The Color Purple

“It's about life. It's about love. It's about us.”

7.7

1985

2h 34m

DramaHistory

Director: Steven Spielberg

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.

Trailer

4K Ultra HD Official Trailer Official

Cast

Albert

Danny Glover

Albert

Celie

Whoopi Goldberg

Celie

Shug Avery

Margaret Avery

Shug Avery

Sofia

Oprah Winfrey

Sofia

Harpo

Willard E. Pugh

Harpo

Nettie

Akosua Busia

Nettie

Young Celie

Desreta Jackson

Young Celie

Old Mr.

Adolph Caesar

Old Mr.

Squeak

Rae Dawn Chong

Squeak

Miss Millie

Dana Ivey

Miss Millie

Leonard Jackson

Grady

Bennet Guillory

Grady

Reviews

GenerationofSwine

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.

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