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Empire
Stars:
John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards, Dellah Cotto, Sonia Braga, and
Isabella Rossellini
Writer:
Frank Reyes
Director:
Frank Reyes
Feature
length: 100 minutes
Extras:
Filmmakers’ Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Soundtrack Sampler,
Production Notes, and Trailers
Languages:
English, French, and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 20
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Universal Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
John
Leguizamo stars as a wealthy upstart drug dealer in the Bronx whose brand named
“Empire” cocaine is in competition with two other local coke dealers. They
are all supplied by the Columbian mob, which gets a piece of the action and
tries to keep the peace between the competitors. Things begin to fall apart when
Leguizamo’s ambitions grow beyond his grasp and he invests money with a
backstabbing young banker (Peter Sarsgaard.) Soon Leguizamo’s character is
without a friend and with a price on his head if he doesn’t get his money from
the investment banker and to complicate things even more, his girlfriend is
pregnant with their son.
As
Writer and Director Franc Reyes notes on the feature length audio commentary
track with Director of Photography Kramer Morgenthau, he wanted to make film
that reflected the fast money drug culture that he witnessed while he was
growing up in the Bronx. He also wanted to emphasize how Latino culture and
social forces that interacted within it created a pressure cooker that yielded
great extended families made up of blood relatives and blood brothers as well as
the small time organized crime that existed in some part as a way to survive.
The screen specific commentary is also supported by onscreen production notes as
well as notes on the insert within the DVD keep case. I think he achieved his
goal with this film, but unfortunately he arrived about twelve years too late to
tell the same story that has been played out by both studio funded and
independent features alike with a variety of cultures. Thus the impact of
“Empire” is greatly diminished and the events slowly become predictable as
we follow the film to its inevitable conclusion.
The
widescreen presentation of “Empire” on DVD looks great with an anamorphic
(2.35:1) aspect ratio and a very nice English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Soundtrack that relies heavily on the film’s musical soundtrack for the
surround elements, but does not overshadow the effects and voice tracks.
Excerpts from the “Empire” Soundtrack CD appear among the extra features on
the DVD too, giving the viewer a sampling of what is included should they decide
to buy it. French and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks
are also included as well as English Captions for the hearing impaired and
French and Spanish Language Subtitles. The interactive menus are bilingual and
give viewers the choice of English or Spanish Language menu option screens.
A
32-second DVD promotional trailer for “8 Mile” as well as a preview for
“The Fast And The Furious: Tricked Out Edition” DVD that comes with a ticket
for the upcoming theatrical release of the sequel “2 Fast, 2 Furious”
precede the DVD features upon placing it on the tray end inserting it within the
player.
Other
extra features include a behind-the-scene featurette (21:41) and a reel of
approximately 21 deleted scenes (28:52) presented in a letterboxed (2.35:1)
aspect ratio from a videotaped source with English Stereo sound. Footage from
the LA premiere (4:00) as well as the (2.35:1) English Dolby Surround theatrical
trailer (2.38) and Cast and Director bios. Windows based users with a DVD-ROM
drive and Internet access also have the opportunity to explore added InterActual™
enhanced bonus features and whatnot.
I
noticed in both “Empire” and the recent DVD documentary release of “Biggie
& Tupac” that the “Godfather” films supply a kind of behavioral
template that these street gangster like to model themselves after. I find that
element interesting and frightening especially since “The Godfather” in my
opinion is more akin to watching some sweeping operatic Greek tragedy rather
than a tool for indoctrination. Yet it appears people are pulling lessons from
the film without regard for the ultimate consequences that occur to the
characters of that series. I think “Empire: Widescreen” makes for a good DVD
for those who saw it in the theater and want to add it to their film collection,
but otherwise, I recommend the perspective viewer rent it first before they buy.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Text Link Below!
Empire