El color púrpura

Alice Walker's epic novel is put on the big-screen by director Steven Spielberg and the results are excellent. The film deals with the maturity and independence of a mistreated black woman (Whoopi Goldberg in an Oscar-nominated role) from the years 1909 to 1947. The audience gets to experience all of her triumphs and tragedies through the film's running time. A very strong cast of supporting players make the film memorable as well. Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong, Margaret Avery, and Oprah Winfrey (the last two Oscar-nominated) all shine with the great screenplay and Spielberg's subtle direction. Somewhat forgotten on Spielberg's list of credits, but still one of his very best films. 5 stars out of 5.

Simply beautiful really is the only way to describe such a wondrous film, one which warms the heart, nourishes the soul, and brings a tear to the eye. This statement is neither hyperbolic nor exaggerated, one of many reasons I suggest you see this film.

The film opens in 1909 when Celie (Whoopi Goldberg in her feature film debut) as a young girl, as well as a victim of incest, impregnated by her father. Unattractive and unloved, separated from her beloved sister and children, Celie has no other option than to be wedded to an abusive, impoverished, and philandering husband named Albert (Danny Glover), a man who treats her no better than a slave. However, Celie's life forever changes when Albert returns home in accompaniment with his mistress Shug (Margaret Avery), a beautiful Blues singer.

In spite of the seemingly hopeless situation the film's plot provides Celie with, the Color Purple is not a tale of her despair, but rather her triumph, one which is immensely inspiring. Stellar in every aspect this film is, including Stephen Spielberg's highly credible direction, the acting, especially of the four most prominent stars: Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey (both quite impressive in their debuts), Danny Glover, and Margaret Avery, the plot, etc. As one of my most revered novels and films, I definitely recommend the Color Purple.

Grade: A+

OK when I was young, I wathced this film with my family and I thought that it was so boring. Then when I got older, I understood this film. It really is a powerful film. This film will bring tears to your eyes literally. The Color Purple is an incredible story about a woman named Celie who grows up living at the mistreatment of a man named "Mister". Whoppi Goldberg's performance is amazing. She should have won that Oscar. The rest of the cast is amazing. I cannot say enough about this movie. It really is a piece of African American History. This film is not just a "movie" it is a piece of beauty. This film will be cherished forever and ever. If you do not like this film, then you need a wake up call.

Review following a 2020 rewatch of this brilliant movie. Tears streaming down my cheeks on several occasions throughout and writing after a few minutes to reflect and recover. Leads all fantastic, particularly Whooping Goldberg. She was gentle, pathetic, strong and fierce and times throughout and all felt honest and believable. I was truly taken in her journey and came out almost exhausted from the roller coaster of emotions that she, and me, went through. Danny Glover does the impossible by being genuinely unlikeable through the majority of the movie. Oprah was another standout and well deserved of her Oscar nom. Overall, an outstanding movie that crushed my heart and had me sobbing but beautiful at the same time. Long yet fast paced. I'll watch again in a decade and have no doubt that I will be crying again.

The film version of Alice Walker's hugely emotive and influential 1983 novel (written largely as letters from the central character Celie to God) was a massive Oscar success, and rightly so.

In the role of the abused and awakened Celie, Whoopi Goldberg gave her best screen performance by miles. Not far behind her was Oprah Winfrey as Sofia, the fiery woman tamed by fate. Others in the cast fleshed out the characters Walker had introduced so clearly on the page - Danny Glover as Albert, Celie's abusive husband; Margaret Avery as Shug, a force of change for the good; Willard Pugh and Rae Dawn Chong as Harpo and Squeak; Susan Beaubian as Corrine, the preacher's wife; and the much-missed Carl Anderson (otherwise best known as Judas in the 1973 film of Jesus Christ Superstar) as preacher Samuel.

Beautifully paced and sensitively written, 'The Color Purple' does justice to its source while opening out the story to involve viewers of a feature-length drama.