Product Details

• Actors: John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards, Vincent Laresca, Isabella Rossellini
• Directors: Franc. Reyes
• Writers: Franc. Reyes
• Producers: John Leguizamo, Chris Connolly, Daniel Bigel, Jill Footlick, Michael Mailer
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: March 18, 2003
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JLYH
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,201 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Empire" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

John Leguizamo is, in his own words, "young, Latin, and good looking" as the ambitious minimogul of the South Bronx drug trade in Franc Reyes' Latino twist on the urban crime saga. Reigning in his hyperactive energy, Leguizamo is like a coiled spring as the street-smart player who tries to leave the violence of his trade behind in an upwardly mobile odyssey, and Peter Sarsgaard brings a discomforting confidence to the smooth-talking investment banker trusted with his millions. Few of the other characters even register in the familiar underworld tale (though Denise Richards has fun as a bubbly, skin-deep seductress) and Reyes's flashy style is as distracting as it is energizing. It's the smoldering presence of Leguizamo that keeps the film centered through the betrayals, the bullet-riddled battles, and the slow realization that this cunning shark has just become bait in the deep seas of high finance. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

This powerful, gripping action-thriller features John Leguizamo in a riveting performance the Los Angeles Times hails as "superb." "One of the best performances of the year!" The gritty streets of the South Bronx meet the white-collar world of Wall Street in Empire, a hard-hitting story about the pursuit of fast money and the high price of greed. Featuring Denise Richards, Isabella Rossellini and rap superstars Fat Joe and Treach, Empire is a high-intensity, urban thrill-ride!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars See for another aspect of the New York underground, March 28, 2003

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

EMPIRE is a carefully thought out approach to the question of "What would the little drug dealers in New York do if they had the chance to make money legitimately?". Too often we see these gangsta movies that are just caught in the glue of the drug world, rarely advancing out of it. In EMPIRE John Leguizamo makes us believe in his character, in his striving to get out of the drug world to make a life for his girlfriend and incipient family. There are clever twists and turns and it is great to see the 'bad guy' be the uptown Ivy League manipulator. The cast is strong, the photography is good, the narration of the story by Leguizamo is enlightening, and the movie takes us where others are afraid to go. Worth your time.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Empire, March 16, 2003

By	anthony rivera (San Diego,CA by way of NYC) - See all my reviews

I love empire. i think that John leguizamos(Hangin with the homeboyz,Moulin Rouge,The Pest) and first time director Franc Reyes did an execellent job putting together this film about everyday struggles for us young Puerto Rican Americans growing up in the urban streets of new york city. Movie Critics like Siskel and Ebert and many other movie experts don't rate this movie above average because of all the violence and foul language scenes that this movie contains but this is definately a classic and i hope that some time in the near future we can see another movie similar to this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i think that this movie was great, July 14, 2007

By	Gladys J. Pellot "gp" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

i think that this movie was great i think iit showed the gritty side of drug bussiness and when you make the wrong decision there's no way out of it.i love it cause it showed how life is for drug dealers and thier lives and drama that conquers in thier lives,and the people that are affected by all of this.