The Color Purple (1985)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Alice Walker (novel)
Menno Meyjes (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 December 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize Winning Story.

Plot:

The life and trials of a young African American Woman.

Plot Keywords:

1900s | African American | Rural | Face Slap | Sister Sister Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for 11 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Moon Song (USA) (fake working title)

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Anson County, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

The first PG-13-rated to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the scene in which Celie has on Shug's dress in Shug's bedroom, Shug makes Celie look in the dresser mirror. There is another mirror on the dresser in which a crew members head is visible.

Quotes:

Celie: [on leaving the farm in Shug's car, shouting to Albert] I'm poor, black, I might even be ugly, but dear God, I'm here. I'm here.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Madea's Class Reunion (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Junk Bucket Blues

huge achievement from Spielberg

The film version of Alice Walker's hugely emotive and influential 1983 novel (written largely as letters from the central character Celie to God) was a massive Oscar success, and rightly so.

In the role of the abused and awakened Celie, Whoopi Goldberg gave her best screen performance by miles. Not far behind her was Oprah Winfrey as Sofia, the fiery woman tamed by fate. Others in the cast fleshed out the characters Walker had introduced so clearly on the page - Danny Glover as Albert, Celie's abusive husband; Margaret Avery as Shug, a force of change for the good; Willard Pugh and Rae Dawn Chong as Harpo and Squeak; Susan Beaubian as Corrine, the preacher's wife; and the much-missed Carl Anderson (otherwise best known as Judas in the 1973 film of Jesus Christ Superstar) as preacher Samuel.

Beautifully paced and sensitively written, 'The Color Purple' does justice to its source while opening out the story to involve viewers of a feature-length drama.