Stars: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Leonard Jackson, Akosua Busia, Adolph Caesar, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Oprah Winfrey

Director: Steven Spielberg

Summary: THE COLOR PURPLE focuses on the life and times of Celie, a black girl, who suffers years of abuse at the hands of two men. Based on the novel by Alice Walker and starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey, and is considered to be director Steven Spielberg's first 'mature' film.

Steven Spielberg's masterful adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel stars Whoppi Goldberg (GHOST, SISTER ACT), in her impressive screen debut, as Celie, a sharecropper's daughter living in rural Georgia. The film opens in 1909 when Celie is a young girl, a victim of incest, pregnant with her father's child. Ugly and unloved, separated from her children and her sister, Celie's only option is marriage to an abusive, philandering husband (Danny Glover – LETHAL WEAPON, BOPHA) who treats her little better than a slave. Her life changes forever when her husband brings his mistress, a beautiful blues singer named Shug (Margaret Avery), into the house. THE COLOR PURPLE was also the film debut for Oprah Winfrey, who beautifully plays Celie's sister-in-law, Sofia. THE COLOR PURPLE was nominated for 11 Academy Awards (including one each for Goldberg, Avery, and Winfrey) but surprisingly won no Oscars, and although the film was nominated for a Best Picture award, Spielberg was snubbed by the academy and was not nominated for Best Director.

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Reviewed by: philreyn
Posted on October 3, 2005 12:49 PM

I hadn't seen this film since the 1980's, but enjoyed it every bit as much having recently made the DVD purchase. This was Whoopi Goldberg's acting debut, and she hits the ground running. It's difficult to describe, as there are lot of things happening throughout, and it could spoil it for those who have not yet had the pleasure of a first viewing. There are many magical moments that will have you reaching for a tissue, so have a box ready before you start. This is a classic, and unmissable film. Spielberg at his very best.

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Steven Spielberg took a melodramatic DW Griffith-inspired approach to filming Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple. His tactics made the film controversial, but also a popular hit. You can argue with the appropriateness of Spielberg's decision, but his astonishing facility with images is undeniable--from the exhilarating and eye-popping opening shots of children playing in paradisiacal purple fields to the way he conveys the brutality of a rape by showing hanging leather belts banging against the head of the shaking bed.

In a way it's a shame that Whoopi Goldberg, a stage monologist who made her screen debut in this movie, went on to become so famous, because it was, in part, her unfamiliarity that made her understated performance as Celie so effective. (This may be the first and last time that the adjective "understated" can be applied to Goldberg.) Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including best picture and actress (supporting players Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery were also nominated), it was quite a scandal--and a crushing blow to Spielberg--when The Color Purplewon none. --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

On the DVD:The Color Purplemakes a sumptuous transfer to DVD in this special edition. The lush and vibrant cinematography is well served by the widescreen format; Quincy Jones's warmly enveloping score, shot through with jazz age references, is superbly enhanced by surround sound. The extras are ideal companions to the main picture, detailing the passage of Alice Walker's novel from book to screen. Walker herself recalls the anxieties of the process, while director Spielberg and various cast members remember many poignant moments during and after filming, reminding us with a jolt that this beautifully made, hugely popular and inspirational film didn't win a single Academy Award. --Piers Ford

Aspect Ratio:	Full Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive Menus, Production Notes, Scene Access, Trailers
Subtitles:	Arabic, English
Year:	1985
Release Date:	September 25, 1998
Runtime:	148 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 011534
Keywords:	General, Color, Purple, Drama
Genre:	Drama