Very good little character study about a young man who drops out of college in the late 60's, at the height of political and emotional turmoil. Problems arise in the young man's home life, and subsequently he is drafted to Vietnam. The film follows his journey from college life to home life, highlighting in a trip to the army base aboard a bus. The ending is simply unforgettable! Excellent use of period music.
9 Reviews
One of the best period movies I've ever seen.
ckimmell6618 August 2006
This movie portrays the common teen attitude of the late 60's and is a useful as well as humorous look at an era that some of us never knew. I've seen this movie in the early 90's and I now wish I could share it with my kids. Even the disgruntled teens of today would relate to PURPLE HAZE.
PURPLE HAZE is a highly overlooked classic. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll find yourself relating to one or more of the leading characters, being drawn in like a close friend or family member is telling you this story.
The soundtrack is equally awesome and everybody should INSIST that this movie be returned to print.
Great acting, plot, irony, ending...........
PURPLE HAZE is a highly overlooked classic. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll find yourself relating to one or more of the leading characters, being drawn in like a close friend or family member is telling you this story.
The soundtrack is equally awesome and everybody should INSIST that this movie be returned to print.
Great acting, plot, irony, ending...........
Overlooked Film
cyber_diver29 November 2016
Its a shame this film isn't more widely known or on DVD. Perhaps its due to its year of release. I watched it on HBO in 1985 and have tried to get a VHS, then a DVD copy since, but it doesn't appear to be around.
Its an excellent story of a period in American history that some may choose to forget, but as with any history, its important to try to understand what and why it occurred. Having lived in that period, this film delivers its spirit.
I really don't remember the details of this film, but remember that it really struck me, especially the final scene of the bus driving away. Wish Amazon would place it on Prime.
Its an excellent story of a period in American history that some may choose to forget, but as with any history, its important to try to understand what and why it occurred. Having lived in that period, this film delivers its spirit.
I really don't remember the details of this film, but remember that it really struck me, especially the final scene of the bus driving away. Wish Amazon would place it on Prime.
Fair
ofumalow17 December 2014
I'm not sure why this film so completely slipped through the cracks--I don't remember it coming out at the time, and it seems to have evaded all conventional release to VHS, DVD, etc. (Maybe there were legal issues--the soundtrack is wall-to-wall famous late 60s "oldies," and perhaps the filmmakers didn't pay for the music rights beyond theatrical release.) In any case, it has a good reputation from the few who've seen it. But it doesn't hold up particularly well.
Perhaps its typical coming-of-age story of a young man worrying about the draft, what his parents think of his long hair, etc. has been done too many times by now. But the problem is how routinely "Purple Haze" tells that story, with rote characterizations from fairly colorless lead actors and variably amateurish support ones. You could forgive that and other clumsy aspects from a firsttime filmmaker, but the director/coscenarist had made a few features before (including the truly awful horror movie "The Meateater;" I'd like to see 1976's "Loose Ends," which got some critical acclaim at the time), and what appears to be a pretty pedestrian later career of TV movies (including lame biopics about Sonny & Cher, the Partridge Family and Jackie Onassis).
I imagine this was a more personal project for him (it was shot in his native Minnesota, and some of the actors have a very "local talent" feel), and in some ways it's pretty ambitious for an indie feature of the era. But it just doesn't have the spark of personality in terms of writing, performance or direction to make a memorable impression. A later movie (by another prolific TV-movie director) that likewise fails to make anything distinctive of a clearly autobiographical late-60s-young-manhood tale (and likewise shows practically no interest in women as anything but interchangeable sex partners) is Bobby Roth's 2005 "Berkeley."
I'm sure anyone who came of age circa 1969 thinks their experience of the era was unique and unforgettable. Sure it was--to them. Trouble is, too many of those stories all begin to seem generically alike when they're dramatized. It takes a savvier dramatist than this movie has to recapture what seems exciting in nostalgic recall and actually make it interesting for viewers.
