The Color Purple (2023) User Reviews

It was decent

[chenp-54708 · 6/10 · 27 December 2023]

It's a decent new adaptation of The Color Purple with gorgeous production designs, solid direction and good performances from the cast members. Director Blitz Bazawule does a solid work on handling the tone and setting alongside with the production sets, costumes, and camerawork being really colorful and beautiful. The musical singing moments, while some of the musical tracks weren't great, were solid with some pretty good lyrics and musical tones explored. Many of the performances were pretty good as there wasn't a single poor performance.

Since I have read the book and seen the first adaptation from Steven Spielberg which I really liked, I felt the emotional core and writing isn't as strong as it could be as there were some elements that felt thin and could have been explored a bit more. Since this is based on the broadway version, I haven't seen the broadway version so that might explain the disconnection. There were some pacing issues and some of the dialogue moments were a little odd. Overall, it's a decent adaptation but I prefer to watch Steven Spielberg's version.

The Color Meh

[mjanelle-24974 · 6/10 · 29 December 2023]

I'll start by saying that several performances were REALLY good, particularly Shug and Sophia (hello, Oscar?). But the movie felt flat. I know this is a different version (from the Broadway show) and definitely not a remake of the Steven Spielberg film. And while the music was good, I found it distracting, inserted into the story rather than advancing the story like a musical should. The characters felt undeveloped and ultimately unresolved. We saw some of the brutality of Mister but not his cruelty. We saw kindness of Celie but not her true goodness. And finally the choreography. It was good, if this had been on stage. In the movie, the action of the story stops so the action of the dancing can begin. So it called attention to itself instead of, again, advancing the story without our noticing.

It's not a bad movie. It's just not really good.

Sofia Sofia 💜

[FIoret · 8/10 · 25 December 2023]

Danielle Brooks truly stole the show as Sofia in the film, shining like a star. Her talent and beauty are simply awe-inspiring. Whenever she graced the screen, a smile would automatically appear on my face, and I couldn't help but feel a slight blush. Her performance was filled with sensitivity and power, making her the perfect fit for the role. I have no doubt that she will have a long and illustrious career, deserving of celebration.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to start my Christmas morning than being immersed in the timeless charm of this classic film's stunning visuals and captivating sound. I'm absolutely thrilled to keep playing the soundtrack on repeat!

"A" For Effort

[statuskuo · 6/10 · 31 December 2023]

This entire project felt like they just wanted to log in a musical version of Alice Walker's book so that they can have it archived with the original 1985 version. It feels a bit hollow having had a little distance from it.

I think it may be the singing and dancing.

For those who don't know, the story starts in 1909 and is of two sisters Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi when young - Fantasia when older) and Nettie (Halle Bailey when young - Ciara when older) who are raised by a Father. They get separated when Dad offers up Celie to a man named Mister (Colman Domingo) a landowner, who inherited it. Mister is a horrific man. Slaps Celie around to take care of his kids (from other mothers). And sexually assaults her at night. This goes on for a few years. Celie eventually grows up and takes on the form of Fantasia. Years have took the life out her. Enter Shug Avery (Taraj P. Henson). A former mistress of Mister. The dynamics between her and Mister and Mister and Celie are clear. Shug is a singer who lives life to the fullest. And controls Mister through her sexuality. Shug and Celie become close friends. Taraji is having a great time in this role. She is flamboyant and excited to introduce the world to Celie.

The story is fairly straightforward from this point. Celie learns what individuality and freedom means. And discovers inner strength in the face of trauma.

All great messages.

The issue of the singing and dancing. Okay, the movie also is about rape and incest. Celie's Father has been raping her repeatedly, which yields babies he gives away. This is soul crushing events that aren't brushed away by a tune. Or good choreography. On a stage, I can see the value. On screen, it feels very uneasy. Also, the case of Mister. Who is also an assaulter of women. His atonement comes very late in the movie. I can see for the interest of time you couldn't show the entire events of his ability to find Nettie and go through all the struggles to "make it up" to Celie. A little patched up for the interest of the story.

It's not a dealbreaker since Domingo plays the role so well, you do believe his change of heart (though brought on by what he believes is a curse).

