Purple Rain (film)

Purple Rain
File:Prince PurpleRainMovie.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Albert Magnoli
Written by	Albert Magnoli William Blinn
Produced by	Robert Cavallo Stephen Fargnoli Joseph Ruffalo
Starring	Prince Apollonia Kotero Morris Day Clarence Williams III
Cinematography	Donald E. Thorin
Edited by	Albert Magnoli Ken Robinson
Music by	Prince Michel Colombier John L. Nelson
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	July 27, 1984
Running time	111 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7 million (est.)
Box office	$68,392,977

Purple Rain is a 1984 musical film directed by Albert Magnoli and written by Magnoli and William Blinn. Prince makes his film debut in this movie, which was developed to showcase his particular talents. The film grossed over US$80 million at the box office and became a cult classic.

A sequel titled Graffiti Bridge was released in 1990.

Plot

"The Kid" (Prince) is an aspiring and talented, but troubled Minneapolis musician with a difficult home life. He meets a singer named Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero), and they become involved in an untidy romance. The plot centers on Prince trying not to repeat the pattern of his abusive father, played by Clarence Williams III, and keep his band, The Revolution, and his relationship with Apollonia, together. His main antagonist is fellow musician Morris Day and his group The Time. its a true story about his life.....

Cast

• Prince as The Kid
• Apollonia Kotero as Apollonia
• Morris Day as Morris
• Clarence Williams III as Father
• Jerome Benton as Jerome
• Jill Jones as Jill

Production

The movie idea was apparently developed by Prince during his "Triple Threat" tour. Initially the script was to be darker and more coherent. Prince intended to cast Vanity, leader of the girl group Vanity 6, but she left the group before filming began. Her role was initially offered to Jennifer Beals (who turned it down because she wanted to concentrate on college) before going to Apollonia Kotero, a virtual unknown at the time. Excluding Prince and his on-screen parents, almost every character in the movie is named after the actor who plays him or her.

Although the film was considered "outrageous" at that time by Warner Bros., it was finally accepted for distribution thanks to music industry PR man Howard Bloom.

Filming

Filmed almost entirely in Minneapolis, the film features many local landmarks, including the Crystal Court of the IDS Center (also shown in segments of the opening credits to The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and the legendary First Avenue nightclub. A notable error, either geographic or taxi fare related, shows Apollonia running up (and bailing on) a $37.75 cab fare going from the Greyhound Station to the nightclub. In reality, they were just across the street from each other.

The Huntington Hotel which Apollonia stayed in is located at 752 S. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014. This was a late pickup shot and is shown in the movie to be across the street from First Avenue though it clearly is not. The motorcycle Prince rides in the film is a customized Hondamatic Honda CB400A.

Soundtrack

The film is tied into the album of the same name, which spawned three chart-topping singles: the opening number "Let's Go Crazy", "Purple Rain", and "When Doves Cry". The movie won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score, the last time this award has been given. The soundtrack sold over 10 million copies in America alone, and 20 million worldwide.

External links

• Purple Rain at IMDb
• Purple Rain at the TCM Movie Database
• Purple Rain at AllMovie
• Purple Rain at Box Office Mojo
• Purple Rain at Rotten Tomatoes
• Purple Rain at Metacritic