Color Purple, The – Widescreen (1985 – USA)

Based on Alice Walkers Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple is the richly textured, decades-spanning story of Celie, an uneducated woman living in the rural American south. Forced to marry a brutal man she calls "Mr.," Celie turns inward and shares her grief only with God. But she is transformed by the friendship of two remarkable women, acquiring self-worth... and the strength to forgive.Starring: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Rae Dawn ChongDirector: Steven SpielbergProduced by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Ken; written by Menno Meyjes; Running time of 154 minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1985, Warner Bros.

System Requirements:
Production Notes, Theatrical Trailer, Cast/Crew Bios, Interactive Menus Video Format: Widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio Enhanced for 16x9 TVs Subtitles: French, Spanish, and English English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround French: Dolby Digital Surround

Format: DVD MOVIE

Steven Spielberg, proving he's one of the few modern filmmakers who has the visual fluency to be capable of making a great silent film, took a melodramatic, D.W. Griffith-inspired approach to filming Alice Walker's novel. 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 it won none. --Jim Emerson

This film follows the life of Celie, a young black girl growing up in the early 1900's. The first time we see Celie, she is 14 - and pregnant - by her father. We stay with her for the next 30 years of her tough life... Written by Colin Tinto {cst@imdb.com}