I am leaving out a lot of good stuff. Danielle Brooks as Sofia is bound to get an Oscar nom. As if Fantasia. Her evolution of Celie doesn't necessarily feel the same as Whoopie's version. Somehow, the 1985 version feels more...mature. This felt like a high school musical.

Still worth a look.

the musical

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 19 February 2024]

This is a musical adaptation of the stage musical based on the book. After the 1985 classic film, the hurdle gets to be quite high. It is also part of the recent trend of surprise musicals. They are not pushing the fact that these are musicals and the less informed audience members are getting surprised. This has great actors doing all the skills. It is technically great. It looks great. The performers are working at top notch level. It is very choreographed stage musical and that may be the problem.

I am still unsettled on this idea. The subject matter is so dark that the musical genre takes away some of the needed grittiness. It's not only a musical. It's the old timey choreographed energetic dancing type. It is showy Broadway and that overwhelms the dark complex story. Yet others do it well, but I would suggest that they always do it better on the live stage. There is an artificiality to the production when it's on the screen. It can't help but feel fake.

strong musical reboot

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 26 December 2023]

Greetings again from the darkness. It all began with Alice Walker's 1982 novel, for which she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Shortly thereafter, Steven Spielberg turned it into the movie event of 1985, with a memorable cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, and yes, Oprah Winfrey. The film received eleven Oscar nominations, yet was shut out in all categories. Jumping ahead 20 years (2005), Marsha Norman created a musical stage book that turned into a smash hit on Broadway, receiving eleven Tony nominations. It was 2015 when the musical revival hit the stage, re-establishing the story as part of the fabric of the entertainment world. Along the way, Ms. Walker's book had been frequently banned and censored, and the adaptations were sure to pick and choose what to cover and how to do so. Here we are forty-one years after the book's publication, and director Blitz Bazawule (Beyonce's BLACK IS KING, 2020) delivers a moving and bold film version (screenplay by Marcus Gardley) based on the musicals, the novel, and the original film.

The film opens on the Georgia coast in 1909 by establishing the bond between young Celie (newcomer Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey, THE LITTLE MERMAID). When the two are forcefully separated, Celie loses the hope Nettie always provided, and soon she's living a miserable existence as one abused by Mister (a powerful Colman Domingo, RUSTIN) who treats her poorly by regularly taking out his frustrations. Assuming the role she made her own on Broadway is Fantasia Barrino as adult Celie, whose presence and spirit contain the heart of the story.

Memorable characters and performances are everywhere we turn in this production. Danielle Brooks ("Orange is the New Black") is a powerhouse as Sophia, a role she also owned on stage. Sophia is wife to Harpo (Corey Hawkins, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON), one of the few men trying to break the tradition of abuse ... not that he has much choice. Taraji B Henson is a jolt of energy as singer Shug Avery, one of the few women from this neck of the woods who gained independence and made a life (mostly) on her terms.

The supporting cast is filled with talent and surprises. David Allen Grier appears as Reverend Avery, Shug's estranged dad. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (ORIGIN) appears in flashbacks as Celie's Mama. Elizabeth Marvel ("Homeland") is the unforgiving and racist wife of the Mayor, and one who has such an impact on Sophia's life. Oscar winner Lou Gossett Jr (now 87 years old) shows us exactly how his son Mister turned out the way he did. As this is a musical, we would expect musicians to play a part, though it's quite a treat to see H. E. R. As Squeak (Harpo's girlfriend), Jon Batiste as Grady (Shug's fashionable husband), and Ciara in a critical appearance as grown-up Nettie. There is also a well-placed cameo early on that harkens back to Spielberg's movie.

Covering at least the decades of 1907 through 1945, we see how each character changes depending on their circumstances ... especially Celie and Sophia, as well as an attempt at redemption by Mister. At least three 'showstopper' songs are included here. Taraji B Henson offers a rousing "Push da Button", and Danielle Brooks is adamant about where she stands with "Hell No." Fantasia Barrino's "I'm Here" may be the highlight since it encapsulates her resilience and perseverance. The quality of the film is evident in all aspects: cinematography (Dan Laustsen), score (Kris Bowers), Production and Set Design (Oscar winner Paul D Austerberry, Larry Dias), and Costumes - especially Shug Avery's - (Francine Jamison Tanchuk, Rashad Corey). Serving as Producers are Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Alice Walker, and Scott Sanders, to name a few with long time ties to the story. It's clearly a labor of love and passion for those involved, and ends with a tear-jerker reunion over Easter dinner. Not many follow the production trek of novel to film to musical to musical revival to musical film, and even fewer have ever done it this well.

