It’s months since we’ve been able to experience cinema as normal – and while streaming release have kept us all going, there’s nothing like sitting in the dark, shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, seeing a massive new movie on a cinema screen. It remains the ultimate movie experience, not just because of the huge picture and booming sound – but because of what it means to share films with a roomful of strangers, to all be sucked into someone else’s story, united for a few precious hours. This month’s issue of Empire is an incredibly special one – with filmmaker Edgar Wright curating and collating a massive celebration of the cinemagoing moments that brought the house down. He’s enlisted 40 massive names from Hollywood and beyond – plus you, the readers – to break down the most epic multiplex moments ever.
It’s on sale from Thursday 21 January, and available to order online here – but first, here’s a look inside this month’s mag.
The Greatest Cinema Moments Ever
Across 37 pages, we pay tribute to the big screen experience – and the movie moments that played best in a packed cinema.
A Word From Edgar Wright
The first word comes from Edgar Wright, the man behind this whole massive celebration – delivering his own love letter to the big screen.
Hollywood's Picks
Filmmakers and actors don’t just love creating films – they love watching them too. Edgar Wright enlists Hollywood’s finest to divulge their most memorable cinema experiences, the moments that had the audience in rapturous applause, floods of tears, or that changed them forever. It’s a star-studded line-up, including Steven Spielberg, Chris Evans, Patty Jenkins, Spike Lee, Kevin Feige, Taika Waititi, Tessa Thompson, and Daisy Ridley.
You wanted more? Well then, how about Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson, Bong Joon-Ho, George Miller, Greta Gerwig, Alfonso Cuarón, Sam Mendes, Guillermo del Toro, And Lee, Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani, Jordan Peele, Paul Rudd, James Gunn, Bill Hader, Joe Cornish, Joe Russo, Walter Hill, Daniel Kaluuya, Jon Favreau, David Yates, Matt Stone, Jon Hamm, and Mark Hamill. Oh, and James Cameron. Told you it was huge.
Your Choices
Just as importantly, we also have you, the readers, sharing your greatest cinema memories – with the people behind the flicks you chose sharing their memories of creating those very moments.
Spielberg On Cinemas
Who better to get the final word than Steven Spielberg – delivering his own message on why the movie experience matters so much, and why cinema will never die.
2021 Preview
As we head into a new year, there are more movies than ever before to look forward to – and which, hopefully, we’ll all be able to enjoy on the big screen. Empire presents a brand-new look at the 60 films and TV shows that fill us with optimism for 2021 – including Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Francis Lee’s Ammonite, Disney adventure Raya And The Last Dragon, horror sequel Halloween Kills, Pixar’s Luca, Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho, and plenty more. Plus, we take a bigger look inside...
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
The real life story of a British teenage boy who dared to wear a dress to his school prom continues to reverberate – first as a documentary, then as a regional stage musical, onto the West End, and now as a major, mainstream LGBTQ+ movie with an openly-gay leading man, the iconic Richard E. Grant as you’ve never seen him before, and the backing of the world’s biggest movie studio.
Judas And The Black Messiah
Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield star in a blazing drama about Fred Hampton, the leader of the Black Panther party, and William O’Neal, the FBI informant who led to his downfall.
Rare Beasts
She’s commanded stages and screen as a pop star and actor – and now Billie Piper turns director for her first feature film, Rare Beasts. It’s an ‘unromantic comedy’ about being a woman in today's world that only could have come from the mind of its creator.
Take 20
In this month’s rundown of all the movie moments that matter, we take a fresh sip of Gunpowder Milkshake, get the latest on Martin Scorsese’s next movie, explore how Saw gets its edge back in Spiral, take a world-first look at star-studded comedy-action sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Isla Fisher takes on the Pint Of Milk interview, and much more.
Re View
In our home entertainment section, we revisit the controversial Crash with David Cronenberg, head back into the haunted halls of zombie flick Rec, break down the sharpest moments from Rose Glass’s Saint Maud, talk the evolution of Bill & Ted with Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, rank the films of Stanley Kubrick, and much more.
On Screen
Reviewed this issue are Emerald Fennell’s revenge thriller Promising Young Woman, Riz Ahmed’s drumming drama Sound Of Metal, Paul Greengrass’s new Tom Hanks-starring western News Of The World, Netflix historical drama The Dig, sci-fi headscratcher Synchronic, Russell T Davies’ astonishing new series It’s A Sin and much more.
Find the issue on newsstands from Thursday 21 January, or buy a copy online with free UK delivery here.