Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Powerful

How sad is this?

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Prince is a valiant singer / virtuoso guitar master / excellent composer / awesome dancer / incredible showman. One thing he should have never touched upon was acting. He is awful, I just need to accentuate this such way - A-W-F-U-L. Terribly silly movie which is Purple Rain only gets sillier and worse with every watch as we cannot but laugh at horrid performances from all the cast, and then scream with delight at each unbelievably stupid plot turn. Prince is a real failure here, miserable actor and poor director. This is nothing more than a lengthy, expensive and glitzy video shoot for his 1984's super hit album of the same name. Vapid, cartooning, one-dimensional and very bland.

For his honor and a tribute just watched again after many years the film "Purple Rain" which I hadn't saw since a kid, and I must say I enjoyed it again it was a great film! To bad that the world has just lost a great talent like "Prince" he's gone to soon. Anyway his 1984 film was a showcase a film that mixed drama, pain, sex, and romance all while showing the wonderful talent in one up and coming musician that being the one and only "Prince". The plot is simple "Prince" is a young man who with his band at the local Minnesota club plays night after night only challenges are everywhere in the form of a rival singer and the purple one's home life is anything but, as his parents are an interracial couple with the alcoholic father beating and abusing mom. Still to help get thru some of the pain, sorrow, and drama "Prince" meets an exotic and sexy lady from New Orleans who brings talent and passion and hot steamy sex scenes were a treat of this film. And the music was some of "Prince's" best songs they carried this film making it a winner as a viewer can see a time when "Prince" had just became a worldwide known star as "Purple Rain" would show.

It's probably fair to say that as a movie, "Purple Rain" makes for a great album. The story is like a 1930's backstage musical brought up to date, the dialogue is cliché-ridden, while the acting looks as if it's everyone's first try-out (which it more or less is). What saves it is Prince's blockbusting soundtrack of great songs, most of which are played in full, which helpfully reduces the acting time for everyone. Elsewhere it's ridiculously sexist, the women in it variously getting thrown into a dumper like yesterday's trash, slapped about by the men and requiring to wear full pancake make-up at all times and of course appear half-naked most of the time.Prince himself gets to run around on his motorbike a lot and of course perform his songs so he doesn't have to do much other than make big doe-eyes at key moments and speak his words one line at a time. Morris Day is better as his nattily-dressed rival (in music and for the girl), but underneath he's still a stereotypical chauvinist and Appollonia as the love interest gets to sing a little, cry a little and take off her clothes a lot.What little humour there is, is forced and banal, none more so than an excruciatingly unfunny sub-Abbott and Costello "Who-dat" exchange between Day and his gopher over a password. In its favour though the presentation of all the songs is crisp and dynamic as you'd expect in the MTV age. Prince, naturally and even Day are fine musical performers, although Day's songs with his group The Time are noticeably inferior to Prince's group the Revolution's - you just don't buy the club-owner's ultimatum to "The Kid" to up his game or lose the gig because up until then his material and performances have been superb.Which brings me to the music, which in Prince's case is absolutely brilliant throughout. Not for nothing did the soundtrack stay at the top of the US charts for a "Thriller"-challenging 24 weeks. Each song gets a different,imaginative, live-interpretation and the man himself is as we all know a sensational performer, dancer and lip-syncher too! As you'd expect there's a big climax, where the self-obsessed Kid reaches out by for once selflessly performing Wendy and Lisa's song (in reality his own), the title number, partly to expiate his pain over his family strife and also, naturally to win the girl, but the music is so good and the staging so strong that you believe it and all the 'happy ever after" boxes it ticks as it goes.Which is pretty much the story of the film and it wouldn't be the first "musical" where the songs carried the movie, but there were rarely songs as good as these doing the job.