Opens in theaters nationwide on Christmas Day.

Not quite a film, not quite a stage show

[movie-reviews-uk · 6/10 · 27 January 2024]

I'm definitely not the target audience for this film but my wife was keen to see "The Color Purple" and so I duly obliged. This is not a decision that I regret. The film moved along quite snappily, it looked fantastic and some of the musical numbers were excellent.

However (you knew that was coming) it was all a bit underwhelming. I knew the bare bones of the story and so mentally prepared myself for something really quite dark and brutal. After all you can't make incest/rape upbeat can you? Well actually yes you can with a song, a dance and a lot of smiling. Odd.

This weirdness persisted throughout the movie when scenes that felt destined to shock were made to pull their punches. As a result the fine, uplifting finale lacked contrast with what had preceded it. Possibly this was down to the characters being underdeveloped and flimsy.

So "The Color Purple" isn't a terrible movie by any measure. But it is neither fish nor flesh. It feels as though the producers really wanted to simply film the stage show but being as this is a film they had to expand the range of action. But without being fully committed to the story as a movie it doesn't quite convince on either front. Still an effort was made.

Shut your brain off in regard to the original and watch with a fresh lens as a stand-alone, unique telling of the story

[kevin_robbins · 8/10 · 30 December 2023]

I watched The Color Purple (2023) in theaters with my daughter last night. The storyline revolves around two young ladies raised by a shop owner after their mother passes away. He sells off one of the sisters to be married, and she enters an abusive home where she loses her self-worth. She relies on kindness and memories of her sister as hope for a brighter future.

Directed by Blitz Bazawule (The Burial of Kojo), the film stars Fantasia (The Butler), Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures), Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black), Colman Domingo (Selma), and Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton).

This is a movie where you need to shut your brain off in regard to the original and watch with a fresh lens as a stand-alone, unique telling of the story. As a musical, the look, feel, and pace are entirely different. It resembles watching a play. The attire, settings, props, and depiction of the era are excellent, as is the casting. Fantasia delivers an outstanding performance, and Colman Domingo is remarkable as Mister. Taraji P. Henson, Hawkins, and Brooks provide great supporting performances. The beginning of the film is a bit clumsy and uneven-paced, with the segue between some scenes being better than others, but the second half is perfection. The grand entrance scene by Henson is legendary, as is a cameo during the birthing scene and the bar fight. Every reference to Africa and the flashes to those sequences is great too. The conclusion is triumphant and rewarding.

In conclusion, this is an outstanding musical that's definitely a must-see. I would score this a 7.5-8/10 and strongly recommend it.

Due to the musical aspects, the emotional moments come across differently compared to the original.

[movieman6-413-929510 · 6/10 · 28 January 2024]

The Color Purple is a remake of the 1985 film of the same name, which was directed by Steven Spielberg. This remake is based more on the Broadway musical version of The Color Purple. This remake is directed by Blitz Bazawule, director of The Burial of Kojo.

Celie (Fantasia Barrino) has been living a hard life since the loss of her friend, as the property of Mister (Colman Domingo), who abuses and mistreats her. Despite these dark sides in her life, she tries to persevere and finds her strength and hope in the mutual sisterhood of the other women in her life.

This remake tells an equal, but more musical version of the story about a woman who tries to remain strong and her own during racist and sexist times, despite all the difficult things she has to go through.

The cast members show with their acting how difficult life was for a black woman during 1900. Due to the musical aspects, the tone and emotions are more expressed during the singing and dance scenes. Many of these scenes are more on an uplifting and cheerful side due to the music beats and retain more sad song lyrics. As a result, the sadder emotional moments that the 1985 version had are somewhat lost. The cast members from the 1985 version had to act more with their emotions to express the feelings of their characters. This way the 1985 retains a more and slightly better emotional side.

