RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Color Purple
The Color Purple

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

The Color Purple (1985)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
81 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 26

Fresh: 21

Rotten:5

Average Rating: 6.7/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 34 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Steven Spielberg's masterful adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel stars Whoopi Goldberg, in her impressive screen debut, as Celie, a sharecropper's daughter living in rural... Steven Spielberg's masterful adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel stars Whoopi Goldberg, in her impressive screen debut, as Celie, a sharecropper's daughter living in rural Georgia. The film opens in 1909 when Celie is a young girl, a victim of incest, pregnant with her father's child. Ugly and unloved, separated from her children and her sister, Celie's only option is marriage to an abusive, philandering husband (Danny Glover) who treats her little better than a slave. Her life changes forever when her husband brings his mistress, a beautiful blues singer named Shug (Margaret Avery), into the house. THE COLOR PURPLE was also the film debut for Oprah Winfrey, who beautifully plays Celie's sister-in-law, Sofia. THE COLOR PURPLE was nominated for 11 Academy Awards (including one each for Goldberg, Avery, and Winfrey) but surprisingly won no Oscars, and although the film was nominated for a Best Picture award, Spielberg was snubbed by the academy and was not nominated for Best Director. [More]

Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey

Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong, Akosua Busia, Willard Pugh

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Menno Meyjes
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Quincy Jones
Composer: Quincy Jones

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Mar 27, 1997

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Color Purple

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Spielberg proves to be the wrong director for this feminist text, making a too clean and neat movie that lacks authenticity in look and feel.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/05/09
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/30/08
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/27/08
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
08/19/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Overrated, but still a good film.

comment 3 Comments
07/14/05
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

No review available.

comment Comment
07/07/05
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

No review available.

comment Comment
06/19/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Brilliant, disturbing storytelling by Spielberg with standout performances.

comment Comment
05/28/05
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment Comment
05/06/05
Clint Morris
Film Threat

No review available.

comment Comment
04/04/05
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

No review available.

comment Comment
03/05/05
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

No review available.

comment Comment
09/23/04
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
04/21/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
04/16/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
11/15/03
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

No review available.

comment Comment
11/13/03
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

A far better film than is usually thought.

comment Comment
06/23/03
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Spielberg's first big drama is often hokey in places but ultimately succeeds.

comment Comment
02/23/03
Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Color Purple

May 16, 2008: Steven Spielberg's Ten Best-Directed Films
RT counts down the ten best-reviewed films directed by Indiana Jones helmer and modern moviemaking legend, Steven Spielberg. More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for The Color Purple

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

Deconstructing Harry

Deconstructing Harry

Pt. 3: Cuaron's darker Prisoner of Azkaban

Best Mockumentaries

Best Mockumentaries

From Borat to Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

Half-Blood Prince

Half-Blood Prince

How good is the 6th Harry Potter?

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development
40
  • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
142
  • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
46
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
60
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
20
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
95
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
67
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
53
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
49
  • Tomatometer Watch: How Good is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
48
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
44
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
28
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
20
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Color Purple at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Color Purple at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.