The Color Purple            

By Tom Keogh

Steven Spielberg, proving he's one of the few modern filmmakers who has the visual fluency to be capable of making a great silent film, took a melodramatic, D.W. Griffith-inspired approach to filming Alice Walker's novel. His tactics made the film controversial, but also a popular hit. You can argue with the appropriateness of Spielberg's decision, but his astonishing facility with images is undeniable--from the exhilarating and eye-popping opening shots of children playing in paradisiacal purple fields to the way he conveys the brutality of a rape by showing hanging leather belts banging against the head of the shaking bed. In a way it's a shame that Whoopi Goldberg, a stage monologist who made her screen debut in this movie, went on to become so famous, because it was, in part, her unfamiliarity that made her understated performance as Celie so effective. (This may be the first and last time that the adjective understated can be applied to Goldberg.) Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including best picture and actress (supporting players Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery were also nominated), it was quite a scandal--and a crushing blow to Spielberg--when it won none.

Academy Awards

The Color Purple received a Academy Award nominations for Best Picture (Steven Spielberg - Producer, Kathleen Kennedy - Producer, Frank Marshall - Producer, Quincy Jones - Producer), Actress (Whoopi Goldberg), Supporting Actress (Oprah Winfrey), Supporting Actress (Margaret Avery), Writing (Best Screenplay based on material from another medium; Menno Meyjes), Art Direction/Set Decoration (J. Michael Riva - Art Direction, Robert W. Welch - Art Direction, Linda DeScenna - Set Decoration), Cinematography (Allen Daviau), Costume Design (Aggie Guerard Rodgers), Best Achievement in Makeup (Ken Chase), Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score; Quincy Jones, Jeremy Lubbock, Rod Temperton, Caiphus Semenya, Andrae Crouch, Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Joel Rosenbaum, Fred Steiner, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, Randy Kerber), Music Best Song (Quincy Jones - Music, Rod Temperton - Music, Lionel Richie - Lyrics).

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"The Color Purple is one of my all time favorite movies. The cast was excellent. The music was inspiring. Whoopie Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey both gave Oscar performances. I own it on DVD now. I do not usually watch movies more than once unless they are, from my point-of-view, a five star movie. The Color Puple is one of these movies where I watch over and over again. I love it!" --Anonymous