People who worked in or on the original version, such as Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones and Steven Spielberg, have returned to this remake as producers. Others have more of a small cameo in the film, but are recognizable for connoisseurs of the original version.

Incredibly Disappointing

[mykl_tour · 5/10 · 17 January 2024]

The Color Purple novel is one of the greatest pieces of American literature. The film adaptation a masterpiece worth of a 10/10.

What is presented in this iteration of the novel and the film, a musical version has to be one of the worst musicals to ever be adapted to film.

There original film has musical numbers that are magical and memorable. That elevate the story and bring a soul and substance. This musical version has no memorable moments. The strongest being 'Hell, No" which unfortunately lands flats. Fantasia's 'I'm Here' is another powerful track but gets lost in the mix of what are essential filler tracks that have been through the Disneyfication machine. The musician H. E. R. Barely gets to offer her incredible voice to the ensemble.

The story plods along at times incoherently. The rawness of the novel, left out presumably to making it 'family friendly' which is a major mistake. The rawness of this story, or this novel, of these iconic and remarkable characters is the foundation of the entire point of why the colour of Purple is so important as an analogy of God and His Grace.

Each actor shines, but the direction is so lost these incredible actors moments get lost with them. It's hard not to keep one's memory from harking back to the powerful performances from the original film. Nothing can erase the majesty of that film.

A very disappointing outcome that just leads to the conclusion that this musical project just doesn't work.

You delete the most iconic line !!!

[kendisfarcher · 8/10 · 26 December 2023]

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and thought the acting cast did a wonderfully job honoring the original movie. However, my only disappointment was deleting Shug Avery's iconic line to Celie "You sho' is ugly". This has been a staple of black culture as long as I can remember. Also, the absence of Shug Avery's poignant and powerful entrance into her father's church singing "God is trying to tell you something" slightly demised the powerful reconciliation moment. I am glad the director added more levity and joyful scenes in the remake. It's far less sad and sorrowful than the original. Otherwise, it was very good even if my wife dragged me to it.

Loved the original, this one not so much

[lquinlan-17636 · 7/10 · 29 December 2023]

Ok so I thought long & hard about my viewing of The Color Purple last night. I feel it's a bit sacrilegious to say it wasn't my favorite movie. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I will tell you why, spoiler free!

First the good- the acting, cinematography & production were stellar! Costume & set design were top notch & the vocal performances were great. I LOVE Danielle Brooks and honestly wished she was on screen more (more into that later). Fantasia's acting performance was great, as was the rest of the cast. Colman Domingo, who played Mister, was good too.

Now the bad... ok, so this is a musical, which isn't an issue but I feel that part of the story was lost/glossed over, especially Celie's & Sophia's strife, for the sake of song & dance. I never read the book, nor saw the Broadway production so I can't only compare it to the Spielberg 80's production, which (I may add) is one of my favorite movies. I feel a hard time connecting with the characters and their story seemed to have gotten diminished. I think another 30 minutes could have easily been added to the movie to help with character development instead of displaying year stamps to show the passing of time. It felt too play-like in some parts too.

Celie had a messed up life (putting it mildly to avoid spoilers) which you kinda felt it but not really. Her story felt very rushed with a quick conclusion that felt a bit weak to me. Same with Sophia. Danielle Brooks is very comfortable in the Sophia role & played her so well, that her lack of screen time was felt. She dominated the scenes she was in but felt her character was thrown in a dark hole to just pop up every now & then to remind you she existed. Taraji P. Henson was good as Shug Avery but even she felt toned down, especially her relationship with the pastor, played by David Alan Grier.

I don't know... I love these characters. This movie felt like the abbreviated version of the story. I'm sure anyone who has never seen the original (or hasn't seen it in a long time) would really enjoy this. This movie will most likely be nominated for a bunch of awards. The Spielberg 80's production was nominated for 11 Academy Awards & woefully won none. The movie was robbed that year and should have won at least one. Whoopi Goldberg's (she should have won), Oprah's, & Danny Glover's performances are a hard act to follow but those that filled their shoes did a wonderful job.

