The Fall and Rise of Babylon

Sometimes, certain films just seem destined to underperform at the box office, only to fall into more of a cult status down the road... and this could likely be the case for writer/director Damien Chazelle’s epic depiction of late 1920s, early 1930s Hollywood in Babylon (2022). Clocking in at three hours, nine minutes, if Chazelle’s 2016 musical La La Land was a love letter to current Hollywood, then this could easily be considered something similar to the growth and birth of the place. In some ways reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 feature Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (which also gives the viewer a bird’s-eye view into the movie making business), the aptly named Babylon is perhaps not for the faint of heart, but will be rewarding for anyone intrigued by the silent and the 30s Pre-Code era (or for people who are simply looking to learn more about this cinematic time).