules of people's humanity the movie is actually extremely intricate with details one of my favorite scenes was the one at the Rothschild's brunch wear they had to panhandle to the financiers (the ultra rich) that actually pull the strings and they all protests in their own way (the movie is a masterpiece) it's better than Once upon a time in Hollywood
Who let him make this movie so that I can shake that person's hand and say Thank You?
Another fantastic video. I appreciate you giving such a deep and thoughtful dive without spoiling the film.
I appreciate you taking the time to watch the video, Rachel! More videos to come!
it’s a hot mess though i admit it was exciting and mostly enjoyable. Chazele’s status as boy wonder was instrumental in giving him the free hand he got. He simply threw everything up there like a Jackson Pollack painting to see what would emerge. The ending is beyond self indulgent and while the score is great it is far too overwhelming
I like the Jackson Pollack analogy. Nice.
Hated the score! And I rarely complain about a score- the "love theme' was insipid. One thing I don't blame on the director.
I’m so glad this film was so incredible. I have been anticipating this film and Avatar all year. Avatar was kinda boring so I’m so glad this film was a wonderful theatrical experience. I was gripped from the very first scene to the last. It was beautiful!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I loved it too.
I absolutely loved this movie so much. It’s my favorite film so far as of 2022. I may be a bit biased because of my hobby of film making with my friends but I love this film so much.
I loved this movie. The craziness of the movie set was so cool. The visuals were amazing. The anxiety. The story wasn’t tied together well though
in the last few minutes when the camera was paning over the theatre showing the audiences i felt that i was manuel, tears down my cheeks amazed by what im seeing feeling like i was part of something important
I admire and appreciate your measured critique of the film. While mostly unsuccessful as satire, its clearly not as bad as some critics have said. What really brought home "Babylon's" shortcomings, however, was Chazelle's ill-advised decision to effectively "bookend" his film with "Singin' in the Rain." I won't go into more detail than that, except to say it served to emphasize the stark contrast between the two movies in terms of the pure sublimity of the latter Donen dance sequence versus the relative inadequacy of Chazelle's vision that preceded it.
He didn’t know how to end it. It should have ended with the speech pitts character got by the gossip columnists and chekovs gun ending. It said everything the 1953 flashforward.
It would have been a wonderful bookend to the convo they had in the first scene about movie making being the most magical calling anybody could pursue.
But that was the an accurate recreation of the first time the song
Singing In the Rain was filmed (the Babylon character plot points not withstanding). Sound (and color) being used so awkwardly so early and then so brilliantly in a movie a couple decades later making fun of that same awkwardness...plus
Don Lockwood's (and Lena Lamonts) careers Very loosely following people Manny worked with. A film like that bringing Manny to laughter and tears
(and having escaped Babylon to obscurity, but safety for himself and his character). Seems a perfect bookend for director that likes musicals.
By far my favorite film of the year I plan on seeing it a third time no matter what people say. I think this film was masterfully executed by Chazelle I was sitting in that theater fully engaged with the story in no way did it drag out or lose my attention I was sucked in the whole time with the beautiful images. The film turned into a love letter to all of cinema that ending sequence was the greatest thing put to film in the last decade in my opinion. Damian turned a beloved classic such as Singin' In the Rain and sprinkled it with boogie nights and I ate it up.
I totally relate to this revue. The movie made me feel like I had done something exciting and wrong. Almost like a wild night out that began with drinks and ended up dangerous and high risk. Something I would regret the next morning. The underground (Literally and figuratively) club sequence which felt like the layers of hell was so metaphoric , with Toby McGuire's character describing it as both " the most fun! " AND the " axxhole of Los Angeles" was surreal and disturbing, a metaphor for addiction. The participants were chained and tortured to their vices. Somehow you knew that escaping alive was something almost impossible, it was " fighting" a snake. I don't think this movie is for everyone, but, as a former tv/movie professional, and recovering addict, It felt personally relevant. It felt like losing innocence, but Manny did come to redemption, as did the orchestra musician. 😇💀😇💀
This movie dared to dream and stand out that's why the harsh critics......
People complain about how unoriginal every movie is that everything is only MCU and reboot....
Damien Chezelle makes a unique movie about Hollywood about an age which is always glamorized, showing the hell of that beloved age of Hollywood.
From the silent movies era when everything was incredibly loud off screen to the movies with sound when the least kind of noise could harm the whole shooting process.
I didn't like Babylon's ending but it was entirely because I couldn't see it while I was fighting an epileptic attack on the cinema, they reeeeally need too warn people with photsensitivity of flashing lights, especially constant red and blue flashing lights combined with loud music. Otherwise I loved the movie.
