Purple Rain (1984)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Albert Magnoli

Writers:

William Blinn (written by)
Albert Magnoli (written by)

Release Date:

27 July 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Plot:

A young man with a talent for music has begun a career with much promise. He meets an aspiring singer...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Aspiring Singer | Star | Guitar | Suicide Attempt

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Prince	...	The Kid
Apollonia Kotero	...	Apollonia
Morris Day	...	Morris
Olga Karlatos	...	Mother
Clarence Williams III	...	Father
Jerome Benton	...	Jerome
Billy Sparks	...	Billy
Jill Jones	...	Jill
Charles Huntsberry	...	Chick
Dez Dickerson	...	Dez
Brenda Bennett	...	Brenda
Susan Moonsie	...	Susan (as Susan)
Sandra Claire Gershman	...	Beautiful Babe
Kim Upsher	...	Kim
Alan Leeds	...	Stage Hand

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Norway:15 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Eagan, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The film's original screenplay, found on various websites, contained an extremely sexually explicit scene between Vanity and The Kid during the "ride of rage" sequence. It's unknown if the scene was actually filmed when Apollonia replaced Vanity as the leading lady. This adds to the mystery of a long rumored early edit of Purple Rain that was given an X-rating by the MPAA.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Apollonia says "I'm thinking about buying a guitar", the boom mic is visible.

Quotes:

Apollonia: [Attempting to lift off the Kid's shirt] King Kong ?
The Kid: [Repelling her attempt] Stop it!
[the Kid tries the same thing with her]
Apollonia: No.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros. (1991) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Modernaire

That's not Lake Minnetonka...

Not terribly different from many of the 1930s-era "backstage musicals," Purple Rain sports a contrived plotline that sees Prince (in the film referred to only as The Kid) battling rival musician Morris Day for the affections of new-in-town beauty Apollonia and a shot at stardom through a secure spot on the bill at legendary Minneapolis club First Avenue. A secondary narrative thread concerns The Kid's violent home life and his attempts to protect his mother from his raging, abusive father. Anyone looking for nuance and subtlety won't find it in the acting or the direction, but Prince's stage presence is commanding, and the musical numbers are electrifying. The Academy Award winning song score (irrefutably one of the best rock albums of the 1980s) and Prince's enigmatic, magnetic personality are undoubtedly the chief components in Purple Rain's sturdy cult, but for viewers of the right age, the youthful angst, flip attitude, and bold sexuality of the film will prove to be irresistibly attractive.