London: The Modern Babylon

Product Description LONDON: THE MODERN BABYLON is legendary director Julien Temple s (Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten) epic time-traveling voyage to the heart of his hometown. From musicians, writers and artists to dangerous thinkers, political radicals and, above all, ordinary people, this is the story of London's immigrants, its bohemians and how together they changed the city forever. Reaching back to the dawn of film in London at the start of the 20th century, the story unfolds through film archives and voices of Londoners past and present, powered by the flow of popular music across the century a stream of urban consciousness, like the river which flows through its heart. It ends in present day, as London prepares to welcome the world to the 2012 Olympics. Special Features: Trailer Review A movie to cherish --Observer [UK] brilliant, exhaustivea visually throbbing cine-quilt --The Guardian a sensually rich and emotionally engaging experience --Hollywood Reporter About the Actor Michael Gambon - After joining the National Theatre, under the Artistic Directorship of Sir Laurence Olivier, Gambon went on to appear in a number of leading roles in plays written by Alan Ayckbourn. His career was catapulted in 1980 when he took the lead role in John Dexter's production of "Galileo". Since then, Gambon has regularly appeared at the Royal National Theatre and the RSC. Roles include, King Lear, Othello, Mark Anthony and Volpone. He was described by the late Sir Ralph Richardson as being "The Great Gambon" and he is now considered to be one of the British theatre's leading lights. He was made a CBE in 1992. About the Director Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953 in London) is an English film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury. Temple was educated at St Marylebone Grammar School, from which he was expelled, William Ellis School and King's College, Cambridge. He grew up with little interest in film until, when a student at Cambridge, he discovered the works of French anarchist director Jean Vigo. This, along with his interest in the early punk scene in London in 1976, led to his friendship with The Sex Pistols, leading him to document many of their early gigs. His first film was a short documentary called Sex Pistols Number 1, which set out to show the rise of the band from 1976 1977, in a series of short clips from television interviews and gigs. This led to Temple making The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, another documentary. As band members Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious had left the band by this time, the story of the group is told from the viewpoint of their manager, Malcolm McLaren. The film tells of the rise of the band, apparently as manipulated by McLaren, and how he had shaped the band throughout their short career. Many of the 'facts' given by McLaren were disputed by John Lydon (who had dropped the Johnny Rotten name after leaving the band), who accused McLaren of using the film to attack him personally. This helped split opinion on the film as, although it was praised for attempting to capture some of the punk scene of the time, it was seen as too skewed towards McLaren's vision. Controversy aside, Temple was praised for his mix of animated scenes, documentary footage, and specially shot footage which he used to tell McLaren's story. This helped launch Temple into a career making music videos, something for which he would be best known for much of his career. Temple's next theatrical release was the short film Jazzin' for Blue Jean featuring David Bowie which was released as a support feature to The Company of Wolves. By 1985 Temple was now well known for being a director of successful music videos by the Kinks, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and other British art