January 2023

Empire of Light: Theater of Dreams

Empire of Light follows the plight of a lonely, middle-aged woman working in a faded movie palace on the English coast in the 1980s. Superficially, this feature might appear to be a less taxing production challenge than Sam Mendes’ last collaboration with Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC — the Academy Award-winning World War I drama 1917 — but the filmmakers insist that it wasn’t. Deakins explains that because 1917 was designed to look like a single continuous shot, it required several weeks of meticulous prep, and “by the time we came to shoot, it was fairly straightforward — there weren’t any surprises. But with a film like Empire of Light, you’ve never got enough money and time, and you’re at the beck and call of location problems and traffic...more