The Color Purple (1985)

The life and trials of a young African American woman.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Alice Walker (novel), Menno Meyjes (screenplay)

Stars:

Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery

Nominated for 11 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Glover	...	Albert
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Celie Johnson
Margaret Avery	...	Shug Avery
Oprah Winfrey	...	Sofia
Willard E. Pugh	...	Harpo Johnson (as Willard Pugh)
Akosua Busia	...	Nettie Harris
Desreta Jackson	...	Young Celie Harris
Adolph Caesar	...	Old Mister Johnson
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Squeak
Dana Ivey	...	Miss Millie
Leonard Jackson	...	Pa Harris
Bennet Guillory	...	Grady
John Patton Jr.	...	Preacher
Carl Anderson	...	Reverend Samuel
Susan Beaubian	...	Corrine

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...

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Plot Keywords:

african american | 1900s | girl | three word title | actress shares last name with character | 

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Taglines:

It's about life. It's about love. It's about us.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

El color púrpura

Filming Locations:

North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$94,175,854 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, Guber-Peters Company, The, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Steven Spielberg is the one whistling (on the soundtrack, along with the music), as Harpo sits whistling while his children are taken from him one by one.

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Goofs

When Celie holds Olivia immediately after giving birth, she is obviously holding a doll, as the hands are sticking straight up and not moving (although the baby is crying).

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Quotes

Shug: [to Celie] You sho' is ugly!

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Connections

Referenced in Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates the First Kiss (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Junk Bucket Blues"
Written by Porter Grainger
Performed by Get Happy Band
Courtesy of CBS Records

User Reviews

Vintage Spielberg In Both The Good & Bad

As with many Steven Spielberg films, this is a beautiful-looking movie, scene-after-scene almost looking like paintings. To me, that was the main attraction of the movie because the story - although powerful - to me, wasn't as appealing as the rich visuals. It's also one of those films almost guaranteed to bring a tear or two to ones eyes at the end.

This is much more involving story if you are a woman or black person, because you can relate more to the characters in the film. As with typical Hollywood, political correctness rules: most of the men (white or black) are bad while the women (mostly black) are all good. If you are a male watching the movie, this bias in the story can be very annoying.

Individually, I remember first watching this (I've seen it a couple of times) and being surprised what a good actress Oprah Winfrey was, and how appealing was Whoopi Goldberg's character "Celie." Goldberg became a star after this film (also for her comedy appearances on TV) but I always thought this role was, by far, her best or, at the least, her most appealing.

Rae Dawn Chong never looked prettier and Margaret Avery played a real charmer. Danny Glover was effectively nasty. You wanted to punch his lights out!

Overall, expect for what I mentioned above, this was good storytelling and certainly an involving, emotional story.