Empire of Light

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1:34

Empire of Light

R

Released Dec 9, 2022

1h 59m

Romance

Drama

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Popcornmeter

45%

Tomatometer

261 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

50+ Verified Ratings

Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, EMPIRE OF LIGHT is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema, from Academy Award®-winning director Sam Mendes.

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Critics Consensus

Empire of Light contains some fine performances and a few flashes of brilliance, but this tribute to the magic of cinema is disappointingly mundane.

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Audience Says

Empire of Light's involving story, beautiful cinematography, and great performances overshadow the movie's slow pace and occasionally scattered focus.

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Christina Newland

iNews.co.uk

Its final, confused assertion that the power of cinema is capable of salving the wounds of major social ailments is too ambitious a sentiment for a film that never really does anything to prove its own thesis.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 18, 2024

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Wenlei Ma

News.com.au

Empire of Light is a dull historical romance that isn’t even amusing enough to be offensive. It has its moments, but you’d be hard pressed to remember them later.

Rated: 2.5/5

Mar 4, 2023

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

These are tricky scenes to bring off, but Mendes has written them with such care and Colman performs them with such a delicate awareness of just how far they should be taken that the swift changes in pace and tone don’t hit a false note.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 2, 2023

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Joseph Tomastik

Loud and Clear Reviews

Empire of Light is a prime example of just how much a messy script can singlehandedly bring down a film.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 2, 2024

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Jericho Tadeo

MovieWeb

It pays tribute to cinema, not as an assertion of tradition in a wildly evolving industry, but rather an opportunity to reminisce and even remember why we watch, write about, and make movies in the first place.

Jul 12, 2024

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Tamma Moksha

The Hindu

Olivia Colman’s charisma is undone by plastic narration and inconsistent tones.

Jun 10, 2024

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PATRICK

Very slow moving. Acting was quite good but not much a story.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Mr. Hollywood

Couldve been better. Too bad they went the cliche route and ended up being a been there done that in many other movies. Movie has great cinematography but the story is cliched and nothing new.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/06/23

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James and Catherine Steinman

The acting, directing and production were all incredible. Only disappointed in the sound volume being a bit low, though it may have been subdued by the rain on the roof during our viewing. We are anticipating high scores at the BAFTAs and any other credible reviews.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/04/23

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Franzi

Coleman is brilliant, the cinematography fabulous and Michael Ward lovely.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/01/23

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Lauren

I enjoyed the scenery and the plot. It was a movie with depth and substance.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/01/23

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Bibiano

Coleman’s performance stole the show. Film did move a bit slow at certain parts. The ending was bittersweet.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/31/22

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Sam Mendes

Director

Olivia Colman

Hilary

Micheal Ward

Stephen

Colin Firth

Mr. Ellis

Toby Jones

Norman

Crystal Clarke

Ruby

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Empire of Light: Movie Clip - Beach

0:40

Empire of Light: Movie Clip - Illusion of Life

0:51

Empire of Light: Movie Clip - You Have to Go Out and Get It

0:45

Empire of Light: Movie Clip - Fishing

1:36

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Empire of Light: Featurette - A Deeply Personal Story

3:41

Empire of Light: Exclusive Featurette - That Little Beam of Light Is An Escape

3:47

Empire of Light: Trailer 1

1:34

Empire of Light: Teaser Trailer

1:13

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Synopsis

Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, EMPIRE OF LIGHT is a powerful and poignant story about human connection and the magic of cinema, from Academy Award®-winning director Sam Mendes.

Director: Sam Mendes
Producer: Pippa Harris, Sam Mendes
Screenwriter: Sam Mendes
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Production Co: Searchlight Pictures, Neal Street Productions
Rating: R (Language|Brief Violence|Sexual Content)
Genre: Romance, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 9, 2022, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 7, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.2M
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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