The Color Purple (1985)

Really Surprised!

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Good concept, poorly executed.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Often labelled as Spielberg's first 'serious' film. What was Jaws, a comedy? But I understand. Watching this, in the 80's it didn't feel like what 'A Film by Steven Spielberg' should be. No aliens, Nazis or sharks. But even as a nine-year old, I found myself really getting involved in the story. I just couldn't stop watching. So yeah, it's a Spielberg film in that respect. Danny Glover gives one his best performances as the cruel 'Mister.' Jeez, after this my sister and I hated him! Oprah Winfrey is impressive in her debut as the fiery Sofia, and Margaret Avery is wonderful as Shug, the beautiful singer who gives Celie something she is sorely lacking - love and friendship. But ultimately, this is Whoopi's movie, and while she's good in Ghost, this is the movie she really should have won the Oscar for. Ah, yes the Oscars. This movie famously received eleven nominations (though not one for Director) and went home empty-handed. There are reasons for this. Margaret Avery's OTT Oscar campaign was ill advised, but Spielberg's omission seems vindictive. I think the Academy hadn't forgiven his somewhat presumptuous move of inviting a camera crew to watch his reaction to the Oscar nominations for Jaws, expecting to see his name on there. But the real message they were sending was 'Stick to blockbusters, Steve. Leave the serious films to the big boys.'That year, Out Of Africa took the big prize, and it's an overlong film with nothing to say. It wasn't until Schindler's List that the world finally appreciated what a truly great filmmaker Spielberg is, yet the evidence is all here. No, the film isn't perfect. Spielberg's love of sentimentality creeps in at times, and John Williams is very notable by his absence. The explicit lesbian scenes of the book are also markedly toned down. But there are worse ways to spend an afternoon than in the company of The Color Purple.

When Spike Lee first saw this Spielberg's film of The Color Purple, he noted in his journal "He's Gotta Have It" a complaint that Mister (Danny Glover) - while shown to be a product of his mean father, and somewhat redeemed from a distance - is portrayed as a menacing figure without explicitly showing cause and effect that sources his anger and rage back to the white men that keep him down. If this matter were addressed in filming, the movie would not be improved by it. This perspective "look what the white man made me do" does not allow Mister to own his mistreatment of Celie, the character from whose perspective the story is told so effectively both in the Alice Walker book and the Spielberg film. If discussing this film with a lesbian movie fan, she may be dismissive of it and eventually reveal her disappointment that the intimacy with Shug is not more overtly sexual. Even though it would stick out like a sore thumb in the more tender and spiritual-focused film as a whole. As Celie eases into a sense of self respect and value, the film avoids what would read on screen as a diminishing of that into sexual terms. The focus of the story and narrative is right.My own fear any time I consider watching this film yet again is that the emotion can sneak up on the viewer and if Spielberg wants the us to well up it will most likely happen. Some call that manipulation. I call it effective and engaging film making. Steven Spielberg directs the attention of the audience with care, introducing scene transitions he had not attempted before in his work and carrying us from exuberant moments to trauma and uplift. Spielberg's love of cinema and the craft of directing does come first, as people are divided as to the repeated use of western movie head-turns and slow takes before a punch is thrown. This is used to comic effect in most cases, though the most provoked and consequential punches thrown are off camera or obscured in the moment of impact. We may see the moment before, and feel the inevitability, and the aftermath and consequences. Even with Quincy Jones taking over the music from John Williams, there is an aesthetic of emotion that is palpable from the start. The separation of two sisters can be as jarring and shattering as a shark attack. Watching this film decades later, the way characters are presented allows you to see Celie without remembering Whoopie as a host of The View and Danny Glover without being distracted by the legacy of Lethal Weapon. Oprah Winfrey going through the indignities her character endures lends resonance to it all because of her iconic status. To various degrees, this can be said of many now familiar faces in the film. In the hands of a lesser director, a straightforward recording of the content might be too uncommitted. Steven Spielberg takes the mundane and the gentle and makes it just enough larger than life that it finds emotional truth.

Even though this made some changes from Alice Walker's novel that made some audience members and critics furious, this is still one of the best films to come out of the 1980's. As the revival of the hit Broadway musical version trods the boards of New York once again, a return visit to it is necessary as is the need for me to see this beautiful film once again.The cruelty of most of the male characters keeps the tragic prone Celie away from her beloved sister Nettie and her two illegitimate children, fathered through rape and cruelly taken away from her at birth. Celie, allegedly ugly, and Nettie, a sweet but strong beauty, are separated twice-first by their abusive father, and later by Mister, the demanding husband Celie is forced to marry simply to be his slave. Watching the shy, insecure Whoopie Goldberg suffer the way she does is often heartbreaking, and hers was one of the strongest film debuts in Hollywood history.In spite of her circumstances, Goldberg's Celie adds a sly smile to her persona, devoted (or at least fearful) to husband Danny Glover in spite of his cruelty. She may hate him, but she gets to know him inside out, even aiding him as he prepares to meet his sexy mistress, Margaret Avery. Whoopie gets a boisterous step daughter in law in portly Oprah Winfrey (another film debut) who along with Avery becomes Goldberg's guardian angel when they see Celie's true inner beauty. In spite of her relationship with Glover, Avery's Shug comes to understand the importance of sisterhood, creating a beautiful bond between these complicated women. Not all of the men are as nasty as Celie and Nettie's papa. Even Glover's Mister has his soft side, and as his cruelties catch up to him which he must atone for, he makes a choice of retribution that certainly saves his soul. Glover may be an s.o.b., but there are layers hidden beneath his brutality. Willard Pugh is the most likable, but he is a bit of a buffoon. His Harpo is no match for Winfrey's sometimes obnoxious Sophia, and often their relationship doesn't seem real. It also makes no sense that Celie, a victim herself, would shyly advise Harpo to beat Sophia. Winfrey comes to life in her confrontation with Goldberg, and her performance is heartbreaking when she is beaten up for saying "Hell no!" to flibbertigibbet white matron Dana Ivey who wants Oprah as her maid. Stage veteran Ivey shows several different angles to this do-gooder who may have sweet intentions, but causes more harm than good. Adolph Caesar is appropriately obnoxious as Glover's father (showing the audience some of the reasons that Glover turned out the way he did), while Rae Dawn Chong is bubble headed, but ultimately showing strength, as Squeak who finds out that "Fine by me" ain't so fine for her. The colors of the country are enhanced by Quincy Jones' excellent musical score. Two songs are thrown in, but neither were in the musical. Director Steven Spielberg was snubbed for an Oscar nomination in one of the biggest scandals in Academy Award history. There's no denying that professional jealousy was partly behind it. How a film which details triumph over tragedy could be completely overlooked for even one award remains a mystery to this day. The triumphs of the finale will have you in tears. Make sure you have a full box of Kleenex out. Regardless of how many times you've seen this, the tears are absolutely going to flow.

I saw this film in the theater when it first came out and remember thinking it was a powerful and well done film. I found it in a video story the other day and screened it for the first time in 30 years. Now I see why it was so powerful. It is, in my opinion Mr. Spielberg's best work. I've never been a fan of his films - although he is a great director - I never liked how he manages to take a good movie and make a ten year old the star. This film, however was a masterpiece. All the actors in this film deliver stellar performances. And most of the major players went on to great careers. The cinematography , sets, everything is super well done. Great film which I have now added to my library.