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Babylon
Babylon
	UK release poster
Directed by	Franco Rosso
Written by	Franco Rosso ; Martin Stellman
Produced by	Gavrik Losey
Starring	Brinsley Forde ; Karl Howman ; Trevor Laird
Cinematography	Chris Menges
Edited by	Thomas Schwalm
Music by	Dennis Bovell
Production; company	National Film Finance Corporation
Distributed by	Kino Lorber Repertory Seventy-Seven
Release dates	30 October 1980 (United Kingdom); 11 September 1981 (Toronto); 8 March 2019 (United States);
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Languages	English and Jamaican patois with subtitles
Budget	£300,000

Babylon is a 1980 British drama film directed by Franco Rosso.^[2] Written by Franco Rosso and Martin Stellman (Quadrophenia), and shot by two-time Academy Award winner Chris Menges (The Killing Fields), Babylon is an incendiary portrait of racial tension and police brutality set in Brixton, London. The film, anchored by Dennis Bovell’s propulsive score, is partly based on Bovell’s false imprisonment for running a Jamaican sound system, Sufferer’s Hi Fi, in the mid-70s.

Produced by Gavrik Losey and the National Film Finance Corporation, the film is regarded as a classic.^[3]^[4]

Plot

Babylon follows a young reggae DJ (Brinsley Forde, M.B.E., frontman of the British group Aswad) of the Ital Lion sound system in Thatcher-era South London as he pursues his musical ambitions while also battling fiercely against the racism and xenophobia of employers, neighbours, police, and the National Front.

Cast

Brinsley Forde as Blue
Karl Howman as Ronnie
Trevor Laird as Beefy
Brian Bovell as Spark
Victor Romero Evans as Lover
David N. Haynes as Errol
Archie Pool as Dreadhead
T-Bone Wilson as Wesley
Mel Smith as Alan
Beverly Michaels as Elaine
Maggie Steed as Woman at Lockup Garage
Bill Moody as man on Balcony
Stefan Kalipha as Fat Larry
Beverley Dublin as Sandra
Granville Garner as Sandra's Father
Mark Monero as Carlton
David Cunningham as Sir Watts
Cosmo Laidlaw as Rastaman
Terence Dackombe as Thug
Mikey Campbell as Promoter
Angus Zeb as Doorman
Wendell McKellar as Doorman
Frank Sylvester as Weightlifter
David Gant as Police Commissioner
Michael Gunn as Detective at Door
Harry Miller as Detective at Door
Yvonne Agard as Mrs. Watts
Alan Igbon as Rupert
Donovan Platt as William
Charles Cork as CID Detective
Gary Whelan as CID Detective
David Macdonald as White Gang Leader
Derek Broome as Bus Conductor
Anthony Trent as Fence
Patrick Worrall as Spooky
Malcolm Frederick as Wolf
Vilma Hollingbery as Woman in Street
Cynthia Powell as Mum
King Sounds as Compere
Ann Duncan as Beefy's Girl
Jah Shaka as himself

Production

Babylon was filmed on the streets of Deptford and Brixton, London. The story centers on sound system culture^[5] and themes of police brutality, racism, poverty, and disillusionment with lack of opportunities.^[6]

Babylon was filmed on a six-week shooting schedule, entirely on location in South London and the West End. The production headquarters were above a rambling church in Deptford. The set was totally closed to visitors, including journalists, because of the film's sensitive subject matter and the fact that shooting was taking place in an area of London where there was racial tension.

The cast of actors were carefully chosen, with the help of casting director Sheila Trezise, Franco Rosso, and Martin Stellman, who all already had many contacts within the black community. Aside from the regular actors, there were many extras. The vast majority were West Indians living around the Deptford, Lewisham, Peckham, and Croydon areas.

Music

The film features an entirely reggae and dub soundtrack, including artists such as Yabby U, I-Roy, Aswad, and Dennis Bovell.^[7]

Release

Babylon world-premiered at Cannes' Semaine de la critique in 1980.

It received an X rating, and was released in the United Kingdom in late 1980, and appeared at the 1981 Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 1981. Originally deemed “too controversial, and likely to incite racial tension”^[8] to play at the New York Film Festival, the film was not released in the United States until 8 March 2019. The U.S. release was distributed by Kino Lorber and Seventy-Seven.^[9]

On 20 August 2019, Babylon was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Kino Lorber.^[10]

Reception

Critical response

Babylon received praise from critics both at its original 1980 release and 2019 U.S. release. Many praised its representation of Black youth life in South London during the Thatcher-era. Wesley Morris of The New York Times chose the film as a critic's pick, claiming the film "still feels new… You’re looking at people who, in 1980 England, were, at last, being properly, seriously seen.”^[11] Hua Hsu of The New Yorker noted how "few films portray this moment in black British life quite like Franco Rosso’s Babylon".^[12]

The film also received acclaim for its themes of racial violence and police brutality. Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times called the film "assertive and ebullient... alive as a movie can be".^[13] Jaya Saxena of GQ describes Blue's journey as "a story with literally epic stakes".^[14]

The film has an approval rating of 100% based on 27 critic reviews on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.^[15]