Purple Rain (1984)
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AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Purple Rain makes for undeniably uneven cinema, but it's held together by its star's singular charisma -- not to mention a slew of classic songs.
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Cast
as The Kid
as Apollonia
as Morris
as Mother
as Father
as Jerome
as Billy
as Jill
as Beautiful Babe
as Chick
as Dez
as Brenda
as Kim
as Susan
as Stage Hand
as Taste MC
as Lisa
as Jesse
as Wendy
as Paul
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Critic Reviews for Purple Rain
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (15) | DVD (10)
Rock star Prince makes an impressive feature film debut in Purple Rain, a rousing contemporary addition to the classic backstage musical genre.
Prince's 1984 movie debut seems more like his deification, with an aggressively stupid plot line that serves only to set him up as a paragon of artistic integrity, sexual prowess, and superhuman sensitivity.
A hokey but mesmerizing rock-video psychodrama.
It's probably best to think of the film as an extended music video, a watershed moment for movie sound tracks, and not much more.
[The plot] is all no more than fancy padding around the film's heart, which only starts to really pump when Prince is up on stage: a teasing, hot amalgam of Marc Bolan, Nijinsky and the Scarlet Pimpernel, as electric as his guitar.
[Purple Rain] is probably the flashiest album cover ever to be released as a movie. However, like many album covers, Purple Rain, though sometimes arresting to look at, is a cardboard come-on to the record it contains.
Audience Reviews for Purple Rain
Purple Rain is a surprisingly average musical drama starring Prince. I had heard countless things about this film, and I finally checked it out. Well, it's not a great film by any means, and the film is more famous for its soundtrack, which is quite good. The film has its fair share of faults, but manages to be entertaining due to an interesting performance from Prince. I enjoyed the film, but I felt it could have been better. The songs are obviously the standout aspect about the film, and the plot is a bit cliché as it's something we've seen many times before. Those interested in this genre of film will surely enjoy this one; others will find it not quite enjoyable. By today's standards it's quite dated, but it is a far better film than the remake of Hairspray and Rock of Ages. Some elements on-screen work well, but others don't and you clearly see where the film fails. Purple Rain should have been a great dramatic musical, but it only touches the surface in many ways. In the end, you are left wanting more than just a good soundtrack. Prince has done some stellar work in terms of music, but as an actor, he just isn't cut out for it. At least the songs he has written for the film are memorable, and that's the main reason to see this film. I'm not normally one to enjoy this type of music, I'm more into Heavy metal, but the tunes here are timeless and it is fun to see Prince perform them. The plot could have been reworked a bit as well, but overall this is a good film to watch when you have nothing else better to do.
Super Reviewer
Obviously the music and watching Prince perform it is the only good thing about the film. Update: Prince's live performances are legendary, "Computer Blue" is sick
Super Reviewer
Classic stuff.
Super Reviewer
Purple Rain Quotes
| Apollonia: | Will you help me? |
| The Kid: | Nope. |
| Apollonia: | Pardon me? |
| The Kid: | Nope. Want to know why? |
| Apollonia: | Nope! |
| The Kid: | Cause you wouldn't pass initiation. |
| Apollonia: | What initiation? |
| The Kid: | Well, for starters, you have to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. |
| Apollonia: | What? |
| The Kid: | You have to purify yourself in Lake Minnetonka. |
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