I loved the ending, but I agree, they should.
Chazelle is a weird director for me, as his career goes on his films becoming less interesting in a way. I haven't seen Babylon as of yet but the reviews from critics and from film fans who've seen it, it feels like it's going to be split down the middle but I wasn't that crazy on First Man and I liked La La Land but wasn't in love with it. I still think Whiplash is one of the best movies made in last 22 years, just a excellent piece of cinema with one of the great endings. The more I see of his films the more I think he works better with smaller films that aren't as overly ambitious.
But you got to admire the ambition and it does look like it was shot with a lot of love and care, at over 3hrs it's got to be great to warrant that time and from this review and many others it doesn't seem like it was. Can't wait to see it as Brad Pitt is always a great watch and Margot Robbie always gives it 100% even if the films aren't always great.
That's my feeling on his work as well. Whiplash is perfect, La La Land is well crafted with a couple of excellent sequences, First Man is a bog standard biopic with a couple of great scenes. His stuff seems to get less interesting as it goes on.
Yes, whiplash was amazing and I think you are spot on about working with a smaller crew. Babylon made me feel like I was on salvia for three hours. I am typically a huge fan of avant garde cinema but this film felt like an overly funded student movie. I’m not sure you will like Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt in this. I think they were terribly casted. It feels like they walked into it like you would a Christopher Guest movie. I know they were doing and saying stuff but for some reason I am remembering them as like drunk tap dancers or something. It felt like there was no foreground and everything is in the background, but shot like everything is in the foreground. This whole movie just felt like it was made by AI
This is exactly how I feel about Chazelle as a filmmaker. Whiplash was truly excellent. La La Land was okay and First Man was kind of a bland biopic. I'm not sure if I have much interest in seeing Babylon since it looks like a another tribute to old Hollywood type of film but I may watch it eventually.
I think it's as simple as the fact that at a certain point people get tired of watching Hollywood stroke itself in a mirror for hours. No matter how well-made or gorgeous your movie is, the "movie about movies" thing just gets really old after a while
Agreed. Im a huge film buff and I tend to hate movies like this, LaLaLand, Singin in the Rain etc. Theres just something so self-congratulatory about them and with what we know about hollywood's seedy underbelly, it rings especially hollow.
I like the approach to the story, mostly seeing the history of the film industry. I like the multi perspective of an actor who had his highs only to end up a has been to the new innovations and progressive ideas where he tries to thrive but was out of his element, I like seeing Margot Robbie’s character from a woman who wanted to be a star only to end up a cautionary tale of the industry’s harsh and cruel environment and the stress it has on someone, I like the immigrant journey where Manny tries to make it be a part of something only to become one of the people who look down on him and even made a racist and uncomfortable request of a black musician to darken his skin all for a woman he loves but obviously has baggage and problems that she constantly suffers through. This movie doesn’t try to do anything new in terms of analyzing the practices of the entertainment and film industry but I like how it presents through different perspectives even showing us uncomfortable situations and imagery, it might be over exaggerating but the film is good to me at least not as good as Whiplash but still good. I wanted to see something besides the blockbusters that came out and just watch an artist at work from movies like NOPE and The Whale just a movie where filmmakers tell a story that is not an event or another generic superhero movie or reboot.
Yeah this is going to be one for me, it'll strike the same chord as Fear and Loathing did, constant stream of excess and depravity followed by the scathing ugly truth, I shall be seeing this when it releases.
Except fear and loathing had narration and brief moments of normal clarity. Fear and Loathing had a basic plot. This would be the equivalent of fear and loathings caraousel scenes, without hallucinations, for three hours.
@@jazzmidiclub1269 Where's the Ape man?!
I work in the film industry… this movie made me so anxious, I had to watch it over 3 days. It gave me nightmares the first 2 nights. The way it was filmed, the truth and realism, how accurate certain parts are… it was a lot. I enjoyed it, but I’m certain I will never watch it again.
I think you have the ability in this movie to see people who are sad because they don’t have what they want, and people who are sad because they’ve squandered what they had, which is what they wanted. It’s a true dive into motivations and morals I think.
The title is literally a biblical illusion to decadence and the dangers of pleasure.
Reading reviews people either love or hate this movie. What struck out the most was the ending. It was very experimental and almost arthouse to me. I think the ending wasn't there to really say something, but to let you feel something. And the fact that film can do that, makes it an art. (in my opinion) :)
I didn't think Damien was "glorying behind the scenes debauchery" nor entertainer "exploitation"
If anything, the director did a great job giving "Babylon" it's name in that a shell of magnificence bears inside grime.
