Directed by cult film-maker Ron Peck, Empire State is a sleazy 1988 crime drama set in Thatcherite London and is populated by rent boys, gangsters, football hooligans and bare-knuckle fighters. Peck, who counted Derek Jarman among his peers, carved himself a niche in the '80s for his ground breaking gay movies (Nighthawks, Strip Jack Naked, What Can I Do With A Male Nude? etc.), but Empire State saw him court crossover appeal by fusing his established gay themes onto a gangland thriller template. The tactic proves more successful than you might expect, as the director follows the exploits of a charismatic ensemble cast whose brash money-making schemes revolve around the glitzy Empire State nightclub. In the race to get ahead, rent boys rub shoulders with yuppies, and immorality is very much the order of the day. Martin Landau heads the cast as Chuck, a cynical American property developer with a predilection for rough trade.

What I also enjoyed about the film is its depiction of homosexuality in a very matter-of-fact way. ItÆs there, nobody cares and I kind of liked that. None of the characters are ever reduced to stereotypes. 

Empire State courted controversy on its original release and also when shown on Channel 4 TV in the UK, when the so-called moral majority objected to its gleeful blend of violence, bad language and transgressive sexuality. Strangely enough, its oddly prescient mixture of gangland grittiness and high camp feels well suited to the modern era, suggesting that Empire State was some way ahead of its time back in the late æ80s. Empire State wonÆt be everyoneÆs cup of tea, but itÆs fascinating and deserving of its recent re-release on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Video: Xvid @ 1293 Kbps, 720X416
Audio: MP3 @ 128 Kbps, Joint Stereo

http://staticmass.net/cult/empire-state-movie-1987/