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The Color Purple

Play trailer Poster for The Color Purple PG-13 1985 2h 33m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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72% Tomatometer 127 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing "Mister" Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa. Based on the novel by Alice Walker.
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The Color Purple

The Color Purple

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Critics Consensus

It might have been better served by a filmmaker with a deeper connection to the source material, but The Color Purple remains a worthy, well-acted adaptation of Alice Walker's classic novel.

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Critics Reviews

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Dorothy Gilliam Washington Post 05/31/2023
I anxiously awaited the coming of this movie. Last week I saw it, and I was not disappointed. Indeed, when it concluded, I stood up and cheered. Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 05/31/2023
4/4
It is a great, warm, hard, unforgiving, triumphant movie, and there is not a scene that does not shine with the love of the people who made it. Go to Full Review Anne Marie Biondo Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com 05/31/2023
4/4
The Color Purple is easily the best movie of the year. Go to Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia 2d
6/10
Despite featuring committed performances from Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover, it's a Spielberg rural drama that tends to become redundant in exploring its themes of racism, misogyny, and systemic abuse. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Sue Heal Radio Times 04/04/2024
4/5
Whoopi Goldberg is wonderful in the lead, Danny Glover and Margaret Avery are sublime, and watch out for a pre-TV-fame Oprah Winfrey playing very out of character. Go to Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins 01/01/2024
7/10
Celie’s journey, though wrought with hardships, is thought-provoking, educational, nerve-wracking and, finally, wholesome and triumphant. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kalissa H. @kali_416 Jan 25 Amazing. I did not move the whole movie. The acting was amazing. The story was sad. One of the best. See more Tyler G @tylergross121 Sep 14 If you have watched Spiel start-to-now, it is amazing he made this movie. It has all of his style and affecting moments. Some of the acting performances are top tier and unsurprising they launched stars. Still, it has glaring weaknesses. The score is so bad. The depiction of sexuality, while i get he needed to "keep it PG", reflect an author who has almost no real-life expoure to sex or queerness. I have very mixed emotions about this movie. See more Eric W. @Jtuess Aug 13 Absolutely brilliant and heartbreaking. It’s disturbing to me that so many people protested this film. It’s also a snapshot of Oprah and Whoopie before they were losing their marbles. See more Tricia W @RT10313264 Aug 11 This is one of the best movies ever made in my opinion. It tugs at your heart strings from beginning to end, and the acting is unbelievable. Oprah, Whoopie, and Danny absolutely kill it! There's sadness, anger, joy, and the ending is just about the best I've ever seen. I can't recommend this movie enough. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 4 Featuring 2 hours and 32 minutes of footage, including Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $93,400,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Jerrod G @Jag1337 Apr 7 Beautiful movie just all around with great plot and ending See more Read all reviews
The Color Purple

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Cast & Crew

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Steven Spielberg

Director

Whoopi Goldberg

Celie

Danny Glover

Albert

Margaret Avery

Shug Avery

Oprah Winfrey

Sofia

Willard E. Pugh

Harpo

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The Color Purple

A scene from the film "The Color Purple." A scene from the film "The Color Purple." A scene from the film "The Color Purple." A scene from the film "The Color Purple." A scene from the film "The Color Purple." A scene from the film "The Color Purple." The Color Purple (1985) Poster Art The Color Purple (1985) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing "Mister" Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa. Based on the novel by Alice Walker.
Director
Steven Spielberg
Producer
Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy
Screenwriter
Alice Walker, Menno Meyjes
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Brothers, Guber-Peters Company, Amblin Entertainment
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 18, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$93.4M
Runtime
2h 33m
Sound Mix
Surround
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