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Movies / On DVD / The Color Purple
The Color Purple

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The Color Purple (1985)

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88 %
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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:22

Rotten:3

Average Rating:6.8/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 34 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Steven Spielberg's masterful adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel stars Whoopi Goldberg, in her impressive screen debut, as Celie, a sharecropper's daughter living in rural... Steven Spielberg's masterful adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel stars Whoopi Goldberg, 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) 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. [More]

Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey

Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong, Akosua Busia, Willard Pugh

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Menno Meyjes
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Quincy Jones
Composer: Quincy Jones

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Color Purple

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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Unashamedly emotional, it either totally grabs you or leaves you cold.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
11/15/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Overrated, but still a good film.

comment 4 Comments
07/14/05
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

No review available.

comment Comment
03/05/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

A work of heart and soul dazzlingly performed by Spielberg's tightest ensemble since Jaws.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
02/16/03
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

It is unquestionably overwrought, but it is a truly lovely film with a lot of emotion in it. The meaning of all that emotion is unfortunately still up for grabs.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/23/03
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/23/03
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
11/26/02
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine

No review available.

comment Comment
05/06/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Film Threat

Spielberg's first big drama is often hokey in places but ultimately succeeds.

comment Comment
02/23/03
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online

No review available.

comment Comment
04/21/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Spielberg may not have been the best choice to direct this feminist text, making a clean, neat movie that lacks authenticity, but the movie has many touching moments and the entire female ensemble is good, particularly Whoopi Goldberg in the second half

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/05/09
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

"a should-have-been masterpiece that admittedly has its moments"

comment Comment
07/29/02
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
10/01/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/07/05
Joe Williams
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A far better film than is usually thought.

comment Comment
06/23/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
04/04/05
Larry Ratliff
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

No review available.

comment Comment
11/13/03
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/13/02
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for The Color Purple

May 16, 2008: Steven Spielberg's Ten Best-Directed Films
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