Total Film publishes final print issue after 27 years

One of the great movie magazines of our time, Total Film has officially released its final issue, #356. Modestly, the publication is not devoting this final edition to themselves but rather an anticipated movie, Gladiator II, making it the cover story.

While the magazine did put “Total Film’s Last Ever Issue” at the top of the cover, the rest puts the contents of the issue itself at the forefront. Inside is complete coverage of next month’s Gladiator II, an interview with Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage, a look at Steve McQueen’s upcoming World War II film Blitz, a sitdown with Jeff Goldblum, and much more.

In a statement, Total Film wrote, in part: “It’s with a heavy heart that we announce that this will be the final issue of the print magazine.  We like to think that this final print edition is a showcase of everything that Total Film magazine strived for, with a thrilling blockbuster on the cover, A-list interviews, fair and impartial reviews, smaller interesting movies nestled alongside the more mainstream fare, and above all else a passion for cinema radiating out of every page. So for now, it only leaves us to say a huge thank you to all the staff, writers, designers and photographers who made Total Film print magazine what it was over the past 27 years. And we’d also like to express our endless gratitude to everyone who has read, subscribed to or otherwise supported the magazine.” As has been the case, content will be available on GamesRadar.

Unlike other publications of its kind, Total Film found itself coming about at the dawn of the internet age, launching in 1997, a time when we were starting to have computers in our homes (hell, entire rooms were devoted to them!). With that, they always felt cutting edge, quickly becoming a must-subscribed magazine. Backed by exclusive material that found them delivering behind-the-scenes stories and interviews, as well as exploring films that ranged from the mainstream to the margins, they were near the pinnacle of cinema periodicals.

Sure, content both archival and new will be available online, but the end of the physical version of Total Film is undoubtedly a loss for movie fans all over the world.

How do you feel about Total Film shutting down their print edition? Were you a subscriber? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.