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The Color Purple
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The Color Purple (1985) More at IMDbPro »

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The Color Purple (1985) -- The life and trials of a young African American Woman.

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   24,013 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 71% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Writers:
Alice Walker (novel)
Menno Meyjes (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Color Purple on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 December 1985 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize Winning Story. more
Plot:
The life and trials of a young African American Woman. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 11 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 8 nominations more
User Comments:
Too careful and slick overall, but undeniably moving... more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Danny Glover ... Albert

Whoopi Goldberg ... Celie Johnson
Margaret Avery ... Shug Avery

Oprah Winfrey ... Sofia

Willard E. Pugh ... Harpo Johnson (as Willard Pugh)
Akosua Busia ... Nettie Harris
Desreta Jackson ... Young Celie Harris
Adolph Caesar ... Old Mister Johnson

Rae Dawn Chong ... Squeak

Dana Ivey ... Miss Millie
Leonard Jackson ... Pa Harris

Bennet Guillory ... Grady
John Patton Jr. ... Preacher
Carl Anderson ... Reverend Samuel
Susan Beaubian ... Corrine
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Moon Song (USA) (fake working title)
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Runtime:
154 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Colour
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Whoopi Goldberg won the part of Celie in her audition for Steven Spielberg, by doing a comedy act she had developed about a stoned E.T. getting arrested in Oakland for possession. The audition was attended by many of Spielberg's famous friends, including Producer Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the scene where Miss Millie brings Sophia home for Christmas, from a wide shot of the house, you can see smoke coming out of the chimney. When Sophia gets inside, there is no fire in the fireplace. more
Quotes:
Old Mr.: Celie, you has my sympathy. Ain't many women allow they husband's ho to lay up in they house. more
Soundtrack:
Sister's Theme more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
32 out of 59 people found the following comment useful:-
Too careful and slick overall, but undeniably moving..., 2 October 2005
6/10
Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Steven Spielberg's too-bright, overlong, slickly-designed adaptation of Alice Walker's book about a repressed black woman in the old South living at the mercy of her brutish husband, mourning her separation from her beloved sister, and having a flirtatious friendship with a sexy female singer who passes through town. Spielberg guides the viewer through the crowded script quickly and with ease, and the introductions to the characters are jazzy and direct, but whereas the director is terrifically at home with his cast, he doesn't seem to know how to stage this story. It's mounted like "Gone With the Wind", with a sweeping grandeur that treats the material with cartoonish reverence. Results are both moving and sticky, with finely-wrought sequences quickly followed by banal whimsy and heartache. Whoopi Goldberg is terrific in the lead, and some of the dialogue has a haunting, evocative feel, but we're never aware of this as anything but a movie, staged and mechanically set-up to wring tears. **1/2 from ****

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Color Purple (1985)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
THE COLOR PURPLE GOT THE BIGGEST OSCAR SNUB aahobson
I Cry Every Friggin Time... PrimoEscobar
I miss films like this :( Afanoffilm
Although someone may have mentioned this before, lashell289
British title Dark-Chocolate-Hobnobs
'Nothing but death can keep me from it' RobertMitchumRules2005
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