The best way for me to describe the story was to compare it to episodic tv where a problem arose & was quickly solved within the 30 minute episode. Granted, the movie is much longer but there were a lot of problems. It seriously felt rushed. It lacks heart. I ball my eyes out at the end of Spielberg's version, but not this one.

Danielle Brooks is someone to keep your eye on (loved her in Orange is the New Black as Tastee). I will be rooting for her!

So, that's how I felt. If anything, the movie made me want to read Alice Walker's book even more. It's good & I will recommend it to people who I think the original may be a bit too much for them to handle, but I really will push the original film to get a better dramatic tellling of The Color Purple.

Terrible remake

[bdsmyth-92784 · 1/10 · 18 January 2024]

The Color Purple has been on my top 5 list of all time favourite movies since I saw the original when it was first released in 1985. This musical remake is not only tacky but misses sooooo much and it DOES NOT work. I had hoped it would be even better given some of the original cast members where involved included Oprah (who gave an excellent performance as Sofia in the original along with Whoopi as Sissy), but no. It was just miss after miss after miss, and the musical numbers at the oddest of moments did nothing except to kill the story line. This version won't even make it to my top 1000 movies it was that bad and encourage ANYONE who watches it to go back and watch the original and really see what you've missed.

So disappointed

[catfanatic888 · 6/10 · 16 January 2024]

The original film of The Color Purple was certainly not a musical with all the constant singing and dancing in the middle of scenes. It was far superior to this one. I would file this under movies that do not to be remade and definitely not turned into musicals. I found myself turned off repeatedly in the middle of a serious scene where hat everyone would bust into song and start dancing everywhere. The music and dancing ruined this film for me. It's a shame too because the actors and actresses were all excellent and would have done much better without the constant distraction of music and dancing routines. This is not a comedy. It's a serious drama. But it was hard to take it seriously with all the silliness in between the dramatic scenes. Sorry but I would NOT recommend this disappointment of a remake.

Fantastic Performances and Impressive Technical Aspects Wasted on a Poor Script

[cdjh-81125 · 6/10 · 25 January 2024]

It's certainly possible that the core story of The Colour Purple just doesn't do anything for me. Because I'm not a huge fan of Spielberg's movie either but at least I thought it was a consistent vision. It may have devolved into misery porn for me after a while but at least it was tonally consistent misery porn. That's not something I can say for this new movie because I can't remember the last time I felt this much tonal whiplash watching a film.

Because the choice to tell this story as a musical wasn't entirely successful for me. Because for as well produced and performed as these sequences are they are in constant clash with the overwhelmingly heinous actions taken against these characters. These women can go from experiencing physical, lawful and sexual abuse only for the filmmakers to jarringly cut to a highly choreographed, energetic musical sequence. It rarely feels smooth and it constantly makes the film feel as if it's at war with itself for what it wants to be.

Those sequences really are gorgeously produced and performed to their credit though as is the entire film. All though often to its detriment, there's energy through every single performance and shot in this film and I really appreciate that they didn't revert to the bare minimum of shot/reverse shot even for even simple dialogue scenes. But for as incredible as these performances are, character wise this script personally left a lot to be desired.

It makes sense that this main character is as passive as she is given the abuse she suffers but it took too long for her arc to come to fruition. Because the only time she ever takes any agency is through other characters. This might work for where she starts the film but it just robs the character of any real development. Supporting characters are constantly swooping in to make her important life choices for her, rather than having her actually receiving any growth of her own, by the time she finally starts making her own choices not only does it feel unearned but also far too late in the film to feel satisfying.

The resolution of her character arc might've been unearned but it pales in comparison to how these male abusers are treated. The husband characters played, admittedly very well, by Colman Domingo and Corey Hawkins are portrayed as abusive to quite honestly ridiculous levels. Domingo's character is basically just portrayed as evil with almost no nuance or depth and Hawkins is written as wholly ignorant in a way that could've made sense but the entire resolution to those characters totally fumbles their entire arcs. There are elements of generational trauma given but it's not explored nearly deeply enough to justify their actions.

