FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Babel [Blu-ray] [2006]

Babel [Blu-ray] [2006]
enlarge	Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Actors: Koji Yakusho, Brad Pitt, Gael Garcia Bernal, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £5.19 as of 23/11/2009 04:13 GMT details You Save: £14.80 (74%) New (12) Used (4) from £5.19 Seller: media_moguls-uk Rating: 8 reviews Sales Rank: 13891 Format: Anamorphic, PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Media: Blu-ray Region: 0 Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 138 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5051368201436 ASIN: B000NTPCL0 Theatrical Release Date: 2006 Release Date: November 3, 2008 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Brilliantly conceived, superbly directed, and beautifully acted, iBabel/i is inarguably one of the best films of 2006. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and his co-writer, Guillermo Arriaga (the two also collaborated on iAmores Perros/i and i21 Grams/i) weave together the disparate strands of their story into a finely hewn fabric by focusing on what appear to be several equally incongruent characters: an American (Brad Pitt) touring Morocco with his wife (Cate Blanchet) become the focus of an international incident also involving a hardscrabble Moroccan farmer (Mustapha Rachidi) struggling to keep his two young sons in line and his family together. A San Diego nanny (Adriana Barraza), her employers absent, makes the disastrous decision to take their kids with her to a wedding in Mexico. And a deaf-mute Japanese teen (the extraordinary Rinko Kikuchi) deals with a relationship with her father (Koji Yakusho) and the world in general that's been upended by the death of her mother. It is perhaps not surprising, or particularly original, that a gun is the device that ties these people together. Yet iBabel/i isn't merely about violence and its tragic consequences. It's about communication, and especially the lack of it--both intercultural, raising issues like terrorism and immigration, and intracultural, as basic as husbands talking to their wives and parents understanding their children. Iñárritu's command of his medium, sound and visual alike, is extraordinary; the camera work is by turns kinetic and restrained, the music always well matched to the scenes, the editing deft but not confusing, and the film (which clocks in at a lengthy 143 minutes) is filled with indelible moments. Many of those moments are also pretty stark and grim, and no will claim that all of this leads to a "happy" ending, but there is a sense of reconciliation, perhaps even resolution. "If You Want to be Understood... Listen," goes the tagline. And if you want a movie that will leave you thinking, iBabel/i is it. --iSam Graham/i