This "exploitation" of workers in Hollywood in common in EVERY industry, but when Hollywood pokes it face as character media, you cannot help but feel an appropriate empathy for the cast...& crew. It is emotionally connected to on-screen faces in theatrical charades of overcoming adversity.
I’m honestly really happy that Paramount struck 70mm prints of this
The most manic film I've seen in decades. I can't unsee it.
I think if the film had put it’s focus more on Manny and his perspective on the people within his world rather than extend itself to the different characters then it would have been interesting. It would have helped the film to not only focus itself on something but also give the diverse characters an anchor to play off of. Babylon’s main issues are it’s run time and it’s focus on the plot itself. I think Chazelle was able to blend the chaos of Hollywood culture with the magic of filmmaking perfectly but then slowly lost grip after the sophisticated party scene. At that point things seem to go the route of most Chazelle films in which the story and the characters start tripping and spiraling out of control before hitting rock bottom once again.
Good point!
I m Italian and i saw BABYLON and i did LOVE It very very much! Europe Is loving the latest Chazelle's Film, more than U.S.A. did.
This movie blew me away when I saw it, so, I watched it a second time. The second time was even better ngl
I enjoyed listening to your view on Babylon, but I can't fully agree. I loved the movie. Yes, it may be chaotic and nonsense, but I think it was Chazelle's intention: to show what is really Hollywood and its development throughout the years. I particularly liked watching this movie in the cinema, manly the last scene (with all the montages!). This movie really upped my mood, i don't know... I just know that I left the cinema with a smile on my face and a good mood. Also, I don't think it was too long... I liked every scene and I think it added something to the movie. And, of course, as you said, the three protagonists (actually, all the cast...) did an amazing job. I didn't know Diego Calva, but I hope to see him more times in big movies like this.
One thing that's very bad in Babylon and that I just thought about today (because I saw an youtube video about it - Come Watch TV) is its marketing. Lastly, and also because I saw an UA-cam video (Mina Lee's one about the oscars best costume award), the costumes, even though very beautiful in my opinion, weren't historically accurate... which I believe that, since this is a movie about a certain period, makes the movie worse.
But well, I liked it and I'd recommend it to everyone that likes cinema. This is a movie about the cinema industry, with loads of great references, so for every cinema lovers out there: watch it! :)
So let me get this straight. The director saw this geman show called "Babylon Berlin" and thought "Let me do the same. I'll even steal the title." And he made this. A jazzy old time Hollywood fever dream.
Man I can't wait to see this movie.
Hope you enjoy it! 👍
@@RenegadeFilm86 Thanks for the video dude. Keep up the good work.
@@imextremlyhandsome Thank you for watching! More videos coming soon!
Anyone who thinks this movie is less than a 4-star rating is legitimately insane to me.
I find that those who disliked the film only seem to comment on its excessiveness and missed its purpose in the film (spoilers):
Jack Conrad's primary focus was on the art of film, to the point where the only time he could have a stable marriage was when his glory days were over.
Nellie LaRoy is full of glitz and glam because talent alone doesn't turn heads.
Manny Torres had to literally endure elephant poop just to get into the doors of showbiz because of his marginalisation. Despite rising up, he couldn't even find time for his old friend Jack. He even forced Sidney Palmer to change his appearance if he wanted to stay in the game.
Restraint is important, but this movie isn't complete without the "unpleasantry" of Hollywood. Otherwise, it's just a film about some people.
It's also ironic how movies that comment on Hollywood like Babylon and Nope don't get appreciation from Hollywood.
Edit: typo
I liked _Babylon_ a lot. The party scenes seem to be an homage to the party scenes in von Sternberg's _The Devil Is a Woman_ and _Dishonored_ . The word "orgy" seems to be used a lot when describing it, but I only remember one couple actually having sex on screen. Maybe my memory is faulty or I was just focused on different things on the screen, but I watched it twice. I felt the party scenes were mostly just dancing. I think where it goes wrong is the lack of focus. It's a bit all over the place in its messaging (the movies are great and important, but the movie industry itself is the worst). I do agree that it might have been better as a TV series in order to develop its messages more thoroughly.
It had the sense of a roman orgy. The pure debauchery was heavily implied. To
Me it reminded me of an eyes wide shut party.
Sorta like how the knife is never shown
Slicing flesh in psycho.
I loved this movie, despite the mixed reviews, I was glued to the screen for the entire movie. Would watch it again.
I would still rather watch directors willing to take risks with their storytelling. Hollywood has become very formulaic as of late.
