Sam Mendes' Empire of Light Arrives on Blu-ray/DVD 02/21 (Digital 02/07)

Searchlight Pictures is set to release Sam Mendes' Academy Award-nominated Empire of Light starring Olivia Colman on Blu-ray and DVD on February 21. The Digital option will be available a few weeks earlier on February 7.

From director and writer Sam Mendes (“1917” and “Skyfall”), “Empire of Light” is a moving drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times. Set in and around a faded old cinema in an English coastal town in the early 1980s, it follows Hilary (Olivia Colman), a cinema manager struggling with her mental health, and Stephen (Micheal Ward), a new employee who longs to escape this provincial town in which he faces daily adversity. Both Hilary and Stephen find a sense of belonging through their unlikely and tender relationship and come to experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community.

The Blu-ray will include a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, although the press release indicates the Digital will include a Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

 Bonus Features*

Featurette

• Creating Empire of Light - Go behind the scenes of this personal film with writer-director Sam Mendes, and uncover the story’s origins and the director’s love of cinema. See how the perfect location was found to rebuild a classic movie theater that had the cast in awe.

 *Bonus features vary by product and retailer

Empire of Light
 

Preorders for Empire of Light should be available soon. Here is the full press release:

Searchlight Pictures’ and Sam Mendes’ moving drama Empire of Light

Arrives on Digital February 7 and Blu-ray™ and DVD February 21

BURBANK, CA (January 25, 2023) – From acclaimed filmmaker Sam Mendes (1917, Skyfall) comes the moving and Academy Award^®* nominated Empire of Light. This deeply personal tale of love, friendship and compassion set around a fading cinema in an English coastal town in the 1980s, has been described as “an achingly lovely film – the best Sam Mendes has yet made” (Richard Lawson, Vanity Fair) and features an acclaimed performance from Olivia Colman as a cinema manager coping with mental health issues. The film arrives on Digital February 7 and Blu-ray and DVD on February 21, with never-before-seen bonus content featuring Sam Mendes and the cast that uncovers the story’s origins and the director’s love of cinema.

*Best Cinematography, 2023

Film Synopsis

From director and writer Sam Mendes (“1917” and “Skyfall”), “Empire of Light” is a moving drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times. Set in and around a faded old cinema in an English coastal town in the early 1980s, it follows Hilary (Olivia Colman), a cinema manager struggling with her mental health, and Stephen (Micheal Ward), a new employee who longs to escape this provincial town in which he faces daily adversity. Both Hilary and Stephen find a sense of belonging through their unlikely and tender relationship and come to experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community.

Bonus Features*

Featurette

• Creating Empire of Light - Go behind the scenes of this personal film with writer-director Sam Mendes, and uncover the story’s origins and the director’s love of cinema. See how the perfect location was found to rebuild a classic movie theater that had the cast in awe.

*Bonus features vary by product and retailer

Cast

Olivia Colman as Hilary

Micheal Ward as Stephen

Colin Firth as Mr. Ellis

Toby Jones as Norman

Directed by

Sam Mendes

Produced by

Pippa Harris

Sam Mendes

Executive Produced by

Michael Lerman

Julie Pastor

Written by

Sam Mendes

Music by

Atticus Ross, Trent Reznor

Product Specifications

Street Date

Digital: February 7, 2023

Physical: February 21, 2023

Product SKUs

Digital: UHD, HD, SD

Physical: Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + Digital Code) & DVD

Feature Run Time

115 minutes

Rating

U.S. Rated R

**For sexual content, language and brief violence. Bonus material not rated.

Aspect Ratio

Digital: 2.39:1

Physical: 2.39:1

U.S. Audio

Blu-ray: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA, English AD 2.0 Dolby Digital

DVD: English 5.1 Dolby, English AD 2.0 Dolby

Digital: Dolby Atmos, 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio 2.0 Dolby Digital (some platforms), Spanish 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 & 2.0 Dolby Digital

U.S. Subtitles

Blu-ray: English SDH, Spanish, French

DVD: English SDH, Spanish, French 

Digital: English SDH, French, Spanish (some platforms)

“A CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCE 
FROM OLIVIA COLMAN”

– Clayton Davis, Variety