‘Purple Rain’ at 40: Celebrating Prince’s red-hot movie debut
The Los Angeles Herald Examiner’s Mika Gilmore compared it to Orson Welles’ 1941 masterpiece “Citizen Kane.” The L.A. Times’ venerable critic Robert Hilburn thought the film succeeded due to the star’s “presence” and the Hollywood Reporter’s Duane Byrge proclaimed it “sensitive and highly visual, this Albert Magnoli-directed film is an accomplished and sophisticated example of storytelling “
But not every critic 40 years ago went crazy over Prince in his landmark musical “Purple Rain.” The New York Times’ Vincent Canby was even a bit cruel in his criticism of Prince, who died at the age of 57 in 2016. Though he admitted the legend’s performance scenes “can be a riveting spectacle,” Canby noted in repose he looked like a “poster of Liza Minnelli in which someone has lightly smudged a mustache. When astride his large motorcycle, as he is from time to time, the image suggests one of Jim Henson’s special effects from a Muppets movie: Kermit the Frog on a Harley-Davidson. In the depths of depression, pacing back and forth in his dressing room, he expresses all the pent-up rage of a caged mouse.”
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Opening July 27, 1984, “Purple Rain” became the surprise hit of the summer. Made in seven weeks for $7 million, the film directed by first- timer Magnoli went on to make some $70 million, earning an Oscar for original song score. And in 2019, “Purple Rain” was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. “
In the film that had many autobiography elements, the 5’ 2” Prince plays the Kid, a brilliantly talented musician who performs with his band the Revolution at the famed Minneapolis First Avenue club. The Kid still lives at home with his abusive, alcoholic father (Clarence Williams III) and his mother (Olga Karlotos). His Purpleness also is having issues at the club. Morris (Morris Day) and his group the Time are urging the club’s owner to dump the Kid for a girl group he’s putting together. Morris selects the Kid’s new girlfriend Apollonia (Patricia Apollonia Kotero) to lead the aptly titled Apollonia 6. Despite all the Sturm and drang, the Kid and Apollonia reunite; and the film concludes with a lengthy, memorable concert sequence in which he performs “Purple Rain,” “I Would Die 4 U” and “Baby I’m a Star.”
There was a lot of synergy that made “Purple Rain” a hit. Warner Brothers’ Records wisely released the soundtrack album — it was Prince’s sixth studio album — a month before the film hit theaters. It would become the then 26-year-old’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 staying in the top position for 24 weeks for a total of 167 weeks on the chart. The singles “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy” charted No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Purple Rain” placing No. 2.
But there were controversies. Prince’s lyrics were always highly sexualized and so were his music videos. In fact, his video for “When Doves Cry” was considered too explicit for TV and the lyrics for “Darling Nikki” I incurred the wrath of Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center. The album sold some 25 million copies and won two Grammys for best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal and best score soundtrack for visual media.
MTV played an important part in the film and album’s success. The cable network was basically the social media of the day showcasing trends, stars and music videos. We all wanted our MTV. And it was front and center when “Purple Rain” premiered at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Times reported that some 5,000 fans lined Hollywood Blvd. to get a glimpse of numerous stars of the day most notably Prince, who stepped from a long purple limousine in a long purple coat with a long-stemmed purple rose clutched in his hand. Looking like a cross between Liberace and Napoleon, the reclusive performer stared blankly past the hordes of doe-eyed male lookalikes, past the shrieking female admirers, past even the MTV emcee and walked wordlessly inside with a hulking gray-haired bodyguard known simply as Chick. ‘Prince is bad,’ the Chinese crowd was told by comedian [Eddie] Murphy, in black leather pants and a gold lame jacket open to reveal a shirtless chest.”
And with that Prince became an international superstar. And “Purple” reigned after his death in 2016 when AMC brought the film back to 87 theaters. CBS News noted that “AMC insiders told [the Hollywood Reporter] that ‘Purple Rain’ had the highest percentage of sold-out shows of any title playing in theaters it was in last week.” Audience demand was so great for the Purple One’s classic that the following week it expanded to a total of 200 screens.”
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