The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 31
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
Release Date: Mar 1, 1985 Wide
liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 19,066
Movie Info
Woody Allen blurs the the boundaries between the real and unreal in this unique comic fantasy. The scene is a small town in the mid-1930s. Trapped in a dead-end job and an abusive marriage, Cecelia (Mia Farrow) regularly seeks refuge in the local movie house. She becomes so enraptured by the latest attraction, an RKO screwball comedy called The Purple Rose of Cairo, that she returns to the theatre day after day. During one of these visits, the film's main character Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels),
Mar 1, 1985 Wide
Nov 6, 2001
Orion Pictures Corporation
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Mia Farrow
Cecilia -
Jeff Daniels
Gil Shepherd, Tom Baxte... -
Danny Aiello
Monk -
Dianne Wiest
Emma -
Van Johnson
Larry -
Zoe Caldwell
Countess -
John Wood
Jason -
Milo O'Shea
Father Donnelly -
Deborah Rush
Rita -
Irving Metzman
Theatre Manager -
John Rothman
Mr. Hirsch's Lawyer -
Stephanie Farrow
Cecilia's sister -
Alexander H. Cohen
Raoul Hirsch -
Camille Saviola
Olga -
Karen Akers
Kitty Haynes -
Michael Tucker (I)
Gil's Agent -
Annie Joe Edwards
Delilah -
Peter McRobbie
Communist -
Juliana Donald
Usherette -
Edward Herrmann
Henry -
David Kieserman
Diner boss -
Eugene Anthony
Arturo -
Ebb Miller
Bandleader -
Edwin Bordo
Moviegoer -
Maurice Brenner
Diner Patron -
Ken Chapin
Reporter -
Crystal Field
Movie Audience -
Helen Hanft
Movie Audience -
Glenne Headly
Hooker -
Paul Herman
Penny Pitcher -
Lela Ivey
Hooker -
Gretchen MacLane
Moviegoer -
George J. Manos
Press Agent -
George Martin
Movie Audience -
Helen Miller
Movie Audience -
Rick Petrucelli
Penny Pitcher -
Ray Serra
Hollywood Executive -
Martha Sherrill
Moviegoer -
Jean Shevlin
Moviegoer -
Robert Trebor
Reporter -
Mark Hammond
Diner Patron -
David Weber
Photo Double -
Mimi Weddell
Ticket Buyer -
Wade Barnes
Diner Patron -
Albert S. Bennett
Moviegoer -
Sydney Blake
Variety Reporter -
Peter Castellotti
Penny Pitcher -
Tom Degidon
Ticket Taker -
Joseph G. Graham
Diner Patron -
Elaine Grollman
Diner Patron -
George Hamlin
Movie Audience -
Mary Hedahl
Popcorn Seller -
Tom Kubiak
Policeman -
Drinda La Lumia
Hooker -
James Lynch
Maitre D' -
Andrew Murphy
Policeman -
Leo Postrel
Movie Audience -
Don Quigley
Diner Patron -
Benjamin Rayson
Moviegoer -
Milton Seaman
Ticket Buyer -
David Tice
Waiter -
Willie Tjan
Hooker -
Loretta Tupper
Music Store Owner -
Peter von Berg
Drugstore Customer -
Victoria Zussin
Diner Patron -
-
Margaret Thompson
Movie Audience
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (34) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (3) | DVD (10)
In NJ, anything can happen!
Whimsical Woody Allen love note to '30s films.
Woody Allen's bittersweet comedy about the magical allure of movies in the Depression era was nominated for Original Screenplay Oscar, but it's premise is smiliar to that of Buster Keaton's 1924 silent.
Weird but wistful.
sublimely engaging
Classic Woody. A great cast and a great story.
Inventive, even romantic Woody Allen.
The most overlooked of Allen's great films.
A thoroughly enchanting work of art by one of our finest moviemakers
Awesome Woody Allen
Clever Woody Allen comedy-fantasy.
One of Allen's oddest and most charming experiments.
