Empire (magazine)

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Empire
Empire issue August 2006
Editor	Colin Kennedy (Editor-In-Chief)
Categories	Film
Frequency	Monthly
First Issue	July 1989
Company	EMAP
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Website	Official site
ISSN	0957-4948

Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Emap Consumer Media since July 1989. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, regularly outstripping the likes of Total Film and Hotdog Magazine. Empire organises the annual Sony Ericsson Empire Awards which are voted for by readers of the magazine. It also has an Australian edition.

Contents 1 Regular features 1.1 Masterpieces 2 Fifteenth anniversary 3 Readers' top films 3.1 201 Greatest Movies of All Time (March 2006) 3.2 100 Greatest Movies of All Time (March 2004) 4 Editors 5 External links

[edit] Regular features

In common with most British film magazines, Empire is populist in both approach and coverage unlike less irreverent and more serious magazines such as Sight and Sound. It reviews both mainstream films, including Hollywood fare, and art films, but feature articles concentrate on the former. The magazine occasionally produces themed issues around subjects such as Star Wars and "sex in film".

As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features. Each issue (with the exception of issues 108 - 113) features a Classic Scene, a transcript from a notable film scene. The first such classic scene to feature was the "I could have been a contender" scene from On the Waterfront.

The regular Top 10 feature lists Empire's choice of the top ten examples of something film-related. For example 10 Best Chase Scenes or 10 Best Movie Gags in The Simpsons. Readers are encouraged to write in if they disagree with the choices made.

The At Home section covers DVD news and releases; Empire's editors consider this section to be of sufficient quality to term it a magazine in itself.

Pint of Milk presents celebrities' answers to silly or unusual questions, including the question "How much is a pint of milk?"

Each magazine includes a "Spine Quote", in which a relatively challenging quote is printed on the spine of the magazine. There are usually some obvious and obscure links from the quote to the main features of that month's edition. Readers are invited to identify the film source and the links to win a prize.

[edit] Masterpieces

A regular feature since issue 167, the masterpiece feature is a two page essay on a film selected by Empire in the At Home section. The selection of the films seem to be quite random and follow no specific pattern. Only a few issues since the first masterpiece feature have not featured one - 169, 179, 196, 197 and 198.

The films to feature in this section so far are:

1. Raging Bull (Issue 167, May 2003)
2. Gone with the Wind (Issue 168, June 2003)
3. The Shawshank Redemption (Issue 170, August 2003)
4. Casablanca (Issue 171, September 2003)
5. Blade Runner (Issue 172, October 2003)
6. La Dolce Vita (Issue 173, November 2003)
7. The Shining (Issue 174, December 2003)
8. The Third Man (Issue 175, January 2004)
9. The 400 Blows (Issue 176, February 2004)
10. His Girl Friday (Issue 177, March 2004)
11. Schindler's List (Issue 178, April 2004)
12. The Godfather (Issue 180, June 2004)
13. King Kong (1933 film) (Issue 181, July 2004)
14. Seven Samurai (Issue 182, August 2004)
15. Fight Club (Issue 183, September 2004)
16. Tokyo Story (Issue 184, October 2004)
17. Annie Hall (Issue 185, November 2004)
18. Bride of Frankenstein (Issue 186, December 2004)
19. It's a Wonderful Life (Issue 187, January 2005) (incorrectly labelled as #18 in the magazine)
20. This is Spinal Tap (Issue 188, February 2005)
21. The Silence of the Lambs (Issue 189, March 2005)
22. L'Atalante (Issue 190, April 2005)
23. L.A. Confidential (Issue 191, May 2005)
24. The Searchers (Issue 192, June 2005)
25. Do The Right Thing (Issue 193, July 2005)
26. Brief Encounter (Issue 194, August 2005)
27. Brazil (Issue 195, September 2005)
28. On the Waterfront (Issue 199, January 2006)
29. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Issue 200, February 2006)
30. Rome, Open City (Issue 201, March 2006)
31. The General (1927 film) (Issue 202, April 2006)
32. Deliverance (Issue 203, May 2006)
33. The French Connection (Issue 204, June 2006)
34. The Battle of Algiers (Issue 205, July 2006)
35. Das Boot (Issue 206, August 2006)
36. Don't Look Now (Issue 207, September 2006)
37. Vertigo (film) (Issue 208, October 2006)
38. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (Issue 209, November 2006)
39. Some Like It Hot (Issue 210, December 2006)
40. The Wizard of Oz (Issue 211, January 2007)

[edit] Fifteenth anniversary

Empire published a special 15^th anniversary issue in June 2004 by which time the magazine had reviewed 4,240 theatrical films. Nicole Kidman was named "actress of our lifetime" and Kevin Spacey was named "actor of our lifetime". The 15 most influential films of the preceding 15 years were considered to be:

1. Reservoir Dogs
2. The Silence of the Lambs
3. Trainspotting
4. sex, lies, and videotape
5. The Matrix
6. Jurassic Park
7. The Killer
8. Toy Story
9. The Blair Witch Project
10. Four Weddings and a Funeral
11. Batman
12. New Jack City
13. Scream
14. Gladiator
15. Dumb & Dumber

[edit] Readers' top films

Empire occasionally poll readers to find out what their favourite films are.

[edit] 201 Greatest Movies of All Time (March 2006)

1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
4. Star Wars
5. The Godfather
6. Pulp Fiction
7. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
8. Fight Club
9. Goodfellas
10. The Matrix
11. Jaws
12. The Usual Suspects
13. The Godfather Part II
14. Alien
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
16. Gladiator
17. Aliens
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
19. Casablanca
20. Back to the Future

[edit] 100 Greatest Movies of All Time (March 2004)

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
4. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
5. The Shawshank Redemption
6. The Godfather
7. Pulp Fiction
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
9. Fight Club
10. Jaws
11. Jurassic Park
12. Blade Runner
13. Goodfellas
14. The Godfather Part II
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
16. Grease
17. Raging Bull
18. The Usual Suspects
19. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
20. Taxi Driver

[edit] Editors

Empire has had seven editors. They are:

• Barry McIlheney (issues 1 - 44)
• Phil Thomas (issues 45 - 72)
• Andrew Collins (issues 73 - 75)
• Mark Salisbury (issues 76 - 88)
• Ian Nathan (issues 89 - 126)
• Emma Cochrane (issues 127 - 161)
• Colin Kennedy (beginning issue 162)
• For a number of issues, Will Lawrence acted as Editor while Colin Kennedy was absent

[edit] External links

• EmpireOnline.co.uk - the magazine's official web-site
• Empireonline.com.au - Empire Magazine Australia