Empire (magazine)
Editor | Terri White |
---|---|
Categories | Film |
Frequency | Monthly |
Circulation | 145,117 (ABC Jul - Dec 2013)[1] Print and digital editions. |
First issue | July 1989 |
Company | Bauer |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Website | www |
ISSN | 0957-4948 |
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media of Hamburg based Bauer Media Group. 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 the United Kingdom and is also published in the United States, Australia, Turkey, Russia, Italy and Portugal. Empire organises the annual Empire Awards which were sponsored by Sony Ericsson, and from 2009 sponsored by Jameson.[2] The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine.
Regular features
Empire is populist in both approach and coverage. 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 other 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.
The Re.View section covers Blu-ray and DVD news and releases. Kim Newman's Movie Dungeon is a regular feature in the Re.View section, in which critic Kim Newman reviews the most obscure releases, mostly low budget horror movies.
How much Is 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 by 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.
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 and Michael Keaton (who are 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 Re.View 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. Also, 240 has director Frank Darabont select 223 masterpieces, but it doesn't count in the magazine's Masterpiece numbering. L.A. Confidential was featured twice, once in Issue 191 and again in Issue 303.
The films to feature in this section so far are:[3]
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 and Dumber
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 – Crucifix abuse
- Risky Business – Ready Ralph?
- Reservoir Dogs – Mr. Blonde slashing the face of Marvin the cop
- Blue Velvet – Karaoke from Hell
They also selected the 50 greatest films rated with an 18 certificate.[citation needed]
Readers' top films
Empire occasionally poll readers to find out what their favourite films are.
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. The list was accompanied by many different covers, each of which went on sale. The top 30 chosen films are listed below.[4]
- The Godfather
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- The Empire Strikes Back
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Jaws
- Goodfellas
- Apocalypse Now
- Singin' in the Rain
- Pulp Fiction
- Fight Club
- Raging Bull
- The Apartment
- Chinatown
- Once Upon a Time in the West
- The Dark Knight
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Taxi Driver
- Casablanca
- The Godfather Part II
- Blade Runner
- The Third Man
- Star Wars
- Back to the Future
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
- Some Like It Hot
- Citizen Kane
- Die Hard
- Aliens
Most represented directors
The list's most represented director was Steven Spielberg, who had eleven films in the top 500. The top sixteen directors are listed below. Their highest-ranked film is also provided, as well as its position.
- Steven Spielberg: 11 films – Raiders of the Lost Ark, 2
- Martin Scorsese: 8 films – GoodFellas, 6
- Stanley Kubrick: 7 films – 2001: A Space Odyssey, 16
- Alfred Hitchcock: 7 films – Vertigo, 40
- Akira Kurosawa: 6 films – The Seven Samurai, 50
- Tim Burton: 6 films – Edward Scissorhands, 66
- Woody Allen: 6 films – Annie Hall, 68
- Francis Ford Coppola: 5 films – The Godfather, 1
- Quentin Tarantino: 5 films – Pulp Fiction, 9
- Billy Wilder: 5 films – The Apartment, 12
- Peter Jackson: 5 films – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 24
- Joel and Ethan Coen: 5 films – The Big Lebowski, 43
- Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger: 5 films – A Matter of Life and Death, 75
- Brian De Palma: 5 films – Carrie, 86
The entire list can be found at Empire.
Previous lists
A previous poll, The 201 Greatest Movies of All Time, done by Empire readers solely, was a little different. It was done in March 2006 and had this top 30:
- 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
- Seven
- Heat
- L.A. Confidential
- Apocalypse Now
- The Big Lebowski
- Citizen Kane
- Reservoir Dogs
- Die Hard
- Raging Bull
- Some Like It Hot
Another previous poll, also by Empire readers solely, was done in September 2001 and had this top 30:[5]
- Star Wars
- The Empire Strikes Back
- The Shawshank Redemption
- The Godfather
- The Matrix
- Fight Club
- Gladiator
- Goodfellas
- Breakfast at Tiffany's
- Pulp Fiction
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- The Usual Suspects
- Jaws
- American Beauty
- Casablanca
- Blade Runner
- The Godfather Part II
- Seven
- Aliens
- Saving Private Ryan
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Schindler's List
- Alien
- Some Like It Hot
- L.A. Confidential
- Apocalypse Now
- Magnolia
- Citizen Kane
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- It's a Wonderful Life
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 forty 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
- Coen brothers
- James Cameron
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Oliver Stone
- Sergio Leone
- John Ford
- Billy Wilder
- Sam Peckinpah
Editors
Empire has had ten 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 – 304). 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. He left the magazine in July 2014.[6]
- Morgan Rees (issues 306 - 315)
- Terri White (beginning at issue 318)[7]
- Steven Spielberg guest-edited the magazine's 20th Anniversary Issue in June 2009.[8][9]
- Sam Mendes guest-edited the magazine's Spectre special in September 2015.
References
- ^ "ABC Certificates and Reports: Empire". Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- ^ "Jameson Empire Awards 2009 website". Empireonline.com. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ http://www.empireonline.com/competitions/masterpiece/ [dead link]
- ^ "Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time". Empireonline.com. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ "Star Wars' triumph in best movie poll". London: BBC News. 23 September 2001. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Turvill, William (24 July 2014). "Empire editor-in-chief steps down to join Time Out Dubai after eight years". Press Gazette. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ Time Out New York editor-in-chief Terri White to take charge of Empire
- ^ Helen O'Hara (5 February 2009). "Steven Spielberg To Guest-Edit Empire!". Empire. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ "Empire's 20th Anniversary Edition". Empire Magazine. 6 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
External links
- Empireonline.com – the magazine's official web-site