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:

African American | 1900s | Adopted Daughter | Self Discovery | Africa

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:

Steven Spielberg's baby was born during the filming of this movie, and in the scene where young Celie gives birth to the baby, the sound of the baby crying is the actual sound of the Spielbergs' baby crying.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Mr.__ finds Celie out in a field reading one of Nettie's letters and strikes her, the letter, her glasses, and the book she was carrying (to hide the letter while she read) all scatter while falling to the ground. In the next shot, we see a close-up of the book, letter, and her glasses all neatly stacked on top of each other as they land on the ground.

Quotes:

Sophia: I loves Harpo, God knows I do. But I'll kill him dead 'fo I let him beat me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Century of Black Cinema (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Heaven Belongs To You

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.