The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

In New Jersey in 1935, a movie character walks off the screen and into the real world.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mia Farrow	...	Cecilia
Jeff Daniels	...	Tom Baxter / Gil Shepherd
Danny Aiello	...	Monk
Irving Metzman	...	Theater Manager
Stephanie Farrow	...	Cecilia's Sister
David Kieserman	...	Diner Boss
Elaine Grollman	...	Diner Patron
Victoria Zussin	...	Diner Patron
Mark Hammond	...	Diner Patron
Wade Barnes	...	Diner Patron
Joseph G. Graham	...	Diner Patron
Don Quigley	...	Diner Patron
Maurice Brenner	...	Diner Patron
Paul Herman	...	Penny Pitcher
Rick Petrucelli	...	Penny Pitcher

Storyline

Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey during the Depression and is searching for an escape from her dreary life. Tom Baxter is a dashing young archaeologist in the film "The Purple Rose of Cairo." After losing her job Cecilia goes to see the film in hopes of raising her spirits. Much to her surprise Tom Baxter walks off the screen and into her life. There's only one problem..Tom isn't real. Meanwhile Hollywood is up in arms when they dicover that other Tom Baxters are trying to leave the screen in other theatres. Will Tom ever return and finish the film or will he decide to stay in the real world?

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Plot Keywords:

film within a film | 1930s | movie theater | film industry | entering movie via screen | 

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Taglines:

She's finally met the man of her dreams. He's not real but you can't have everything. [Video]

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Purple Rose of Cairo

Filming Locations:

Kent Theater, 1170 Coney Island Avenue, Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$114,095, 3 March 1985

Gross USA:

$10,631,333

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,631,333

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions, Orion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In an interview in a Belgian magazine, Viggo Mortensen said that he was very proud to have played a small role in this movie during a difficult time of his life. When he proudly took his entire family to a movie theater to see it, he was extremely disappointed to find out that all of his scenes were cut from the final movie.

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Goofs

As Cecilia and Gil play and sing in the music store, the camera casts a shadow in the lower left that disappears as it pulls back to a wide angle shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Theater Manager: Oh Cecilia, be careful! You all right?
Cecilia: Yeah.
Theater Manager: You're gonna like this one, it's better than last week's, more romantic.

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Connections

Referenced in Visions (2006)

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Soundtracks

One Day at a Time
(uncredited)
Written by Dick Hyman
Sung by Karen Akers twice

User Reviews

Allen's best film to date

Woody's stories are often derivative, but he's forgiven that, usually, because the results are good and ultimately do deserve his signature. For PURPLE ROSE, he swipes Buster Keaton's gimmick in SHERLOCK, JR., then lets his imagination run free as he did in the best of his NEW YORKER stories. We wind up with the most fascinating and realistic meditation regarding what it is to be an audience, a viewer's relationship to art, art's relationship to reality. The triumph is amazing, because, despite the depth of the symbolism, PURPLE ROSE can also be seen as sheer entertainment; on its surface, it is still one of the most entertaining pictures Woody has ever made.

Farrow and Aiello are marvelous here; Mia, who is quite underrated, has only been as good once -- in BROADWAY DANNY ROSE. The photography is superb, influenced perhaps by Edward Hopper with generally less obvious light sources.

Splendid, splendid work.