Customer Reviews
Thoughtful and Moving - By: J. Roberts, 09 Jun 2008 
This film, based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by Alice Walker, follows the life of Celie, a young black woman who is married off to a violent, controlling man, at the tender young age of 14. Celie is played with utter brilliance by Whoopi Goldberg.
Separated from her beloved sister, Celie then has to endure an extremely difficult life with the man she callls 'Mr', played superbly by Danny Glover. Celie also has to come to terms with the fact that she may never see her two children again; the two children she had with the man she callled her father, but was actuallly her stepfather.
Along the way, 'Mr' brings into his home the first woman he ever loved, a stunningly talented singer named Shug Avery, & Celie forms a friendship with her. Another excellent performance is provided courtesy of Oprah Winfrey, who plays a tenacious woman who is disgracefully imprisoned for seven years for punching a white man.
Eventuallly, Celie discovers that a veritable catalogue of mail from her sister has been intercepted & hidden by 'Mr', & with sheer joy, Celie reads alll about how her sister has lived a full & eventful life, travelling to Africa as a missionary. Some very emotional scenes take place towards the end of the film, which should realisticallly bring a tear to the eye of anyone who has an ounce of humanity.
This film is not just hugely relevant, but also superbly acted & beautifully shot. It gives great insight into the lives of black people during the first half of the twentieth century, & the trials they faced with admirable backbone. No acting Oscars were awarded for this film, a fact which I attribute to the institutionalised racism which is still very much present in American life. Certainly this has to be regarded as Whoopi Goldberg's finest hour, & a definite triumph for director Steven Spielberg.
Given that Alice Walker was consulted frequently in the making of this film, I would imagine that it sticks closely to the details in the novel, which can only be a good thing. Alice Walker is a writer of amazing depth, sensitivity, emotion & relevance. This film helps convey that to a great extent.
Epic and Inspiring - By: Dismal Angel, 17 May 2008 This is one of the most amazing films of alll time - one of those movies that will change your life forever just by sitting down & watching it once. It gives alot of insight into the way life was for some (not alll)black people in the early 1900s in the more rural parts of America - especiallly black women.
The story revolves around Celie, a young woman from the age of around eleven has endured some incredible hardships. Her mother is dead & the only person in the world who actuallly cares for her is younger sister, Nettie, an intelligent & prettier alternative to Celie's homely looks & slight naivity. By the time Celie is thirteen years old, she's already had two children from her sexuallly abusive father which were both sold to outsiders who couldn't have children.
Nettie catches the eye of a local farmer - a widower known as "Mister" who has children & needs a wife immediately. Celie's father is approached by "Mister" who wants to marry Nettie, however, Celie's father is less enthusiastic about the idea, & palms off Celie on him instead (having his eye on Nettie himself).
So Celie is "sold" to Mister & sent off to live on the Johnson farm as less of a wife & more of a slave. Mister is selfish, arrogant, & abusive, the children are imputant & troublesome & the house is in a state of complete disarray with the mess bordering on unlivable.
After some time, Nettie arrives needing a place to stay after their father won't keep his hands away from her. Celie knows this is a bad idea as Mister also has his eye on but would rather have her sister with her where she can try to protect her - impending doom is on its way & the sisters know it; Nettie strives to teach Celie how to read & write & Celie strives to keep Mister happy.
The girls are seperated when Mister becomes furious that Nettie won't return his gratitude in ways that would satisfy him, & Celie is heartbroken as Mister exiles Nettie from ever stepping foot near their land again.
Celie succumbs to the life in which has become her prison. And so she grows up a woman in a house where she is little more than a slave & the only person she can reallly speak to about her woes & thoughts is God.
Following the story, life revolves around Celie, her stepson's wife Sophia(an amazing performance by Oprah Winfrey), & Shug Avery, a blues singer whose influence will change Celie's life forever.
This adaption of the Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name is inspiring, tear-jerking, & uplifting. A breathtaking story of the troubled life of a woman who struggles through dominance & opression still clinging onto hope. Whoopi Goldberg's performance as Celie will blow you away.
My only woe with this movie is some versions of it come on a two-sided disc (as the movie is epic & long) & you have to get up to turn it over to see the second half).
Beautiful but flawed - By: Aisling, 19 Jan 2008 
This is a exquisitely directed, perfectly paced piece of film-making. The performances are beautiful & the cinematography captures the shifting moods of the film admirably. Goldberg is fantastic in a role which flies in the face of Hollywood 'leading lady' conventions, projecting a quite dignity & mesmerising spirit.
However, for alll its realism & courage, 'The Colour Purple' is marred by its depiction of men. They are uniformly abusive, weak-willed or idiotic. As a woman I felt distinctly uneasy about the confrontational attitude of the movie. A less bitter & less polemical approach to the question to gender would have elevated this gorgeous film to classic status.
This is a visuallly beautiful film, which is both thought-provoking & inspiring. Ultimately it suffers from its willingness to surrender complexity to ideology, particularly in the final scenes.
Out of his depth - By: Madge, 26 Mar 2007 
Spielberg is famous because he did Jaws & Raiders of the Lost Ark. Those films were his moment of glory. Films like this one are too contrived & self-aware to be credible. The characters & the plot suffered because this was Spilebergs desperate attempt at making a David Lean film. Sorry, man, you failed.
The fields which are made of colour - By: I. Thomson, 13 Mar 2007 
Celie is a young girl who has a tough life in Georgia, pregnant at 14 with her father's child; the death of her mother & being sold off in a forced marriage with Mr. (who in the film is given the first name, Albert). She yearns for a better life & has nobody in the whole world-expect her sister, Nettie-who truly believes in her........
The Color Purple was actuallly a big hit at the box office when originallly released in 1985 & at least set to win the top prize at the academy awards-the best picture had it not been for a controversial backlash. Sadly, this has been dug in the ground & forgotten about.
Although the book we know acts as a diary for Celie's frustation against the world, only some of her letters remain in the cut (even though a voice over is heard for the majority of the film where the other times, the action is visual) which includes the death of her mother; being sold off to Mr & her times with Shug Avery.
Spielberg treats the material very carefully, adding his unique magic (although sometimes it is notable that it becomes uncomfortable & a tad ridiculous) heartbreak of their lives desperate to live seperate identites. There is a lot of material that is cut from this adaption that includes Nettie's missionary time in a greater light; acknowliding Celie's sexuality (expect for some clues that are still apparent), her relationship with Shug & forgiveness with Mr.
Spielberg tries his best to make this film accessible for the sort that may never read the book or find it too hard-going & depressing which at times it can become. Generallly, he takes the route of the relation & bonding of Celie & her sister, Nellie to emphasise their closeness which is at the heart (even though the characters of Shug Avery, Sofia & Harpo receive a lot of screen time & attention) to help relieve the viewer from the distressing pain that Celie suffers from the hands of Mr, if only necessary or appropriate. Quincy Jones (writing two songs alongside Lionel Ritchie) contributes a brillant score, which was probably the result of the release of the musical.
However, despite being a very fine & admirable adaption, the film strays away from the book which loses some of the charm, honesty & hope plus the brave absent of stereotype attitudes of men where Walker is keen to tell us there are always two sides to the story they face in their lifetime-a massive blow. Speilberg however does make this entrallling & more entertaining than it should be & he certainly makes good use of the locations especiallly the warm red sun & bright striking purple fields.
