Review of Purple Rain (1984) by Nicolas C — 12 Apr 2011

When PURPLE RAIN was shot in 1983, Prince was a newly mainstream act, finally celebrated outside of his hometown of Minneapolis. Eager for more exposure, he sought out some producers and made this film. A hybrid film and music video, PURPLE RAIN describes the career of The Kid (Prince himself, of course), trying to make it in the music business in spite of the tough competition of swank Morris Day and violence between his alcoholic parents (Clarence Williams III and Olga Karlatos). The arrival of aspiring singer and dance Apollonia introduces some romance into the mix. Basically, things happen during the day, and then in the evening The Kid does his club act, where the songs Prince and The Revolution perform are vaguely related to what's going on between The Kid and Apollonia.

This format of a dramatic plot mixed in with gratuitous concert performance is in no way new. Elvis did a whole series of such films. What makes PURPLE RAIN memorable is how it captures a Zeitgest so broadly. It's a one-stop celebration of early 1980s fashion, car design, club life, and of course music. Of course the plot and much of the acting is risible, though often it descends into "it's so bad it's good" territory. Certainly one chuckles when the club manager tells The Kid, "No one understands your music but yourself", when the soundtrack sold 13 million copies.

The 20th anniversary edition DVD release contains a second disc with extras. There are three small documentaries, which describe respectively the Minneapolis venue featured in the film, the making of PURPLE RAIN, and the influence the film has had. They all feature interviews with the same people, including members of the Revolution and The Time. However, Prince, Moris Day, and Apollonia are missing from this documentary material.