Purple Rain is an excellent,unforgettable Rock N'Roll Musical Classic and one of the greatest Rock N'Roll movies of all time that combines great,stylish direction and a classic album and soundtrack that makes Purple Rain Prince at his best.Set in Minneapolis,Minnesota,Purple Rain tells the story of The Kid(Prince),a talented but troubled musician who's the leader the group The Revolution and while The Kid rocks out with his band he has a upsetting personal life. The Kid then meets and falls for an aspiring singer and dancer Apollonia(Apollonia Kotero)while competing with rival musician and singer Morris Day(Morris Day)and trying to make it to the big time.The year 1984 is one of the most iconic and unforgettable years in the history of pop culture and not only that it was also an incredible year for movies,music and television. Classic and memorable films such as Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters were the top two grossing box office hits of the year,singers Madonna,Tina Turner and Lionel Richie were dominating the pop music charts,classic television shows such as Miami Vice and The Cosby Show both made their Television debuts and MTV Music Television was in it's third year. Then in that very same year came the release of Purple Rain,an amazing Rock N'Roll film that was a Box Office hit and turned Prince into a mega star and gave viewers a classic album and iconic soundtrack that would go multi platinum and become one of Prince's definitive and timeless albums. Right from the very start Purple Rain gives viewers a stylish experience that brings you into another world where music is played throughout and you not only listen to the music you feel it with all of your emotion and you never want it to stop and when you think of the year 1984 or the entire decade of the 1980s you will think of Purple Rain because it not only defines 1984 but the entire decade of the 1980s. Purple Rain is one of those films where there is more style than substance where most of the camera movements and editing in some the scenes are fast and quick never giving you a chance to breath or take a break. The concert scenes in PR are terrific and mesmerizing capturing your attention and nothing feels forced or fake but real with an energy that is relentless and powerful that you will be singing along with The Kid(i.e Prince). I think Prince tried recapture the spirit of Purple Rain with his two follow up films Under The Cherry Moon(1986 and Graffiti Bridge(1990)but failed. The only film that I think can match PR in terms of style and tone is Walter Hill's Streets Of Fire(also released in 1984). One can make a valid argument that PR is not really a movie but a long extended music video with some scenes of dialog but it's one of the most entertaining extended music videos I have ever seen and like I said before this is a movie where there is more style than substance. The main character The Kid(his real named is never said in the film)is not always a likable character and at times he can be kind of jerk but you will sympathize with him at times because of his terrible home life with his parents or trying to become a successful musician. The Kid is a character full of depth and mystery and we get to know him either through his music or his dialog. One of the things I love about PR is how intentionally or unintentionally hilarious the film is because some of the acting leaves a lot to be desired and some of the dramatic moments become a little over the top to the point where you are laughing at scenes that are supposed to be serious but end up being silly. The ending of Purple Rain(which is the final 20-30 minutes)is fantastic and one of the best endings I have ever seen in a film and is filled with great music that is brilliant and powerful and will stay with you forever. An incredible ending.The cast is o.k. Prince does an o.k and hilarious job as The Kid,with showing over the top emotions. Apollonia Kotero is good and sexy as Apollonia,Prince's love interest. Morris Day is funny and memorable as Morris Day,The Kid's rival. Olga Karlatos and Clarence Williams III give the best performances in the film as The Kid's troubled Mother and Father. Jerome Benton is fun as Jerome,Morris' right hand man. Billy Sparks is good as Billy,a local club owner.The direction Albert Magnoli is terrific and stylish,with Magnoli keeping the film moving at a tight pace and bringing a great visual style to the film and doing sensational job with the concert scenes. Wonderful direction,Magnoli.The soundtrack by Prince And The Revolution is one of the greatest and most unforgettable albums and soundtracks of all time with amazing songs such as the title track Purple Rain,When Doves Cry,Let's Go Crazy,Computer Blue,Darling Nikki,The Beautiful Ones,Take Me With U,I Would Die For U and Baby I'm A Star. A Brilliant and flawless soundtrack. There is also other great songs by Morris Day and The Time(Jungle Love,The Bird),Appolonia 6(Sex Shooter)and Dez Dickerson(Modernaire) The score by Michel Colombier,John L. Nelson and Prince is great,intense and beautiful matching the tone and style of the film. In final word if you love Rock N'Roll films,Musicals or Prince,I highly suggest you watch Purple Rain,an excellent,unforgettable Rock N'Roll Musical classic that you can watch again and again and is Prince at his best. Highly Recommended. 10/10.