The Color Purple

PG-13

12/18/19852h 34m

Theatrical (limited) Release (US)

~ It's about life. It's about love. It's about us. ~

Overview:

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$15,000,000.00

Revenue:

$146,300,000.00

Key words:

prison
rape
sibling relationship
jazz
southern usa
africa
empowerment
adoption
abusive father
violent husband
jazz singer or musician
letter
cynical
incest
angry
aggressive
desperate
complex
anxious
cautionary
sentimental
antagonistic
authoritarian
callous
celebratory
condescending
defiant
harsh
ominous

Cast

Danny Glover

~ as ~

Albert

Whoopi Goldberg

~ as ~

Celie

Margaret Avery

~ as ~

Shug Avery

Oprah Winfrey

~ as ~

Sofia

Willard E. Pugh

~ as ~

Harpo

Akosua Busia

~ as ~

Nettie

Desreta Jackson

~ as ~

Young Celie

Adolph Caesar

~ as ~

Old Mr.

Rae Dawn Chong

~ as ~

Squeak

Dana Ivey

~ as ~

Miss Millie

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

GenerationofSwine
Written 2 year(s) ago
10
Well, this is one of those movies that hinges on a singular performance. In this case it's Danny Glover who is absolutely amazing in his role, probably the best performance of his career, and one of the best that came out of the 80s.

But Goldberg and Oprah really stink. I don't know what was going on there but they were all over the place.

However, despite them, Glover does carry the role, and Spielberg realized that this was a film adapted from a play. He kind of took that and ran with it, so the performances (minus two notable ones) were as earnest as you would get in live theater, the set designs, the camera movements, it all felt less like a movie and a lot more like, well, like you were seeing it live on Broadway.

And, honestly, I think that worked. It was a unique approach and it made it wonderful to watch.