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Empire

Empire issue August 2006
Editor	Mark Dinning
Categories	Film
Frequency	Monthly
First issue	July 1989
Company	Bauer
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Website	Official site
ISSN	0957-4948

Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain, consistently outselling its nearest market rival Total Film and is also published in Australia, Turkey and Russia. Empire organises the annual Empire Awards which were sponsored by Sony Ericsson until 2009 and are now sponsored by Jameson^[1]. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine.

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 and art films, but feature articles concentrate on the former.

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.

Celebrity Mastermind is another regular in which a celebrity is given questions about the films they were in or they directed. Celebrities range from Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Lee (who are at the top of the scoreboard) to John Carpenter (who is at the bottom of the scoreboard).

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, 198 and 246.

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 (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 (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 (Issue 208, October 2006)
38. The Lord of the Rings (Issue 209, November 2006)
39. Some Like It Hot (Issue 210, December 2006)
40. The Wizard of Oz (Issue 211, January 2007)
41. The Wages of Fear (Issue 212, February 2007)
42. Belle de jour (Issue 213, March 2007)
43. The Spirit of the Beehive (Issue 214, April 2007)
44. Die Hard (Issue 215, May 2007)
45. A Clockwork Orange (Issue 216, June 2007)
46. Performance (Issue 217, July 2007)
47. Bringing Up Baby (Issue 218, August 2007)
48. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Issue 219, September 2007)
49. The Big Sleep (Issue 220, October 2007)
50. Days of Heaven (Issue 221, November 2007)
51. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Issue 222, December 2007)
52. Bicycle Thieves (Issue 223, January 2008)
53. Cabaret (Issue 224, February 2008)
54. The Wild Bunch (Issue 225, March 2008)
55. Glengarry Glen Ross (Issue 226, April 2008)
56. The Fly (Issue 227, May 2008)
57. Out of the Past (Issue 228, June 2008)
58. Rear Window (Issue 229, July 2008)
59. Forbidden Planet (Issue 230, August 2008)
60. The Night of the Hunter (Issue 231, September 2008)
61. Network (Issue 232, October 2008)
62. Kind Hearts and Coronets (Issue 233, November 2008)
63. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Issue 234, December 2008)
64. Rio Bravo (film) (Issue 235, January 2009)
65. 8 1/2 (Issue 236, February 2009)
66. Spartacus (1960 film) (Issue 237, March 2009)
67. The Birds (Issue 238, April 2009)
68. Goodfellas (Issue 239, May 2009)
69. Frank Darabont guest picks 223 Masterpieces (Issue 240, June 2009)
70. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Issue 241, July 2009)
71. Amadeus (Issue 242, August 2009)
72. To Kill a Mockingbird (Issue 243, September 2009)
73. Suspiria (Issue 244, October 2009)
74. Kiss Me Deadly (Issue 245, November 2009)
75. Magnolia (Issue 247, January 2010)
76. All About Eve (Issue 248, February 2010)

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

Eighteenth anniversary

As part of its 18^th birthday issue published in June 2007 Empire published a list of top 18-rated moments in film. This list is as follows:

1. Alien - Dinner chestburster
2. The Omen - Glass decapitation
3. An American Werewolf in London - Wolf transformation
4. The Exorcist - Crucifix abuse
5. Risky Business - Ready Ralph?
6. Reservoir Dogs - Mr. Blonde slashing the face of Marvin the cop
7. Blue Velvet - Karaoke from Hell

They also picked the top 50 18-rated movies

1. The Godfather
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Alien
4. Goodfellas
5. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
6. The Silence of the Lambs
7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
8. Fight Club
9. The Big Lebowski
10. Evil Dead II
11. Die Hard
12. Get Carter
13. Peeping Tom
14. Dawn of the Dead
15. Hard Boiled
16. A Clockwork Orange
17. An American Werewolf In London
18. Audition
19. Risky Business
20. Dirty Harry
21. The Omen
22. City of God
23. Magnolia
24. Midnight Cowboy
25. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
26. The Thing
27. Aliens
28. Apocalypse Now
29. Se7en
30. Blue Velvet
31. The Fly
32. Braindead
33. The Exorcist
34. Reservoir Dogs
35. Taxi Driver
36. Clerks
37. Halloween
38. Predator
39. Do the Right Thing
40. Trainspotting
41. The Shining
42. Kill Bill: Volume 1
43. The Wild Bunch
44. Suspiria
45. Oldboy
46. Sin City
47. L. A. Confidential
48. Angel Heart
49. RoboCop
50. Mad Max 2

Readers' top films

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

Current List, The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time

The latest list was selected in September 2008 by over 10,000 Empire readers, 150 film makers and 50 film critics. Here are the top 30 films chosen:

1. The Godfather
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
3. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Jaws
6. Goodfellas
7. Apocalypse Now
8. Singin' in the Rain
9. Pulp Fiction
10. Fight Club
11. Raging Bull
12. The Apartment
13. Chinatown
14. Once Upon a Time in the West
15. The Dark Knight
16. 2001: A Space Odyssey
17. Taxi Driver
18. Casablanca
19. The Godfather Part II
20. Blade Runner
21. The Third Man
22. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
23. Back to the Future
24. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
25. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
26. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
27. Some Like It Hot
28. Citizen Kane
29. Die Hard
30. Aliens

The entire list can be found at Empire

Previous List, The 201 Greatest Movies of All Time

The previous poll, done by Empire readers solely, was a little different. It was done in March 2006 and had this top 30:

1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
4. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
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
21. Seven
22. Heat
23. L.A. Confidential
24. Apocalypse Now
25. The Big Lebowski
26. Citizen Kane
27. Reservoir Dogs
28. Die Hard
29. Raging Bull
30. Some Like It Hot

Readers' top directors

In June 2005, a 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:

1. Steven Spielberg
2. Alfred Hitchcock
3. Martin Scorsese
4. Stanley Kubrick
5. Ridley Scott
6. Akira Kurosawa
7. Peter Jackson
8. Quentin Tarantino
9. Orson Welles
10. Woody Allen
11. Clint Eastwood
12. David Lean
13. The Coen Brothers
14. James Cameron
15. Francis Ford Coppola
16. Oliver Stone
17. Sergio Leone
18. John Ford
19. Billy Wilder
20. Sam Peckinpah

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)
• Steven Spielberg guest-edited the magazine's 20th Anniversary Issue in June 2009.^{[2] [3]}

References

External links

• Empireonline.com - the magazine's official web-site