Babylon by Franco Rosso

A film of sheer sound and fury, the uncompromising subject matter (it all but anticipates the race riots that engulfed inner cities soon after release) and classic reggae soundtrack helped cement Babylon’s reputation as one of the most powerful and historically significant documents about the black British experience ever made.
Babylon stands up today as a well crafted, convincingly acted, hard hitting piece of realistic drama. Babylon is a potent mix of music and social commentary. Franco Rosso’s incendiary drama about black Britain circa 1980 stars Aswad lead singer Brinsley Forde as Blue, the Ital Lion sound system MC who finds his lifestyle and culture under siege. Here, for the first time in British cinema, is a portrayal of British reggae culture and Rastafarianism at odds with the ‘multi-racist’ society and state.