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 8 1 2 Next » In tongues March 22, 2007 E. A Solinas (MD USA) 11 out of 11 found this review helpful Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga (who have sadly had a falling-out) may be one of the most formidable creative teams in the industry. Without resorting to cheap sentiments or preaching, Iñárritu crafts a quietly compelling follow-up to "21 Grams," with an introspective look at the interlaced lives after a tragedy. br / br /Two boys in Morocco buy a rifle, and while testing it out, they strike a passing tourist bus. Unfortunately, the bullet strikes a vacationing American woman (Cate Blanchett), in the middle of a rural area with no real medical facilities. Unable to be transported, the woman and her husband (Brad Pitt) are dropped off in a rural village, to await help. br / br /Unknowingly, the boys have triggered off shattering events in other people's lives across the world -- a troubled, deaf Japanese girl (Rinko Kikuchi) causes a commotion, and the police find that this neglected, lonely teen is the daughter of the man who originally had the boys' rifle. And the American couple's nanny (Adriana Barraza) is delayed going to her son's wedding, and attempts to bring the children into Mexico with her -- with disastrous results. br / br /"Babel" is like a series of completely different photographs, but with the same person in the background. These haunting looks at how lives can be changed in an instant -- and the effects of violence, whether malicious or careless -- makes up the last volume of Iñárritu and Arriaga's "Death Trilogy." It illustrates death with the fragility of life. br / br /But it's also about the difficulty of communicating in the modern world. You can talk to someone across the world, but sometimes never communicate -- cultures, languages, race, and disabilities can divide people, such as when the border police rush to rescue the American kids, but are callous to the kindly nanny merely because she is not a citizen. br / br /And Iñárritu knows how to capture the right feel for the movie, even to giving it shaky, rough cinematography. There's a feeling of powerful emotion even in small scenes, such as Pitt starting to crumble as he makes a phone call. And the movie moves seamlessly from the rocky, dusty Morocco to the flashy, frenetic Tokyo to the relaxed San Diego. br / br /Blanchett and Pitt are at the center of the movie (in that order), and both are excellent. Blanchett gives a stunning performance as the critically wounded wife, and Pitt acquits himself well as her anguished husband, as they rediscover their love under duress. Blanchett's performance should definitely garner her an Oscar next year -- and heads should roll if she isn't even nominated! br / br /But the supporting cast is also excellent, particularly Kikuchi as the rebellious teenager, who feels isolated from the world around her, and is still grieving from her mother's tragic death. So she acts out sexually. And Barraza gives a solid performance as the nanny, in a nightmarish situation that is particularly haunting because it really happens. br / br /It may comment on the lack of communication between cultures and people, but "Babel" is so compelling in its acting and visuals that it could easily have been a silent film. A brilliant, thought-provoking movie, and one that deserves to be seen. Forget bad reviews below, this is an excellent film December 19, 2007 Rob Goodster (UK) 8 out of 8 found this review helpful Im not going to write a review due to plenty of them available through respected newspaper and tv reviewers. However, I can honestly say the two poor reviews below irritated me enough to write this. br / br /Ignore them, if you know anything about filmaking and are wanting to watch a clever, entertaining, atmospheric, gripping and beautifully photographed film look no further. br / br /The two bad reviewers below obviously know nothing and that fact they found it dull shows their fairly brainless and watch brainless films. Just like children who talk at the back of cinemas due to not understanding whats going on. br / br /Go and rent Air Bud 4 in HIGH DEF and leave these films alone. br / br /5 STAR FILMS, OUTSTANDING! Love It Or Hate It February 7, 2009 D. J. Joseph (UK) This is a film you are either going to love or hate. Nothing wrong in people choosing either - but I don't know anyone who sits on the fence as far as Babel is concerned. br / br /If you're contemplating it - it is not a fast moving film. It builds very slowly and seems very disjointed. The cinematography is stunning - the performances are equally subtle and intense. It's not an action film. br / br /You might love it - I know I did! Babel, Blu-Ray December 28, 2008 Spider Monkey (UK) 'Babel' is a slow paced, slightly melancholy film that follows four different stories and the links between them. It is a lot more coherent to watch than '21 Grams' which was made by the same director and makes this more enjoyable as a result. The stories are a touch aimless at times and the endings, whilst linking up well, aren't very powerful. But I guess life is like that, you have events that have a major impact and then you keep on going, plus we are a lot more connected than we first realise. I guess that is what this film is trying to put across. The performances were excellent, especially Chieko, the japanese deaf-mute girl, where you really feel her frustrations and vulnerability and Brad Pitt who is better than I thought he'd be. The soundtrack, which is quite sparse, allowing the atmosphere of the film to permeate through, was moving when it had to be and was far enough in the background when most appropriate. The ending piece of music was especially moving and added perfectly to the final scene. This is a good film and worth a watch, it has no definite beginning, middle and end, but that in no way detracts from the various stories and their impact, although I feel that may have disappointed other reviewers here. Give it a view and decided for yourself, especially if you like the feel of '21 Grams' but not the convoluted or confusing storyline. I tried very hard... March 21, 2008 Martin Burgess (Bicester, Oxfordshire, UK) I really did try to look into the depths of this film to see how simple things can change peoples lives. On one level this film did work. But on the other over two hours of waiting to see how the three separate plots linked. They did; and I suppose it was to demonstrate how peoples lives can be affected in different ways by the most simplistic of events. However (and this is the big but!), I am afraid to say it has to be a case of the emporers new clothes. Whilst parts of the film were touching and relevant, the majority of it was spent waiting for the plot setting to finish. It never did. We rented this one....phew!! Showing reviews 1-5 of 8 1 2 Next »

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