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“Let’s have some action. Let’s have some asses wigglin’,
I want some perfection! Ha ha!”
– Morris Day, Purple Rain
It’s not a great movie, it’s not even a very good
movie, but that hasn’t stopped me from tuning in Purple Rain
virtually every time it’s been on TV these last 20 years. Despite
its many flaws – bad acting, ripe dialogue and rampant misogyny
among them – pop-funk superstar Prince’s first film holds
a peculiar sway over me two decades after its theatrical release.
And I’m not alone. Filmed in just seven weeks
at a cost of $7 million (all figures American), Purple Rain took
in over $60 million in the two months following its July 27, 1984, debut.
The accompanying soundtrack, credited to Prince And The Revolution,
spent 24 weeks on top of Billboard’s album chart, going
on to sell over 13 million copies worldwide, winning an Oscar (Best
Original Song Score), and spawning a number of hit singles, including
his first American number one, ‘When Doves Cry’. The accompanying
world tour and the ongoing support of MTV helped turn Prince from a
star into a superstar.
Twenty years later, Warner Bros. is re-releasing the
film to DVD in a two-disc special edition (see sidebar for details)
at a time when the 46-year-old Prince’s public profile is higher
than it’s been in years. He released his most recent album, Musicology,
this past April through Columbia Records, his first major label release
in years; was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame back in March;
opened the 2004 Grammy Awards with a much-talked-about duet with Beyoncé
Knowles; and his current North American tour is the highest-grossing
of 2004 with $45.7 million in grosses and a total of 737,000 tickets
sold (according to music industry website HITS Daily Double).
Which means a look back at Purple Rain is in
order. What do we find? A glorified B-movie with some of the most exciting
concert sequences ever filmed.
The plot, a romanticized version of Prince’s
life, mixes fact and fiction. His Purpleness stars as The Kid, a talented
but directionless young musician whose band, The Revolution, packs them
in night after night at Minneapolis’s First Avenue club. But The
Kid is getting squeezed by Morris (Morris Day), leader of rival First
Avenue band The Time, who is angling to replace The Revolution with
an all-girl group. The arrival of ambitious young singer Apollonia (Apollonia
Kotero) heightens their rivalry as she falls for The Kid but decides
to work with Morris. Meanwhile, professional and personal tensions intertwine
as The Kid continues to abuse his band, and at-home relations between
his violent musician father (Clarence Williams III) and mother (Olga
Karlatos) come to a boil. Will The Kid become a star? Will he and Apollonia
find true love? Will anyone give a convincing line reading?
What doesn’t work? Mainly the acting. The cast
is made up almost entirely of Prince’s bandmates and friends, and
it shows. Kotero’s main talent is getting naked, which she does
well – Lord knows she can’t act. Prince’s Revolution
bandmates acquit themselves fine, especially guitarist Wendy Melvoin
and keyboardist Lisa Coleman, whose own songwriting ambitions feed into
the film’s climax. Prince, whose facial expressions seem to be
limited to sarcastic smirks and self-pitying pouts, only acts naturally
on stage. (The fact that his character is a selfish, insecure woman
hater is not commented upon.) Kudos, though, to Morris Day for playing
the fool; his is an enjoyable comic turn.
What does work? The plot wends its way believably
to the famous showdown between The Revolution and The Time, creating
real drama. And then there’s the music. Purple Rain contains
some of the most exciting music committed to film, from the electric
Revolution performances (‘Let’s Go Crazy’, ‘The
Beautiful Ones’, ‘Darling Nikki’, ‘Purple Rain’)
to the background tracks (‘Take Me With U’, ‘When Doves
Cry’). Each song pushes the story forward and acts as advertising
for The Revolution’s dynamic live shows. These sequences are faultless.
Too bad the fledgling movie star didn’t stop
while he was ahead. Purple Rain’s success encouraged Prince
to keep making movies, and while he continued to produce incredible
records (especially 1985's Around The World In A Day and 1987's
Sign O’ The Times), his other cinematic ventures were far
less compelling. Under The Cherry Moon (1986), directed by Prince
after original director Mary Lambert was ousted due to “creative
differences,” was a 1930's fantasia that rightly bombed; today
it is notable principally as Kristin Scott Thomas’s film debut.
Sign O’ The Times (1987) is a glorified concert film, combining
performance footage with awkwardly staged dramatic vignettes. The less
said about 1990's Graffiti Bridge, a spectacularly incompetent
sequel to Purple Rain (again directed by Prince), the better.
But Purple Rain stands the test of time. Far
from perfect, it remains a thrilling testament to youth, beauty and
ambition. Unlike other recent music-oriented pop star-making vehicles,
like Eminem’s po-faced 8 Mile or Mariah Carey’s woefully
misguided Glitter, there’s a B-movie bravado to Purple
Rain that gives it an undeniable rewatch value... and not just for
the opportunity to see Prince wiggle his ass.
PURPLE RAIN: 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION
Release date: August 24
Number of discs: 2
Contains:
• 8 classic music videos, including ‘Let’s Go Crazy’,
‘Take Me With U’, ‘When Doves Cry’, ‘I Would
Die 4 U/Baby I’m A Star’, ‘Purple Rain’, ‘Jungle
Love’, ‘The Bird’ and ‘Sex Shooter’
• 1984 MTV Premiere Party TV special
• Commentary by director Albert Magnoli, producer Robert Cavallo
and cinematographer Donald E. Thorin
• An all-new documentary on the Minneapolis music scene, the importance
of the First Avenue club, and Prince’s career prior to Purple
Rain
• The making of the movie and the music
• A new documentary on the impact of the movie and music on popular
culture, the response from Prince’s fans and the enduring legacy
of Purple Rain
• Theatrical trailers for Purple Rain, Graffiti Bridge
and Under The Cherry Moon
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