The Color Purple (1985)
I’ve read the book, and Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Menno Meyjes turned it into a masterpiece. There’s so much they added to the story, so much they cut out, so much they enhanced, that it almost defies description. I know there are those out there who really appreciate the novel, but there’s one thing we can all agree on: The Color Purple got shafted at the Academy Awards. The eleven nominations (without Best Director, if you can believe it) should have swept up the ceremony, but instead it remains one of the worst snubs in history.
One of the signs of an excellent movie is that no matter how many times you watch it, you still get more out of it. I’ve seen this movie more times than I can count (it was even shown on the big screen for study material at film school), and I always find something new that the filmmakers or actors did to make the finished product perfect. It’s so perfect that if Hollywood remakes it for added popularity during the current social climate, I won’t even rent it. Certain movies, like The Great Gatsby, should be left alone when there’s no room for improvement.
Believe it or not, there are youngsters out there who have never seen this movie and don’t even know what it’s about. When they do watch it, they’ll in for quite a shock – no, not because of the extremely heavy storyline that starts its opening scene with the pre-teen protagonist giving birth to a baby incested by her father – the shock young folks will find is with the cast. The funny lady on The View was actually an incredible actress once upon a time? That nice old guy who always whispers played villains thirty years ago? And world-famous Oprah once took a supporting role? It’s always fascinating when people have a generational career. The first movie my best friend saw Danny Glover in was The Color Purple, and she was scared of him for years. I didn’t see this movie until I was much older, and by that time I only thought of him as the nice guy from Dreamgirls. When we look back and see these performances from the women in the cast, it’s such a shame that they weren’t continuously offered such meaty roles. Oprah took a different path that led to being a world-famous icon, but if she’d been given more chances to show off her acting chops, she might not have left Hollywood. Whoopi Goldberg’s performance was so vivid, painful, and real, her make-up Oscar for Ghost was a terrible insult. She was relegated to comic relief parts when she was capable of so much more. Playing a character who has to stuff her feelings inside and also act them large enough for the camera to see is quite a challenge. Aging onscreen and letting the audience see the toll the years have taken on her is difficult, and balancing all the different feelings she has towards all the different characters is complicated and complex. This was a tour-de-force, and the Academy rewarded her by saying, “Nope. You should stay in subservient roles playing kooky characters the audience can laugh at.”
One of the signs of an excellent movie is that no matter how many times you watch it, you still get more out of it. I’ve seen this movie more times than I can count (it was even shown on the big screen for study material at film school), and I always find something new that the filmmakers or actors did to make the finished product perfect. It’s so perfect that if Hollywood remakes it for added popularity during the current social climate, I won’t even rent it. Certain movies, like The Great Gatsby, should be left alone when there’s no room for improvement.
Believe it or not, there are youngsters out there who have never seen this movie and don’t even know what it’s about. When they do watch it, they’ll in for quite a shock – no, not because of the extremely heavy storyline that starts its opening scene with the pre-teen protagonist giving birth to a baby incested by her father – the shock young folks will find is with the cast. The funny lady on The View was actually an incredible actress once upon a time? That nice old guy who always whispers played villains thirty years ago? And world-famous Oprah once took a supporting role? It’s always fascinating when people have a generational career. The first movie my best friend saw Danny Glover in was The Color Purple, and she was scared of him for years. I didn’t see this movie until I was much older, and by that time I only thought of him as the nice guy from Dreamgirls. When we look back and see these performances from the women in the cast, it’s such a shame that they weren’t continuously offered such meaty roles. Oprah took a different path that led to being a world-famous icon, but if she’d been given more chances to show off her acting chops, she might not have left Hollywood. Whoopi Goldberg’s performance was so vivid, painful, and real, her make-up Oscar for Ghost was a terrible insult. She was relegated to comic relief parts when she was capable of so much more. Playing a character who has to stuff her feelings inside and also act them large enough for the camera to see is quite a challenge. Aging onscreen and letting the audience see the toll the years have taken on her is difficult, and balancing all the different feelings she has towards all the different characters is complicated and complex. This was a tour-de-force, and the Academy rewarded her by saying, “Nope. You should stay in subservient roles playing kooky characters the audience can laugh at.”
Danny Glover also had a difficult character to work with, since he was the villain. A great villain isn’t truly evil, but instead becomes human and makes the audience understand him. When we see the relationship he has with his father, Adolph Caesar, we understand his need to bully. When we see his insecurity and desire to please his mistress, Margaret Avery, we understand the inner torment he lives with every day. Margaret has her own intense family problems she holds in her heart, but rather than inflict her pain on someone else, she channels it into healing and support for others.
I love the scene transitions in this movie; they flow so seamlessly that even though you’re aware you’re watching a movie, you can’t really imagine the lights, boom mic, and camera capturing everything. But since there was all that equipment and technical work behind what we’re seeing, we owe a great compliment to Steven Spielberg. His sensitivity to get such wonderful performances from his actors, the detail of his eye to fill the frame with authentic looking props, sets, and costumes, and keeping the big picture in mind while filming all the little pictures; he had an enormous burden on his shoulders every single day he worked on this film. With a movie so full of intense drama, it would have been easy to turn it into a melodrama with every scene featuring a massive catastrophe. Instead, he kept everything realistic and tame, letting the emotions speak for themselves. Thank you, Mr. Spielberg, for your beautiful work.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to adult content, I wouldn’t let my kids see it until they were at least 16.
More Danny Glover movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of Alice Walker's original novel here!
I love the scene transitions in this movie; they flow so seamlessly that even though you’re aware you’re watching a movie, you can’t really imagine the lights, boom mic, and camera capturing everything. But since there was all that equipment and technical work behind what we’re seeing, we owe a great compliment to Steven Spielberg. His sensitivity to get such wonderful performances from his actors, the detail of his eye to fill the frame with authentic looking props, sets, and costumes, and keeping the big picture in mind while filming all the little pictures; he had an enormous burden on his shoulders every single day he worked on this film. With a movie so full of intense drama, it would have been easy to turn it into a melodrama with every scene featuring a massive catastrophe. Instead, he kept everything realistic and tame, letting the emotions speak for themselves. Thank you, Mr. Spielberg, for your beautiful work.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to adult content, I wouldn’t let my kids see it until they were at least 16.
More Danny Glover movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of Alice Walker's original novel here!