MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Down 756 this week

The Color Purple (1985)

 -  Drama  -  18 December 1985 (USA)
7.6
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.6/10 from 43,160 users  
Reviews: 168 user | 54 critic

The life and trials of a young African American woman.

Director:

Writers:

(novel), (screenplay)
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 964 titles created 10 Mar 2012
 
a list of 374 titles created 17 Apr 2011
 
a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 1269 titles created 6 months ago
 
a list of 47 titles created 8 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Color Purple (1985)

The Color Purple (1985) on IMDb 7.6/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Color Purple.
Nominated for 11 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 9 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

The Help (2011)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.

Director: Tate Taylor
Stars: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard
Philadelphia (1993)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

When a man with AIDS is fired by a conservative law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.

Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell
Precious II (2009)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Director: Lee Daniels
Stars: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton
Rain Man (1988)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country.

Director: Barry Levinson
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino
Awakenings (1990)
Biography | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

The victims of an encephalitis epidemic many years ago have been catatonic ever since, but now a new drug offers the prospect of reviving them.

Director: Penny Marshall
Stars: Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A just-divorced man must learn to care for his son on his own, and then must fight in court to keep custody of him.

Director: Robert Benton
Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.8/10 X  

Upon admittance to a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients to take on the oppressive head nurse, a woman he views as more dictator than nurse.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco, Louise Fletcher
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

English teacher John Keating inspires his students to a love of poetry and to seize the day.

Director: Peter Weir
Stars: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.

Director: Martin Brest
Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Director: Gus Van Sant
Stars: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck
Gran Torino (2008)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang
Babel (2006)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving four different families.

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Mohamed Akhzam
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
Harpo Johnson (as Willard Pugh)
...
...
...
...
...
Leonard Jackson ...
...
John Patton Jr. ...
Carl Anderson ...
...
Edit

Storyline

This film follows the life of Celie, a young black girl growing up in the early 1900's. The first time we see Celie, she is 14 - and pregnant - by her father. We stay with her for the next 30 years of her tough life... Written by Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

It's about life. It's about love. It's about us. See more »

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

PG-13 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

18 December 1985 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

El color púrpura  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$94,175,854 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey Oscar-nominated for their feature film acting debuts in this film. See more »

Goofs

The shaving cream on Mister's face changes between shots as Celie is sharpening the razor and Shug is seen running to the house. See more »

Quotes

Celie: [lunging towards Albert with a knife] I curse you. Until you do right by me everything you think about is gonna crumble!
Sofia: Don't do it Mrs. Celie. Don't trade places with what I been through.
Shug: Come on, Celie, let's go to the car.
Sofia: He ain't worth it, he ain't worth it.
Albert: Who you think you is? You can curse nobody. Look at you. Your black, you're poor, you're ugly, you're a woman, you're nothing at all!
Celie: Until you do right by me, everything you even think about gonna fail!
Grady: It's been a pleasure meeting ...
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.88 (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

"My Heart"
Written by Lil Armstrong
Performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five
Courtesy of CBS Records
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Commenting on the 20th Anniversary of this film.
13 May 2003 | by (Chapel Hill,North Carolina) – See all my reviews

In 2005,this will be the 20th Anniversary re-released of one of the most unforgettable motion pictures ever devised for the screen. However,this movie is worth seeing since it comes from one of the most distinguished directors in Hollywood......The man who brought us the greatest films ever made..."Jaws","Close Encounters","Raiders of the Lost Ark","E.T.", "Jurassic Park","Schindler's List","Hook","Poltergeist","A.I.-Artficial Intelligence","Minority Report",and so many more.

But this movie,"The Color Purple" was one of the most powerful and meaningful films ever made and to this day it stands out as a classic example of great cimema at its finest. Based on the novel by Alice Walker(who wrote the screenplay with collaborator Menno Meyjes),and directed by Steven Spielburg.

I saw this film at a premiere they had in 1985,and to this day it moves me in such a way that I had never felt,and it is moved me to tears every time I see this masterpiece,20 years later. This film showcased a lot of brilliant talent,since it had an all-African American cast which starred Danny Glover,Whoopi Goldberg,Margaret Avery,Oprah Winfrey,Adolph Caesar, Laurence Fishburne,Rae Dawn Chong,Akosua Busia,Desreta Jackson, Willard Pugh,Leonard Jackson,Carl Anderson,and a lot more.

The film is worth seeing! Highly recommended! Grand performances all around! Anything that has to be directed by Steven Spielburg is worth seeing. Great drama at its best! It also goes to show how unfairly African-Americans were really treated back then,not just by their white counterparts,but by their own race as a whole,and this movie shows that how really cruel that is. It was one of the top ten grossing boxoffice movies of 1985,and was nominated for an impressive 12 Academy Awards including Best Picture,Best Director,and Best Actress(which Whoopi Goldberg should have won!)not to mention musical score from composer Quincy Jones. See this in the widescreen version on video and DVD!


35 of 62 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Did Oprah sort of ruin this film for you? mischiefvin
A really bad movie meisterjaan
Why couldnt Celees children speak English? zyggums
THE COLOR PURPLE GOT THE BIGGEST OSCAR SNUB aahobson
Anyone else despise Miss Millie? trevvymac76
Favorite Line??? tubman15
Discuss The Color Purple (1985) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page