Empire (magazine)
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| Empire | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Editor | Mark Dinning |
| Categories | Film |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | July 1989 |
| Company | Bauer |
| Country | United Kingdom, Turkey, Australia, Russia |
| Language | English |
| Website | Official site |
| ISSN | 0957-4948 |
Empire is a British and Australian film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media since July 1989. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, consistently outselling its nearest market rival Total Film. Empire organises the annual Sony Ericsson Empire Awards which are voted for by readers of the magazine.
Contents |
[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 be featured 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, which is also relevant to the growth and importance of the DVD market, where sales can often outstrip that of box-office.
Pint of Milk presents celebrities' answers to silly or unusual questions, including the question "How much is a pint of milk?" This is intended as a guide to the Chosen Celebrity's contact with reality, and as such can be more informative than a direct interview, often reporting some surprising responses.
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.
Kim Newman's DVD Dungeon is a regular feature in the At Home section, in which critic Kim Newman reviews the most obscure releases, mostly low budget horror movies and video nasties.
[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:
- Raging Bull (Issue 167, May 2003)
- Gone with the Wind (Issue 168, June 2003)
- The Shawshank Redemption (Issue 170, August 2003)
- Casablanca (Issue 171, September 2003)
- Blade Runner (Issue 172, October 2003)
- La dolce vita (Issue 173, November 2003)
- The Shining (Issue 174, December 2003)
- The Third Man (Issue 175, January 2004)
- The 400 Blows (Issue 176, February 2004)
- His Girl Friday (Issue 177, March 2004)
- Schindler's List (Issue 178, April 2004)
- The Godfather (Issue 180, June 2004)
- King Kong (Issue 181, July 2004)
- Seven Samurai (Issue 182, August 2004)
- Fight Club (Issue 183, September 2004)
- Tokyo Story (Issue 184, October 2004)
- Annie Hall (Issue 185, November 2004)
- Bride of Frankenstein (Issue 186, December 2004)
- It's a Wonderful Life (Issue 187, January 2005) (incorrectly labelled as #18 in the magazine)
- This is Spinal Tap (Issue 188, February 2005)
- The Silence of the Lambs (Issue 189, March 2005)
- L'Atalante (Issue 190, April 2005)
- L.A. Confidential (Issue 191, May 2005)
- The Searchers (Issue 192, June 2005)
- Do The Right Thing (Issue 193, July 2005)
- Brief Encounter (Issue 194, August 2005)
- Brazil (Issue 195, September 2005)
- On the Waterfront (Issue 199, January 2006)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Issue 200, February 2006)
- Rome, Open City (Issue 201, March 2006)
- The General (Issue 202, April 2006)
- Deliverance (Issue 203, May 2006)
- The French Connection (Issue 204, June 2006)
- The Battle of Algiers (Issue 205, July 2006)
- Das Boot (Issue 206, August 2006)
- Don't Look Now (Issue 207, September 2006)
- Vertigo (Issue 208, October 2006)
- The Lord of the Rings (Issue 209, November 2006)
- Some Like It Hot (Issue 210, December 2006)
- The Wizard of Oz (Issue 211, January 2007)
- The Wages of Fear (Issue 212, February 2007)
- Belle de jour (Issue 213, March 2007)
- The Spirit of the Beehive (Issue 214, April 2007)
- Die Hard (Issue 215, May 2007)
- A Clockwork Orange (Issue 216, June 2007)
- Performance (Issue 217, July 2007)
- Bringing Up Baby (Issue 218, August 2007)
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Issue 219, September 2007)
- The Big Sleep (Issue 220, October 2007)
- Days of Heaven (Issue 221, November 2007)
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Issue 222, December 2007)
- Bicycle Thieves (Issue 223, January 2008)
- Cabaret (Issue 224, February 2008)
- The Wild Bunch (Issue 225, March 2008)
- Glengarry Glen Ross (Issue 226, April 2008)
- The Fly (Issue 227, May 2008)
- Out of the Past (Issue 228, June 2008)
- Rear Window (Issue 229, July 2008)
[edit] Fifteenth anniversary
Empire published a special 15th 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:
- Reservoir Dogs
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Trainspotting
- sex, lies, and videotape
- The Matrix
- Jurassic Park
- The Killer
- Toy Story
- The Blair Witch Project
- Four Weddings and a Funeral
- Batman
- New Jack City
- Scream
- Gladiator
- Dumb & Dumber
[edit] Eighteenth anniversary
As part of its 18th birthday issue published in June 2007 Empire published a list of top 18-rated moments in film. This list is as follows:
- Alien - Dinner chestburster
- The Omen - Glass decapitation
- An American Werewolf in London - Wolf transformation
- The Exorcist (film) - Crucifix abuse
- Risky Business - Ready Ralph?
- Reservoir Dogs - Mr. Blonde slashing the face of Marvin the cop
- Blue Velvet - Karaoke From Hell
[edit] Readers' top films
Empire occasionally poll readers to find out what their favourite films are.
[edit] Current List, 20 Greatest Films of All Time
The latest list was selected in March 2006.
- The Shawshank Redemption
- The Empire Strikes Back
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Star Wars
- The Godfather
- Pulp Fiction
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Fight Club
- Goodfellas
- The Matrix
- Jaws
- The Usual Suspects
- The Godfather Part II
- Alien
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Gladiator
- Aliens
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Casablanca
- Back to the Future
[edit] Readers' top directors
In June 2005, of poll of 10,000 readers was asked to name the greatest film director of all time. In a list of twenty directors, Steven Spielberg was granted the honour of greatest director, while the total list was:
- Steven Spielberg
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Martin Scorsese
- Stanley Kubrick
- Ridley Scott
- Akira Kurosawa
- Peter Jackson
- Quentin Tarantino
- Orson Welles
- Woody Allen
- Clint Eastwood
- David Lean
- The Coen Brothers
- James Cameron
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Oliver Stone
- Sergio Leone
- John Ford
- Billy Wilder
- Sam Peckinpah
[edit] Editors
Empire has had eight 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 (162 - 209) (Will Lawrence acted as editor for 12 issues while Colin Kennedy was absent)
- Mark Dinning (210 - present. Dinning was formerly Associate Editor on the magazine leaving to take up the position of Editor of Total Film for a period, he then returned to take up the same role for Empire)
[edit] External links
- Empireonline.com - the magazine's official web-site
- Empirecinemalistings.com - Empire's cinema listings service
- Empireonline.com.au - Empire Magazine Australia
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