Purple Rain

"Before he created the music, he lived every bit of it."

1984 1h 51m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 439

DramaMusicRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A victim of his own anger, the Kid is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music. While trying to avoid making the same mistakes as his truculent father, the Kid navigates the club scene and a rocky relationship with a captivating singer, Apollonia. But another musician, Morris, looks to steal the Kid's spotlight -- and his girl.

“Before he created the music, he lived every bit of it.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Prince
The Kid
Apollonia Kotero
Apollonia
Morris Day
Morris
Jerome Benton
Jerome
Olga Karlatos
Mother
Clarence Williams III
Father
Billy Sparks
Billy
Wendy Melvoin
Wendy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Albert Magnoli
Writers: William Blinn, Albert Magnoli
Languages: English, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 9.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

42 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 6 languages: English, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Purple Rain Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Albert Magnoli, shot by Donald E. Thorin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michel Colombier. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Albert Magnoli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Prince and Apollonia Kotero and Morris Day carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Albert Magnoli directs. Donald E. Thorin behind the camera. Michel Colombier scores. Albert Magnoli cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 9.5× over at the box office.
242 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 6 languages: English, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, German.
4Part of the "Purple Rain Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Albert Magnoli, shot by Donald E. Thorin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Michel Colombier. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Albert Magnoli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Prince and Apollonia Kotero and Morris Day carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Before he created the music, he lived every bit of it.".
10IMDB entry: tt0087957 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 8 themes, including "rock 'n' roll", "pop star", "suicide attempt", "aspiring singer".

The technical file

Cinematography: Donald E. Thorin
Original score: Michel Colombier
Editing: Albert Magnoli
Production design: Ward Preston
Costume design: Marie France
Makeup / hair: Lee Romanoff
Sound: Richard C. Franklin
Stunt coordinator: Al Jones
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,200,000
Box office: $68,392,977
Return: 950% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Purple Rain (1984)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Song Score

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Purple Rain Collection

Prince stars in his feature film acting debut in Purple Rain (1984) and its standalone sequel Graffiti Bridge (1990)

Also by

Albert Magnoli

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-22
★ 6/10
If this were a piece of vinyl, then there would be one side that features a strong and charismatic concert-style performance from the star and another that depicts a second-rate brat-pack style drama that is almost cringemaking to watch at times. The latter element follows a young musician who is regularly his father's punchbag at home and who struggles to avoid travelling down the the same path, especially when he meets the wanna-be singer "Apollonia" (Apollonia Kotero). Though she's keen, she can't be doing with his temperamental behaviour and switches allegiance to the more stable "Morris" (Morris Day). That all meanders along offering little new or even interesting and way too many facial close ups. It's the musical performances - expertly staged, choreographed and produced that make this worth watching. Prince just exudes a chemistry, a sexuality and a swarthiness that makes it clear why the man was an huge international superstar. The upshot of the film, though, is really - just buy the album or watch the videos on MTV. As a drama, this is pretty hopeless.

Production companies