Return to Babylon
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| Return to Babylon | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alex Monty Canawati |
| Produced by | Jacqueline Serrano |
| Written by | Alex Monty Canawati Bruce Pitzer starring = Maria Conchita Alonso |
| Cinematography | Scott Dale Cricket Peters |
| Release date(s) | September 4, 2008 (USA) |
| Running time | 98 min. |
| Language | English |
Return to Babylon is a 2008 film directed by Alex Monty Canawati designed and filmed in the silent film style that is part mystery, part comedy and part psychological drama. The film is in black and white and is silent except for an orchestral music score composed especially for the film by the Italian composer Peitor Angell.
The filmmakers, Alex Monty Canawati and Boothe Jouvet made a short film called “The Birth of Babylon” (2000). This won the "Best Short" at the American Film and Music Festival in 2000. They decided to make the short into a feature length film. Principal photography was shot between 2001 and 2004, but was shelved due to post production issues. Back in the editing room in 2008, the film is scheduled to make it's screen debut in Toronto in September 2008.
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[edit] Plot
Scandal, crime and intrigue take place during the silent movie era in 1920s Hollywood involving some of the most famous stars of the day, including Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge, Lupe Velez, Fatty Arbuckle, William Desmond Taylor, and others.
[edit] Background
The filming features locations in and around Hollywood, California, including the original Rudolph Valentino and Norma Talmadge estates and at the "Magic Castle" in the Hollywood Hills. The film was shot using 19 rolls of film that the director found sitting on the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Shooting was performed using original hand-cranked movie cameras.
[edit] Cast
- Maria Concita Alonso - Lupe Velez
- Jennifer Tilly - Clara Bow
- Debi Mazar - Gloria Swanson
- Ione Skye - Virginia Rappe
- Tippi Hedren - Mrs. Peabody
- Brett Ashy - Fatty Arbuckle
- Jack Atlantis - William Desmond Taylor
- Alejandro Delgado - Harold Lloyd
- Laura Harring - Alla Nazimova
- Devora Lillian - Mary Miles Minter
- Alyson MacInnis - Norma Talmadge
- Morganne Picard - Mabel Normand
- Stephen Saux - Mr. Producer
- Jennifer Seifert - Pola Negri
- Stanley Sheff (as Maxwell DeMille) - Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
- Adnan Taletovich - John Gilbert
[edit] Crew
- Alex Monty Canawati - director
- Maria Conchita Alonso - producer
- Jacqueline Serrano- producer
- Boothe Jouvet - associate producer
- Robert Grimm Jr. - executive producer
- Paula F. Major - consulting producer
- Peitor Angell - original music score
- Scott Dale
Cricket Peters - cinematography - Sylvia B. Suarez - production designer
- Christina Mongini - costume designer
- Celina Rubin - makeup artist
- Vera Zay - hair stylist
- Alexandra Klasinski - makeup artist
- Johnathan Stern - electrician
- Linda Nguyen - assistant to the producers
