Babylon 4K UHD Review: Join the Party

Damien Chazelle’s ode to Hollywood debauchery, Babylon, seemed made for 4K. Now available on 4K UHD the ultra edition of the ultra movie doesn’t disappoint. 

Those party scenes manage to appear red tinted and golden simultaneously. As much as the frame is filled with sights to behold, those party scenes also feature deep shadows where debaucherous attendees are hiding. The film’s underground climax harkens back to those red light parties. 

The filmmaking scenes begin in the dusty desert. Nellie (Margot Robbie) manages to glisten with sweat as her environment remains dry. Elinor (Jean Smart)’s purple dress really stands out against the dust. 

The sweat really stands out in the hot studio scene when they have to suffer for the sake of sound. Babylon really brings pre and post sound Hollywood to life in 4K, but it’s also our first chance to see any footage from Avatar in 4K in the final montage. 

Given Chazelle’s focus on music, it’s not surprising that the 5.1 soundtrack favors the music more than anything. The beat of the party music throbs, but sound effects are actually subtle. There’s party chatter but it’s not as in your face as the visuals are. 

The most stand out sound scene is that hot studio sequence where every noise threatens the take. The underground scenes brings a chaos to the soundtrack too. 

A 30 minute making of feature touches on many aspects of performance and design, giving both the stars and below the line artisans a chance to speak. Perhaps most notably, it shows some of Chazelle’s cell phone footage of Robbie and Diego Calva performing scenes from the script, which they discussed while promoting the film. 

Two more very brief featurettes seem like they could have been included in the main doc. But nine minutes of deleted and extended scenes show a bit more of Manny (Calva) managing a drunk Jack (Brad Pitt), more of Elinor’s chat with the extra, Lady Fay (Li Jun Li) writing titled, and more of Nellie’s drug-fueled shenanigans.