| Empire | |
|---|---|
| File:Empire Andy Warhol.jpg Two frames of the film |
|
| Directed by | Andy Warhol |
| Produced by | Andy Warhol |
| Cinematography | Jonas Mekas |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Running time | 485 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent |
Empire is a 1964 silent, black-and-white film made by Andy Warhol. It consists of eight hours and five minutes of continuous slow motion footage of the Empire State Building in New York City. Abridged showings of the film were never allowed, and supposedly the very unwatchability of the film was an important part of the reason the film was created. However, a legitimate Italian VHS produced in association with the Andy Warhol Museum in 2000 contains only an extract of 60 minutes. Its use of the long take in extremis is an extension of Warhol's earlier work the previous year with Sleep.
Contents |
Shooting [link]
It was filmed on the night of July 25–26 from 8:06 p.m. to 2:42 a.m. from the 41st floor of the Time-Life Building, from the offices of the Rockefeller Foundation. It was shot at 24 frames per second but is projected at 16 frame/s, so that, even though only about 6 hours and 36 minutes of film was made, the film when screened is about 8 hours and 5 minutes long.
Synopsis [link]
The film begins with a totally white screen and as the sun sets, the image of the Empire State Building emerges. The floodlights on its exterior come on, the building's lights flicker on and off for the next 6½ hours, then the floodlights go off again in the next to the last reel so that the remainder of the film takes place in nearly total darkness.[1] The movie was filmed with Andy Warhol directing and filmmaker Jonas Mekas working as cinematographer. During three of the reel changes, filming recommenced before the lights in the filming room were switched off, making the faces of Warhol and Mekas momentarily visible in the reflection of the window each time.[2]
Showings [link]
In 2005, the film was projected in its entirety on the external wall of the Royal National Theatre's fly tower in London.[3][4] It was also screened in its entirety on Saturday December 4, 2010 at the Varsity Theater in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with live musical accompaniment, by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Ackland Art Museum and Interdisciplinary Program in Cinema.
Significance [link]
In 2004, Empire was added to the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress in recognition of the cultural, historical and aesthetic significance of the movie, as well as the risk of the original movie reels "no longer being preserved" (even though the Andy Warhol Museum's own preservation of the huge Warhol film/videotape catalogue is unusual in the world of underground film). In 2007, website Nerve selected Empire as one of "The Thirteen Greatest Long-Ass Movies of All Time".[5]
See also [link]
References [link]
- ^ Angell, Callie (1994). The Films of Andy Warhol Part II. p. 16. ASIN B0006P70ZM. https://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0006P70ZM.
- ^ "A Controversy Over Empire". NY Art. https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/art/10422/. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ Smith, David (2005-09-18). "Warhol's art film to lull London to sleep". Guardian.co.uk. https://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/sep/18/arts.film. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ "Warhol film Empire makes UK debut". BBC News. 2005-10-07. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4318648.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ The Thirteen Greatest Long-Ass Movies of All Time, Part 2 at the Wayback Machine (archived March 16, 2008)
External links [link]
- "Empire" AllMovie review
- Article on unauthorized release
- Moma article
- Article on Empire
- Empire at the Internet Movie Database
https://wn.com/Empire_(1964_film)
Empire (Law & Order)
"Empire" is the 201st episode of NBC's legal drama Law & Order, and the 20th episode of the 9th season.
Plot
The episode opens with a businessman, Gilbert Sanderson (Daniel Henry Murray) seen staggering into an Italian restaurant wearing boxer shorts and no pants. He collapses, asks for a doctor, and is taken away by ambulance. We learn later he has come from his townhouse next door. Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Rey Curtis find lady's underwear in his living room, and after he dies in the hospital, the medical examiner (Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers) discovers through an autopsy that he had ingested 1,000 mg of Viagra before his death, enough to kill him given an existing heart condition. The initial police investigation focuses on Mr. Sanderson's wife (Kathleen McNenny) (whose motive may have been retaliation for suspected infidelities), a business associate Julian Spector (Daniel Hugh Kelly), and Katrina Ludlow (Julia Roberts), a professional party planner who eventually admits to having had sex with Sanderson right before his death.
Empire (Kasabian song)
"Empire" is a song by English rock band Kasabian and is the title track for their second album, Empire. It was released 24 July 2006 as the lead single from that album on CD (see 2006 in British music). The single became popular immediately, entering the UK Singles Chart at #9, its peak position, making it the band's third UK Top 10 single. It was still in the charts in 2007, at #65 before dropping off later in January. On 21 August 2006, 10" and DVD versions of the single were released.
The song was available as a pre-order on the band's website which also included a free download of their cover of David Bowie's "Heroes", which was used for ITV's coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It was also used during series 9 of Top Gear. The album version of the song features backing vocals from Joana Glaza, lead singer of Joana and the Wolf.
Music video
The music video for "Empire" was directed by W.I.Z. with casting by Sorin Tarau, and featured on the DVD single. It portrays the members of Kasabian as troopers of the 11th Hussars Regiment (of the famed Charge of the Light Brigade) during the Crimean War. The video was shot on location outside Bucharest.
