Andy Warhol
Empire

People went to the cinema, already incredulous at the fact that a "film" of this genre was being shown in theaters. It is said that they brought cushions, blankets, and sunglasses in case sleep got the better of them. It was about enduring a psychological torture, 485 minutes of film to watch. But watch what?

A completely white frame, and subsequently, for six and a half hours, the figure of the Empire State Building emerges. Nothing happens; only the lights bring some "variation" to the vision of the work, as the external lights of the structure stay on while the internal ones turn on and off. Nothing else happens.

Warhol had already shocked the public with his "Sleep," a 5-hour film where the artist films a man sleeping, using the "long take extremis" technique. The film received positive reviews, although no one could explain why those reviews were positive since, at least on the surface, there was not much to see or understand. Many years later, specifically in 2004, an important recognition was given to the work: "a significant work of cultural, historical, and aesthetic values," followed in 2007 by another important recognition: "Empire, among the 13 best endless films of all time."

The film, shot at 24 frames per second but projected at only 16, was meant to extend the duration from 6 hours and 30 minutes to a total duration of 8 hours. When we say "extreme cinema"!!!!

An anti-cinematic masterpiece, let's not forget that Andy Warhol was painting a lot during that period, and indeed, when evaluating "Empire" carefully, it feels more like watching a painting captured on film; you certainly cannot call it "traditional" cinema, the one we all know. The exhausting duration is most likely justified by the artist's need to somehow diminish the importance of the subject (in this case, the Empire State Building) and to make time itself the true "protagonist" of the work. As some art critics have rightly suggested, apart from the lights, there's something that lends itself to change, and this something is precisely time, which transforms a sunset into the dawn of a new day.

Andy Warhol, genius and recklessness, always in search of absolute freedom of artistic expression. The evidence of his resistance to any imposed rule is not found only in "Empire," but other extreme works like "Sleep," "Blow Job," "Vynil" are a clear demonstration of absolute artistic anarchy. In light of all this, we can safely state that "Empire" is a work that requires completely different judgment parameters compared to any other work belonging to the seventh art. A film that against all expectations has become "iconic." On its fiftieth anniversary, the Empire State Building was completely illuminated precisely to pay tribute to the crazy and brilliant idea that the great Andy Warhol had in times when experimentation, daring, and transgressing were almost a prerogative of all artists who had no interest in being "understood and accepted" to the fullest, their art, crazy, visionary, and brilliant came before anything else.

A "duel" between the viewer and Warhol's work, although I have always lost despite various attempts (I managed to surpass four hours then I gave up), I have never dared to speak ill of a work that is clearly "greater" than me in all respects, nor have I ever dared to speak of "boredom" because even in a very reduced measure, I believe I have grasped the director's intentions, and moreover, I emphasize my total respect for those like Warhol who have always wanted to push their art to the maximum, overcoming all barriers and challenging various interpretations that change over time, transforming and leading the work to first enter a collective imagination and then into legend.

VinnySparrow