A drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times, set in an English coastal town in the early 1980s.A drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times, set in an English coastal town in the early 1980s.A drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times, set in an English coastal town in the early 1980s.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 39 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe actual Dreamland cinema in Margate (which stood in for the Empire cinema in this film) was opened in 1923. It changed hands several times during its lifetime and finally closed for good in 2007. It still stands, although empty, because it is a listed building and so cannot be demolished without parliamentary approval. The block of flats where Steven lives with his mother is not an optical effect: it is really is that close to the building (with Margate railway station being just 100 yards up the road).
- GoofsDuring a scene that takes place in 1981, Janine mentions she heard about a song from SPIN magazine. Spin magazine was not founded until 1985.
- Quotes
Stephen: Amazin'.
Norman: It is amazing. Because it's just static frames, with darkness in between. But there's a little flaw in your optic nerve so that if I run the film at 24 frames per second you don't see the darkness.
Stephen: Wow.
Norman: It's called the Phi Phenomenon. Viewing static images rapidly in succession crates an illusion of motion. Illusion of life.
- SoundtracksAsteroid - Pearl & Dean
Written & Performed by Pete Moore
Published by Sony Music Publishing
Courtesy of Pearl & Dean
Featured review
Sometimes a movie has all the elements of greatness in place but somehow just can't seem to pull all the pieces together. Such is the case with writer-director Sam Mendes's latest offering, an unfocused mélange of story threads that seem haphazardly strung together in a 1980s period piece love story about the staff of a British resort town cinema infused with elements involving mental illness and growing racial violence and intolerance at the time. Sound like a mishmash of unrelated storylines? You bet, and the picture probably comes off better than it should, given the strengths of Roger Deakins's superb cinematography, Trent Reznor's ethereal score, and the outstanding performances of its ensemble cast, most notably Olivia Colman, a virtual sure-bet for an Oscar nomination. As in other works, such as "Revolutionary Road" (2008), Mendes has a knack for getting the most out of his resources even when the material comes up short, a trick he successfully pulls off again here. It's unfortunate, however, that this obvious lover of film couldn't manage to combine these elements in a way here that matches the brilliance of his truly great works, such as "American Beauty" (1999), "Skyfall" (2012) and "1917" (2019). Had the script gone through another round of revisions, that might have been the case, given that the writing really proves to be the downfall of this offering. For all its strengths, however, "Empire of Light" nevertheless comes up a disappointing effort, one that, regrettably, doesn't live up to the pre-release hype showered upon it.
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- Dec 10, 2022
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Imperio de luz
- Filming locations
- Dreamland Cinema, 52 Marine Terrace, Margate CT9 1XP, UK(exterior scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,177,577
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $163,405
- Dec 11, 2022
- Gross worldwide
- $11,395,604
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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