Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Purple Rain (1984)

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Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 01-25-2006, 03:00 PM:

I’ve always liked Prince, but was never a big fan.
I had always wanted to see this movie, but up until Monday night, had never gotten around to it.
Watching this movie made me wish there were more performers like Prince around today.
I mean, I’ve been to shows for bands I’ve like before but have been downright BORED at most of them.
For the most part, it’s little more than going into a room, packing it full of people, and standing around to listen to a band play.
With few exceptions, the band isn’t actually doing anything worth watching.
Prince looks like someone I might actually like to go and watch (at least the Prince from 1984, I don’t know how he is today).
Also, the music is better than most of what is being put out by today’s rock and pop stars.

As far as musical performances go, I thought this movie was really good.
As opposed to most musical performances I have seen, there is actually something to watch.
Prince was able to match pageantry with performance without letting the pageantry get the upper hand.
I looked forward to any time Prince (and even Morris Day and The Time) took the stage.

The story is a decent one.
Prince stars as The Kid, an arrogant and cocky musician trying to make his mark.
He writes songs that come from inside and have meaning to him.
The problem is it seems that the songs have meaning ONLY to him and his performances aren’t as well received by the shrinking audiences at the club where he performs.
He is also resistant of the input of his fellow band mates.
Band Mates Lisa and Wendy have laid down some music on tape for him in hopes that he will use it to build a song, only to be rejected and ridiculed by The Kid for doing so.

The Kid lives at home with his abusive father (Clarence Williams III) and his mother (Olga Karlatos).
Early on in the film, The Kid meets Apollonia, a young aspiring musician trying to break into the business.
The Kid tries to court Apollonia, however trouble arises when Apollonia decides to join the band put together by The Kid’s rival Morris Day.
Jealousy kicks in and The Kid nearly follows in his Father’s abusive footsteps.

SPOILER WARNING

Although it is not apparent at first, The Kid’s father is ashamed of himself for his abusive behavior and near the end of the film, tries to take his own life because of it.
The Kid breaks down and uses Lisa and Wendy’s music to write Purple Rain, the song that in it’s first performance wins back the audience he had risked losing, and even gaining the approval of his manager as well as his rival, Morris Day.

END SPOILER WARNING

The only real flaw I found in this movie is the acting, which suffers a bit as a result of using only two professional actors (Williams III and Karlatos).
I would recommend this movie to anyone who does not dislike Prince.

I’ll give this one 3.5 out of 5.

Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 01-30-2006, 10:26 PM:

It had a visceral impact in a theater full of like-minded viewers - maybe it was the time and place, maybe it was just me, but it's one of those full-tilt dumb movies that exists solely in its own universe and really does not allow comparison in the terms of usual cinema criticism - of course, under the scrutiny of an insightful critic it falls apart, but on its own terms it's got a certain irresistible, sappy power.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-31-2006, 12:20 AM:

I'd agree, it's a pretty good movie for the Prince fan. (He still puts on a dynamite live show ... I saw him just a couple of years ago.) This movie also has a decent Greco factor due to Apollonia. Hubba hubba.

I haven't seen this flick since we played it in '84 but the fact that I remember it at all, means it must be OK.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 01-31-2006, 12:41 AM:

Several years ago we did an 870 film of his live performance of "KISS" somewhere that escapes me right now. But, the thing that sticks in my mind is a comment by one of my Iwerks' cohorts. When we reviewed the film on the big screen, she commented on how thin and form-fitting his pants were and how one could tell "his Religion" in that he appeared to be circumcised. YIKES!

I was shocked. Ummm not at her comment, but that he was "cut". (J/K!) [Wink]

But! I really do like his music and music videos! [Smile]

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 02-01-2006, 05:17 AM:

I enjoyed this movie when it came out. It was a great vacation from the whitebread Michael Jackson hype & saturation of the time.

The best musical performances of the film were from Morris Day & the Time, & the "Purple Rain" number by Prince (showing he had real guitar chops).

Usedta be you'd have enjoyable rock'n'roll "pop music" musicals on a small scale; they dried up for a while, then "Purple Rain" came out & it was fun to have it there.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 02-02-2006, 10:49 AM:

Purple Rain is one of those movies that I put up there with movies like Saturday Night Fever. It has a story and a point and at the same time it introduces or fuels a genre. The album Purple Rain is not the album that put Prince on top it was the album that put him over the top.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 02-02-2006, 10:58 AM:

Didn't he do that song (I think it was something like) "I get Delirious" early on in his career? I thought that was pretty comical. Sort of like "I'm turning Japanese" by the Vapors [Big Grin]