As an avid follower of British cinema, I like to think that I've seen most of the worthwhile films that our country has produced. But I'm always on the lookout for films that I haven't seen, but sound interesting, and so I stumbled upon Babylon, then tracked it down on DVD and gave it a watch.
Babylon is a slice of Black British life in London in the late 70s and early 80s and given the Brixton riots of 1981 this film was strangely prescient.The film revolves around racism from police, violence against blacks, poverty, disillusionment and reggae music.
Ah, a wish to be super rich and in the business. For this is a very impressive production, in all categories (writing, casting, acting, directing, production values, et al).
BABYLON starts out as a typical police procedural and then shifts into what seems to be one more decently produced "crimes in high places" mystery.By the end of Episode 3 we realize this show is going to be something else entirely.
This show had sat so long in my queue waiting to be watched that I had forgotten why it was there in the first place. I vaguely remembered it was a comedy (maybe) and that Danny Boyle was involved in some way, but that was about it.
Collaborating with talented screenwriter/wardrobe designer Raven Touchstone, Michael Zen helmed this impressive Vivid Video release, which notably also credits top industry Couples Romance label Adam & Eve in the opening credits.It's styled as an Alice in Wonderland fantasy, not as good as the 1976 classic starring Kristine DeBell but lavishly produced.
If this is just a one off, it is quite entertaining, but it looks more like a pilot for an actual series, and that could be really fun. So far it's full of a very realistic view of how the levels of bureaucracy are all trying to shuffle the actual responsibilities for the big stuff to someone else in case things go badly.
Fantastic. It's like watching some TV series.
With a nod to political satires such as HOUSE OF CARDS (1991) and THE THICK OF IT (2005-8), BABYLON offers an energetic satire of the Metropolitan Police and its relationship to the contemporary media. The connection with THE THICK OF IT is no coincidence the co-writer of BABYLON, Jesse Armstrong, worked on episodes of the earlier series.