The script makes them horrific abusers from almost their very introduction and in the third act the filmmakers have the gall to try and redeem them. Not only does it fall totally flat but I actually found it fairly insulting as a viewer. Forgiveness should have limits but at the very least it should make sense from a writing perspective. Nothing in the first two acts gives any sense that these characters deserve redemption, nor that any other character would forgive them, and it made a large part of the last third totally infuriating to watch.

The Colour Purple was a frustrating experience for me. I may not totally connect with this story but I had far too many issues from a writing perspective to give the film the benefit of the doubt. It is an extremely well produced version of a deeply flawed script. It's completely lacking in depth or nuance and it's totally eye rolling in how it depicts the trauma of it's characters. Musical's are totally capable of dealing with dark subject matters but it's all down to tone and it honestly felt like this script had no barring on how it wanted to portray this story.

Incredible Acting Across the Board

[coachjordan-23651 · 9/10 · 27 December 2023]

The acting in this movie is the best of the year. Probably the best across the board that I have seen in several years. You could feel the passion pouring out of every single character. They took the challenge of making this film and hit it out of the park.

Incredible visuals, music, costume designs enhanced this film to make it magical. It captivates you from the very beginning and keeps your eyes glued to the screen. It makes you feel every emotion. Like you are immersed in the film itself. Happiness, anger, love and sadness. If you aren't tearing up at Fantasia's beautiful rendition of "I'm Here" then you are not watching the film. The Color Purple brought the magic of the cinema back.

As emotionally draining as Steven Spielberg's earlier version, but less effective

[steiner-sam · 7/10 · 26 December 2023]

It's a musical drama set in rural Georgia and Memphis, Tennessee, from 1909 to the late 1940s. Teenager Celie Harris (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi/Fantasia Barrino) and her younger sister, Nettie (Halle Bailey/Clara), are the daughters of Alfonso Harris (Deon Cole). Celie is quiet and uneducated but a hard worker and skilled seamstress. Nettie is outgoing, goes to school, and hopes to become a teacher. Alfonso, a widower, is physically and sexually abusive, and Celie has two children by him that he has taken away and "given to God." A widowed friend, Albert "Mister" Johnson, with three young children, wants to marry Nettie, but Alphonso demands that he take Celie.

"Mister" is just as abusive as Alfonso, allowing Celie no access to the outside world. His oldest child, Harpo (Corey Hawkins), eventually marries Sofia (Danielle Brooks), a strong and feisty woman. Nettie briefly stays with "Mister" and Celie but is driven away when she refuses to submit to "Mister's" advances. "Mister" is actually in love with Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson), the daughter of the local minister, Samuel Avery (David Alan Grier). Shug is a jazz/blues singer based in Memphis but comes regularly back home and stays with "Mister" and Celie.

The film follows the interaction of the characters, especially Celie, Shug, and Sofia, with "Mister" and Harpo. By the end, we learn Nettie's fate and that of Celie's two children.

"The Color Purple" is as emotionally draining as Steven Spielberg's earlier dramatic version. Unfortunately, I could not understand the words to many of the songs, reducing their impact. Some things are hinted at but not explained, e.g., a possible sexual relationship between Celie and Shug. The ending unfolds too quickly compared to the rest of the story, making it feel incomplete. Although the basic narrative comes through, I think the musical is less effective than the drama. I am generally biased against musicals except for "Cabaret" and "Fiddler on the Roof." So your results may vary if you like musicals.

A Beautiful Adaptation

[KingKongKyle · 8/10 · 26 December 2023]

This was a truly beautiful adaptation. Turning this dark and often depressing story into a musical gives the material the ability to be empowering and uplifting.

The whole cast is amazing, and this may well be Oppenheimer's toughest competition for the ensemble award at this year's SAG awards (though Killers of the Flower Moon wouldn't be a surprise either).

Somehow this production seems both staged and cinematic, thanks in part to seamlessly moving between interior moving sets and gorgeous exterior landscapes. None of the songs seem to pop up out of nowhere, but rather seem perfectly placed to complement the drama and propel the story forward.

The audience I was with clapped both when Celie finally stood up for herself and later when the credits rolled. It doesn't happen often at the cinema anymore, for an audience to feel in tune with each other and the characters on screen; the feeling that we are all sharing an important experience.

