Purple Rain (1984)

A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.

Director:

Albert Magnoli

Writers:

Albert Magnoli, William Blinn

Stars:

Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A young man with a talent for music has begun a career with much promise. He meets an aspiring singer, Apollonia, and finds that talent alone isn't all that he needs. A complicated tale of his repeating his father's self destructive behavior, losing Apollonia to another singer (Morris Day), and his coming to grips with his own connection to other people ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

singer | female frontal nudity | breasts | androgyny | skinny dipping | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 July 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Baran-e Banafsh

Filming Locations:

752 South Main Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,766,201, 29 July 1984, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$68,392,977

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$80,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Purple Films, Water

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Scenes of Wendy and Lisa kissing, suggesting a same-sex relationship, were deleted from the final version. They had a lesbian relationship in real life.

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Goofs

Apollonia's application card says she is at the Royal Hotel. Later in the film, when Prince reads the card, which is pinned to the notice board, her address is the Huntington Hotel, the handwriting is completely different, and the notice board pin is in a different position. When The Kid then walks away from the notice board, the card is one seen earlier.

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Quotes

[first lines]
First Avenue M.C.: Ladies and gentlemen... The Revolution!

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Crazy Credits

"May u live 2 see the dawn"

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Alternate Versions

Network TV versions omit the song "Baby, I'm a Star", and simply have it playing over the end credits.

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Connections

Featured in VH1 Presents the 80's: Hip Hop/R&B (2001)

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Soundtracks

When Doves Cry
Words and Music by Prince
Performed by Prince
© 1984 Controversy Music

User Reviews

Much undervalued film

A much undervalued film that tells the story of a young musician caught in an ever-declining spiral of domestic violence.

At times difficult to watch, while Morris Day is portrayed as the misogynist, Prince as the knight on (motorcycle) steed, he is still called upon to twice beat a woman as part of the screenplay. That he can do this and still emerge as a flawed but vindicated hero is credit to the writing. Prince is so free of ego in this film that not only does he portray himself as a narcissistic megalomaniac who beats women, but his most famous song is fictionalised as being written by his father and Wendy & Lisa. Even further, two of his compositions - Computer Blue (admittedly the album's weakest track) and Darling Nikki - are shown as being songs that kill off an audience. Perhaps the only concession to the Princely ego is a card that lists the (slightly shorter than Prince) Apollonia as 5'6.

The nearly complete-amateur cast are mainly band members playing themselves (and reviewers who slate the actors on the terms that they've never appeared in other movies are completely missing the point), and do perfectly well under the direction. Morris Day gets most of the plaudits for his likable ham, though Jerome Benton must also get credit for bouncing off him well, particularly their stage act, which is hilarious. Day and Benton even go so far as to make an Abbott and Costello routine funny, which takes some doing.

Lastly, there's Prince. While I admit to bias, I do actually think he's a pretty good actor in terms of being able to portray a low-key version of himself. Acting ISN'T his profession, this was a film made for entertainment, so anyone pointing out that the guy in the lead role isn't Robert DeNiro and thinking they're making a point is sadly deluded. I don't want this review to be a derisory attack of other people's comments, but I've even this film slated as having a low budget and being darkly lit. How would a film about domestic violence be shot, then? With full overhead spotlights and a CGI dinosaur walking into frame?

The film acts almost as a perfect snapshot of the neon light and skinny tie era… until you remember that it was actually made in a world of curly perms and tinny synths, and this isn't some retro-recreation. Prince's best film with Oscar-winning music, it sees him at his zenith, and it's saddening to realise that, even though he would make some fine albums, he would never again capture this high.

Post-Script, July 2016: Seeing this film again, it was clear that I'd been watching it through Purple-tinted glasses. My original score was 7/10, which is ridiculously high. My revised score of 5/10 stands as generosity by itself. A genius on record, perhaps... but on film, definitely not.