I loved this movie. After watching everything everywhere all at once I thought to myself: this is gonna be the movie of the year for me, but then I saw Babylon.
It is truly a masterpiece, Justin Hurwitz’s catching music, the cinematography, the characters and the overall experience. For me it was first time I went to the cinema alone (19), and there was like 9 others there, but still Babylon made me feel something special. I couldn’t care less about the other audience. I could av been alone in the room.
The amount of details and Intertextuality is incredible. And you get that satisfaction when you are able to catch multiple references.
My last year of high school I had this big project where I analyzed La La Land and it’s Intertextuality. After watching a dozen musicals and classic Hollywood movies, you truly begin to admire Damien Chazzeles work. La La Land went from a 9/10 to a solid 10/10 after all the time i put into the movie. I’m telling you guys this because of all the time I spent analyzing La La Land made be understand a lot of Babylons references and it’s tribute to Hollywood. Chazelle is a genius and I can’t wait to see more from him.
Before you comment this, let me just excuse my English and the overall flow of this text. I wrote it on my phone and I am not a native English speaker.
Well, given this is a Paramount release, probably the same people who allowed Marty to make The Wolf of Wall Street.
Another thing that seems rarely commented on is just how fucking *funny* the film is! Lots of legitimate, uproarious laughs! ("Who wants to see my dad wrestle a snake?!" and the perfectly paced and executed sight gag of the camera guy dropping dead out of the booth like a jack-in-the-box.)
I have a taste for the bizarre and this film was many things, among which was bizarre.
And just so many allusions to cinema history (Joe Gillis face down in the pool; the very opening scene (I think it was) made me think of Chinatown, where the kid comes by on the horse, and of course so many more...)
It's a move for people who love movies, in so many ways.
And I LOVE the bit where the Diego Calva and Margot Robbie characters meet and the Calva character flies into a breathless ecstasy talking about film: "People get shot and the die but they don't really die! They're not really dead!"
God, I just loved that. So many moments like that that just kept me entranced. And feeling all sorts of stuff even though ostensibly, it was a hedonistic, showy, vacuous romp. And so much of the film was all of those things and yet still I felt things.
Babylon is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen
I liked this film but don't think it was good enough to pull off that ending montage. Could have done without Toby's character and the snake scene and had more on developing Conrad instead
You know a movie is special when it's metacritic score is better than it's Totten Tomatoes score.
Man, I’m so glad to call a movie with a low RT score amazing.
@Mackie Lunkey nowadays if the critic score is low, usually means it's good, and if the scores great, it's horrible..
I loved Babylon and wished the marketing was better because it should have done better in the box office
Babylon is a masterpiece, Chazelle's greatest film and one of the great American movies. Over time, it will gain the reputation it deserves just like Night of the Hunter.
Yeah, no. More like "Heaven's Gate" (though this film is not as good as that one).
@@xpindy That's just like your opinion man.
...nobody will remember this POS in a year's time, my friend. It was total garbage.
I like my movies to be brief, to the point and have clean editing that makes lean storytelling. BUT...if there's a movie about indulgence and its made in an indulgent way, I'm there for that also. Babylon turns it up to 11 and that's the way I accept it. I loved it...and it also didn't commit one of the biggest movie sins, which is to be boring.
Is it just me or does this just scream Baz Luhrmann? I mean Baz Luhrmann is a master at decadent, extravagant and flamboyant party scenes.
I agree in so many points yet, If I had to see again any of Chazelle's movies, BABYLON would be my one to go back to by far. Yes, it is probably 30 minutes too long, not that it felt long at the time, and yes, I feel once it goes down to a TV screen size much of the magic will be gone, this is because there is definitely magic in it.
The Rise and fall or individuals and a lifestyle, the idea that all beauty gets corrupted and the failure to adapt to changes is just a piece of truth on the movie. The Darkness of the story starts with a bang, its first scene which seems to be coming out of a Robert Rodriguez road bar Mexico, and then pics up again as the stories evolve from the beauty of the rise in the industry to its fall (to many) as the end of silent cinema show a s new rise to some and a end of the road to others, and I feel that end scene attempts to put us at easy normalizing it all up!
The score is wonderful and all stories work (at least for me) with fabulous performances.
One of the best twenty movies I have ever seen. A masterpiece.
The silver-lining in this movie's financial failure: Chazelle's next movie will probably have a much lower budget, which in turn will force him to deliver a much-more focused movie. Many directors have followed-up large-scale bombs with smaller-scale classics.