The production spares no expense with beautiful production design, vibrant costumes and hair/make-up, and creative cinematography that captures it all perfectly. This will definitely be a must own 4K release when the time comes.

Good performances mediocre musical

[tm-sheehan · 6/10 · 1 February 2024]

My Rating 6.5/10

I'm a as huge fan of Broadway musicals only a few transfer successfully when they are adapted to the cinema screen .

I didn't get to see the stage version of this musical so I can't comment except to say in my opinion this adaptation although brimming with a very talented cast didn't really work for me .

I read that 13 songs were cut from the original Broadway stage version so it can hardly be considered an authentic version of the Broadway musical .

The composer of the additional music for this movie Kris Bowers has added a few pleasant but forgettable songs .

I felt this version of the original story by Marsha Norman was disjointed missing the emotional aspect of the 1985 movie and that the songs in the movie interrupted the flow of the story.

It's the same story of a black Southern woman Celie struggling to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and abusive husband over four decades .

Celie with the help of her sisters and an unexpected inheritance escape her abusive husband and is reunited with her stolen children.

I felt the emotional impact was trivialised or diminished a little by adding music and songs to the mix.

The ensemble cast is impressive headed by Fantasia Barrino as Celie the role that Whoopi Goldberg who has a cameo in this version received a Best Actress Oscar nomination in 1986. The role of Sophia played excellently in this version by Danielle Brooks also earned Oprah Winfrey an Oscar nomination in 1986 for her portrayal of Sophia.

Other impressive performances from Taraji P. Henson as the flamboyant Shug Avery and Colman Domingo as the menacing Mister helped make The Colour Purple entertaining for me .

Oprah Winfrey is co producer with Steven Spielberg who directed the 1986 version.

This version directed by Blitz Bazawule cost an estimated $USD 100,000,000 to bring to the screen .

The original 1986 version cost an estimated $15,000,000 and was a huge success grossing $ 98,500,000 it will be interesting to see how the musical film version performs at the box office.

The Colour Purple musical version for me was like attending an Evangelical Baptist revival meeting where sinners repent and are miraculously transformed ,it's a little too preachy for me.

Would give it zero if I could

[ejpoole-61692 · 1/10 · 18 January 2024]

I absolutely loved the original so I was excited for this but what a disappointment. The reason the original was so good was because from the moment it started you were sucked in, the heart ache of having her babies taken away, then being sent off to live with an awful man then losing her sister, u felt every single heart break. These actors just don't portray any emotion at all, the characters aren't likeable or let alone loveable , you don't hate Mr, they are too busy breaking out into song rather than giving an emotional heart felt acting performance. If you are going to do a remake then do it properly, this was just awful!

Imagination and creativity to the max

[richard-1787 · 10/10 · 25 December 2023]

I can't believe that I get to write the first IMDB review of this stupendous movie.

Everything, but everything, is good when not downright great here.

The script is always interesting.

The realization of that script is good and sometimes just downright astounding. The staging of some of the musical numbers is pure genious: imaginative, fast-paced, colorful. But there is plenty of variety. The end of the movie starts off simply enough, but grows and swells to become very, very powerful.

The acting by the leads is all first-rate. How they convinced the men to play those often despicable roles I don't know, but you surely cheer when their women finally stand up to them. Some of those moments got applause from the audience where I saw it. (Note: I was almost the only man in the sold-out theater.)

It isn't a short movie, but, as with the only other movie this year that rises to its level, Oppenheimer, I was not bored for one minute.

Go see this movie. Order your tickets in advance, because this is going to sell a LOT of tickets. But go. It will take you through a wild emotional roller coaster. There are moments that are very hard to watch. (This is not a movie for little children.) But everything here is well done, and often superbly done. It will restore your faith in movie making.

A toned down musical adapation based on the 1985 film The Color Purple

[lisafordeay · 7/10 · 28 January 2024]

The Color Purple is a 2023 musical drama remake based on the 1985 adapation of the same name and stars Fantasia,Halle Bailey,Taraji Henson,Danielle Brooks, H. E. R,Coleman Dominago and Corey Hawkins.