Its satirical destruction of the fourth wall disguises a bittersweet lesson on Hollywood dreams and the unpleasant realities they hide.
Lighthearted and full of whimsy
A lot of meanings float around in this outwardly simple fable.
Audience Reviews for The Purple Rose of Cairo
Super Reviewer
What more can I say about THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO? It isn't perfect, but it's very much close. I'm talking about a sheer motion picture that represents the 1930s in perchance the utmost picturesque, vivid manner possible. The writing is guaranteed pleasure for those who don't generally view film as a work of art, but for just about any cinephile watching this is bound to get a magical thrill similar to the kind a young child receives when he or she enters a candy shop. In just two, simplistic words, it's magnificent.
read it all at themoviefreakblog.com
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for The Purple Rose of Cairo yet.
What's Hot On RT
John Goodman's Best Movies
Woody Allen in San Francisco
Naomi Watts stars as Princess Di
Pictures from a zombie nation
Latest News on The Purple Rose of Cairo
December 8, 2005:
Jeff Daniels Does "Lookout" Duty for DisneyWell-admired character actor Jeff Daniels will star in a thriller entitled "The Lookout"...
Fresh Links
Featured
Movie: ID: 11023 Title: The Purple Rose of Cairo Release Date: 1985-03-01 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 2 Status: 1
Family Movie Mistakes
Even the best family entertainment experiences a few blunders now and then...
The Looks of Johnny Depp
To celebrate the star's birthday, BuzzSugar looks at the many faces of Johnny Depp.
10 Egregious Product Placements
Rolling Stone wonders if The Internship goes too far... then provides 10 examples of movies that did.
10 Bad Movies That Look Great
Sometimes even terrible movies can be beautiful; here are 10 of them, from HitFix.
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- Total Recall: John Goodman's Best Movies 1
- In Pictures: Zombie Nation! 0
- Video Interviews with Cast & Crew of Monsters University 0
- Digital Multiplex: 21 & Over, Quartet, and More 3
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Jack the Giant Slayer and Quartet 23
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Man of Steel Sets June Record 109
- Weekly Ketchup: Man of Steel Sequel In the Works 200
Top Headlines
-
Has Brad Pitt Ever Made a Successful Blockbuster?
0
-
Pacific Rim Set Visit Report
0
-
Shailene Woodley Cut from Amazing Spider-Man 2
0
-
Star Wars Casting Breakdown Reportedly Leaks
0
-
Universal Picks Up Dumb and Dumber To
0
-
Sam Taylor-Johnson Directing Fifty Shades of Grey
0
-
The Logan's Run Remake Has a New Writer
0
Foreign Titles
- Purple Rose of Cairo (UK)
- The Purple Rose of Cairo (CA)
In 1930s New Jersey, a movie character walks off the screen and into the real world.
REVIEW
There's no way you can't like the ingenuity of the movie, and the fun it has. It's about the joy of life, and love of the movies, and the difficulty to tell the difference sometimes (at least when in the theater). In some ways this is one of Woody Allen's lightest movies, and certainly lightweight compared to the more serious movies of this period (like the stunning gem, "Another Woman"). It's not zany like his earliest comedies ("Love and Death"). And it's not deeply observant and sometimes downright moving and brilliant like his best movies (like "Annie Hall" or "Crimes and Misdemeanors"). In that way it feels like what some novelists would call an "entertainment" to distinguish from their heavier masterpieces, and sometimes these are the most readable of all. Or the most watchable.
"The Purple Rose of Cairo" is inventive, warm, and touching. It's really high brow hilarious when the people on the screen react to the situation, not only because of the existential reality shift going on, but because they are all high brow types. Then there are the everyday scenes with Mia Farrow, the lead actress in the real world (usually), and support from Danny Aiello, really just a foil for the main romances (two) going on with Farrow (singular). It's not as complicated as it sounds, which might prove the elegance of Allen's writing. A beautiful, delicate movie without undo weightiness. Joyous, yes, even in its melancholy end.