The Color Purple, 1985.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Starring Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Whoopi Goldberg, and Oprah Winfrey.
SYNOPSIS:
The Color Purple, directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the award-winning novel by Alice Walker, makes its 4K Ultra HD debut. There isn’t a Blu-ray platter in the package too, but all the extras, except a pair of photo galleries, were ported over from past editions, including an excellent trio of making-of featurettes. A digital code is included too.
Steven Spielberg is one of my favorite directors, but I’ll admit I have some gaps in his filmography, and The Color Purple has long been one of them. I was 15 when it was released in theaters in 1985, so, to be fair, I wasn’t necessarily interested in that kind of subject matter.
When I had the chance to finally check out the movie courtesy of this new 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros., I jumped at the opportunity. And I have to say I’m sorry that I didn’t watch this one before now.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple charts the life of Celie Harris (Whoopi Goldberg), who bears two children courtesy of her horrific father (Leonard Jackson) and is forced to marry the widower Albert “Mister” Johnson (Danny Glover) so she can care for his children and home.
Mister isn’t much better than her father, who took her babies away to fates unknown, and Celie does her best to adjust to her new circumstances. One of Mister’s children, Harpo (Willard Pugh) marries an outspoken woman named Sofia (Oprah Winfrey), who initially clashes with Celie and has her own history of being abused. Sofia eventually tires of Harpo’s abuse and leaves him.
Celie’s sister Nettie comes to live with her for a while, to escape their father, but Mister sends her away when she refuses his advances, creating a hole in the young woman’s life. As the years pass and the World War I era becomes the 1930s, Celie eventually becomes more assertive, thanks to the encouragement of Shug Avery (Margaret Avery), a singer and Mister’s “side piece,” as they say these days.
Celie still longs for her sister and her children, however, and I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I say The Color Purple builds toward a bittersweet reunion in its third act. It’s a great movie that, incredibly, was nominated for 11 Oscars but won zero.
Of course, the fact that the movie continues to endure is testament to its greatness, regardless of how many awards it didn’t win, and Warner Bros. has released it on 4K Ultra HD as part of its 100th anniversary celebration this year. There’s no indication that the studio commissioned a new transfer for this release, but the film looks great anyway.
There’s no Blu-ray included in the case, although there is a code for a digital copy, and Warner Bros. has ported over all the extras from the 2011 Blu-ray edition except for a pair of photo galleries.
The centerpiece of the bonus features is a trio of making-of featurettes, each running under 30 minutes and coming out to about 80 minutes total. Titled Conversations with Ancestors: The Color Purple From Book to Screen, A Collaboration of Spirits: Casting and Acting The Color Purple, and Cultivating a Classic: The Making of The Color Purple, they offer a wide-ranging documentary that digs deep into the movie, including, of course, thoughts from Alice Walker.
In addition to a trio of trailers, you’ll also find The Color Purple: The Musical, an eight-minute featurette that has nothing to do with the upcoming musical based on the film. It’s a look at the soundtrack put together by Quincy Jones, who was wisely chosen by Spielberg over John Williams to create the score for this movie. (I don’t think Williams was put out by that decision.)
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
Originally published December 6, 2023. Updated April 22, 2024.