Perhaps its typical coming-of-age story of a young man worrying about the draft, what his parents think of his long hair, etc. has been done too many times by now. But the problem is how routinely "Purple Haze" tells that story, with rote characterizations from fairly colorless lead actors and variably amateurish support ones. You could forgive that and other clumsy aspects from a firsttime filmmaker, but the director/coscenarist had made a few features before (including the truly awful horror movie "The Meateater;" I'd like to see 1976's "Loose Ends," which got some critical acclaim at the time), and what appears to be a pretty pedestrian later career of TV movies (including lame biopics about Sonny & Cher, the Partridge Family and Jackie Onassis).
I imagine this was a more personal project for him (it was shot in his native Minnesota, and some of the actors have a very "local talent" feel), and in some ways it's pretty ambitious for an indie feature of the era. But it just doesn't have the spark of personality in terms of writing, performance or direction to make a memorable impression. A later movie (by another prolific TV-movie director) that likewise fails to make anything distinctive of a clearly autobiographical late-60s-young-manhood tale (and likewise shows practically no interest in women as anything but interchangeable sex partners) is Bobby Roth's 2005 "Berkeley."
I'm sure anyone who came of age circa 1969 thinks their experience of the era was unique and unforgettable. Sure it was--to them. Trouble is, too many of those stories all begin to seem generically alike when they're dramatized. It takes a savvier dramatist than this movie has to recapture what seems exciting in nostalgic recall and actually make it interesting for viewers.
Will it stand the test of time? I doubt it.
phillip-610 May 2002
It is quite some time since I saw this film and it may have become one of those of its time memories. What I can remember is the soundtrack. The film is very much a hardcore version of the sickly sweet 1969. Well worth seeing again, if it ever gets an airing, although I get the feeling it won't stand the test of time.
The best movie about the Vietnam war as seen from the US
dmgrad24 March 2022
Yeah, this is a "local" production with no-name actors, but as someone who was Matt Caufield's age (20 in 1968 -- I was "there", as they say), this film captures with near perfection the mood and atmosphere that million-dollar productions try to capture but don't. Maybe "Gardens of Stone" comes close, but "Purple Haze" is almost a psychological documentary about the war, 1968 and its effect on and in the US. It deserves way more positive recognition than it ever received.
The DVD is available from David Burton Morris. Don't miss it.
The DVD is available from David Burton Morris. Don't miss it.
Best movie, showing the true generation gap in the sixties.
ticklemeclellmo20 September 2005
This movie is very hard to find, Netflix.com doesn't even have it. The music sound track was one thing, but the thing I liked most was the father/son relationship. Main character gets kicked out of college for smoking (while Johnson announces he won't run again, and they all clap and cheer), comes home (hitch-hikes) with long hair, and has a conversation with his father. Late 60's, the father just couldn't understand why his son would want dress like that and have hair like a G.D. girl. You hate the father, but at the same time, you love him and understand what his frustration must be like. I grew up in the 80's this movie really shows what it must have been like in the 60's to cause so many people to just drop out (and tune in & turn on).
A great 60's era movie
USMale495729 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I must say my VCR recording of "Purple Haze" is wearing thin, like an old eight track tape; recorded it several years ago. I have watched it many times as I was a teenager in the 60's and the music score and script captured the feelings I felt back then. Especially, when Matt Caulfield was on the bus to boot camp. I was 18 & fresh out of high school when my bus pulled out of the station, after getting drafted. The drill SGT in the movie was a lot nicer than the one we had on the bus, and half way to Ft. Campbell, I felt like jumping out too. Four months later I was in the infantry in Viet Nam. A must see movie for a 60's fan. Kinda one of those movies you would like to see back to back with Billy Jack, even though they were made a few years apart.
A 10/10 for me.
mckennam-4260520 June 2023
I saw this in the 80s my folks had recorded it on vcr, I put it on after being out for a few drinks and I swear to this day, I felt for Matt as though I knew him in me,to this day I remember watching and listening and thinking it's not just me, other people think like I do, I love my long hair still at 53 and I still feel like an outsider watching the normies on their hamster wheel. David Burton Morris hit the nail on the head here, I suppose we have to mention the greatest movie soundtrack ever made, unbelievable use of classic tracks, sadly the also the reason the film can't be released due to rights, what right do they have to keep this from the masses.
Happy trails jolly Jeff c
Thank you DBM.
Happy trails jolly Jeff c
Thank you DBM.
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