The story follows two sisters named Celine(Phylsia Pearl Mapasi,and later Fantasia)and Nettie(Bailey plays young Nettie while Ciara plays old Nettie)who live with their evil stepfather Alfonso who sexually raped Celine and she gave birth to two kids who would later be taken off her.

Fast forward a few decades later and Celine(Fantasia) is now grown up and married to Mister(Domanigo) who also assaults Celine during their marriage. Celine later befriends a nightclub singer named Shrug Avery(Henson) and she discovers that her sister Nettie has been writing to her for years and Celine's husband hid the letters from her.

Will she escape?. Overall it was a good remake that's packed with forgettable songs and great acting from former American Idol winner Fantasia and The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey. Speaking of Halle Bailey she's not in this film for long only the first half hour until she's replaced by singer Ciara.

Is it as good as the 1985 one,no but it's still good.

Tries to hard..and fails in everyway possible

[raynick · 1/10 · 17 January 2024]

First off i loved the original and if i hadnt seen the original i'd have no idea of the plot or characters of this movie. It was literally a few words and then more singing. Zero character developement so the audience just has to go off of the original movie. I'm not why the ratings are so high and as high as the original..doesnt make sense to me i wouldnt give it 2 stars. The actors didnt do a great job of acting it was just like they were going through the motions and obviously it was all done in one take. I didnt expect greatness from the movie but i didnt expect it to be this bad. The original is a movie that you can rewatch any rainy day..this one is hard to watch even once. A lot of hate but if your going to make a remake of a great movie you cant just "watch me dance and sing" the entire movie to fill in all the gaps and poor acting. Imagine this movie if the original was never made..i doubt anyone would even watch it and it would make little to no sense at all.

If you haven't seen the stage musical you'll probably love it.

[jae-32559 · 6/10 · 1 January 2024]

I love this musical. I saw the original production on Broadway twice and the revival three times. In my eyes it is close to a perfect musical. It flows well, The music is fantastic, and the script is pretty strong. So I will be honest. I went into this movie pretty hesitant and would be hard to beat the stage productions for me.

That being said. My problem wasn't the cast or the direction. It was what they did to the original material. They cut 14 songs from the show and replaced them with songs to feature the smaller roles. They cut a pivotal scene before "I'm Here" that gives that song so much more depth and feeling. The struggle they cut from the stage version was missing a little.

Don't get my wrong. There was still struggle obviously. But the relationship between Shug and Celie was much deeper. Shug actually leaves Celie for the piano player. Leaving her devastated in the middle of her happy moment of having success with her shop and learning her family is alive. It seemed in this version she got everything she wanted in life. Which is nice, but not how life is. The whole point of the song is she is broken yet again, but still here. Instead she gets an apology from Mister.

The only story they started true to was Sophia. And that's why she's getting rave reviews and probably an Oscar nomination. They cut a duet of her and Harpo, but that song was a comedic filler. But otherwise the story kept the most rounded depth to the character.

It's a good movie. But as a fan of the source material (not the book or the original movie, but the stage musical), I left liking it, but I didn't love it. And the people who were with me didn't see the stage show and loved it. It just lacked something. I really wanted it to be one of those movie musicals I return to over and over, but once was enough. If it's playing on TV I might stop and watch. But it's not something I'm going to seek out to watch.

enjoyable

[edie_22032024 · 31 March 2024]

It's a musical, great ensemble of cast crew in general, entertaining, for the nature of which, probably just had been emotionally less discomforting, therefore theoretically a bit downplaying of the suffering of characters compared to 1985 version of Spielberg's feature film. Which made the latter still stand out as more powerful.

It's a certain of higher budget cost production with Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg all involved. The box office yet did not have broken even. If compared with 1985 version, by the time it also cost rather high budget if counting on the decades of bucks' devaluation to this day. But it had enjoyed a bulky turnover compared to the original cost back then.

Overall, its cinematically enjoyable, for some, perhaps it's their 90 percent purpose for seeing. Then there you have it.

I give it 8.1/10 *

* recently watched again feels it indeed enjoyable, in that case just corrected the rating as such. Many thanks!