Where "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" felt like a love-letter to 50's and 60's Hollywood, this movie felt like hot, passionate french kissing with 20's and 30's cinema followed by grief when you realize she was only ever a one-night stand. A lot of people didn't like it for the chaos and vulgarity but that's how the real world is and was, unfettered, unfiltered, unrestrained. It's a molotov cocktail made of expensive strawberry champagne and a motor-oil soaked dirty dish rag, and it's thrown directly at the viewer's face. This movie brings out the worst kind of critic in me, because I think it's phenomal and there are brief flashes where I have to force myself not to call people philistines for disagreeing.
But why would you think about calling people phillistines anyway? The movie is a chaotic deconstruction of Hollywood sure but it's not intelligent to stoop down that low.
@@gimmeyourrights8292 Did you not read the words "This movie brings out the worst kind of critic in me" that come immediately prior to "I have to force myself not to call people philistines?" Like, it's right there. I genuinely do not understand the point of this reply.
@@randomcookieboy That's the part was that you wouldn't have to force yourself to call people that if you didn't think it in the first place.
Hollywood needs this movie, even if its not ready for it. props to Chazelle for full sending with the most in demand actors of the day. I think this will be a classic in the future
After hearing the line "it's like if Federico Fellini snorted an elephant trunk size line of coke and directed Eyes Wide Shut" I immediately subscribed :D
🤣🤣🤣
I finally streamed the movie, and I thought it captured the essence of the Wild West of young Hollywood. It should have been split into two movies or, as suggested on this video, as a limited series because it was too intense to watch it in one sitting.
"This video will be spoiler free" *proceeds to explain the whole story beat by beat*
I haven't seen the filmed as I've been repelled by the comments of "indulgence and dbatchery, coupled with its length". And of course there has been some debate that it is not historically accurate. Your review, out of the few that I've seen, is the one that inspires me to see it. And the black and white still frame of Margot Robbies face is magnetic, complicated, troubled. Haunting. I haven't seen her in a film for a while, but from that image, I may very well see it. It is hard to fathom her immense talent. But like I said, I haven't seen her in a film fir a while.
I hope chazelle moves from artistic love letter films (as great as whiplash was) to more original ideas. I feel like he's going down the path Tarantino did, which is essentially film genre masterbation.
This movie confirms that I was born too late...60 years too late
I have a feeling that this movie will have a reappraisal in a few years. This type of movie reminds me of the films in the later years of the New Hollywood era. Some of the films from that era, like, New York, New York, 1941, and Sorcerer, were negatively received, both financially and critically, but they eventually found reappraisal years later.
I didn't have a lot of expectations going in and it was really good. Unfortunately the showtimes were cut so I went at 9pm and dozed off for a few minutes. The ending was puzzling, but it was really enjoyable to see- what I saw as- a heartfelt proclamation of the love of cinema. Overall, very good performances all around, good lighting and sound, the pace was pretty good with character development slowing down the chaotic scenes, definitely a good one for the silver screen
Who did this? Stumbled across this review, with no previous awareness of its creator. It is so beautifully written, the video is not even necessary. I was wildly impressed by Babylon, but even more so by this analysis. Bravo to the person who made it.
Thank you for watching and for the kind words, Rick! Means a lot! Hope you’ll stick around for future videos!
It feels like the unnecessary criticism is from industry people who were exposed by the film. The shallow, prideful, deceitful and power-hungry are put on blast, the ugliness put on full display probably makes them uncomfortable. For me it looks like any Tuesday in LA.
My first ever experience of going to the movies by myself included me watching this film off an edible. I loved it, and the empty theater to myself made it better
Babylon is kinda like Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, but it's set 40 years prior.
Amazing film - I Love how critics & film snobs hate it. Makes it even better..
Can you reply with a link to the book mentioned? I really wanna check it out. Thanks.
a letterbox review said it absolutely perfectly, "Chazelle is more in love with the size of the canvas than anyone on it." he clearly had a picture, just nothing close to a story anyone would care about.
Babylon felt like a weird concoction/mix of Magnolia, The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Cinema Paradiso, La La Land (shocking, I know), and a bit of every Kubrick movie all rolled into one film that is worse than everything it was inspired by. But it’s still extremely well made, it just needed much more editing and a much tighter script.
It's a poorly edited movie. Anyone could probably edit it down to an 1h45 on their laptop, and it would make more sense.
They actually had a more concise version of this film but Chazelle pushed for a lengthier final film. And it’s one of the best edited films to come out of the big studio system in the last 20 years.
Loved it! Was entertained throughout. I was literally the only person in the theater. Although, it was a Monday afternoon.