The Color Purple (2023)

December 25, 2023 (US) • Drama • 141m

Overview

A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

Director

Blitz Bazawule

Writers

Alice Walker, Marcus Gardley

Top Billed

Fantasia Barrino

Keywords

adultery child abuse based on novel or book southern usa faith forgiveness abusive father slavery georgia musical based on play or musical child bride memphis, tennessee lesbian relationship domestic abuse religion domestic violence racism older man younger woman relationship incest county jail self esteem hardship lgbt child marriage estranged family member pregnant teen female empowerment forced marriage vexed 1920s 1940s 1910s sisterhood 1930s unwanted marriage women's liberation christian missionary 1900s complex sister sister relationship race relations resilience soul music child sexual abuse 20th century bisexual woman underage marriage familial reconciliation

Where to watch

Free / Included

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Top Billed Cast

Fantasia Barrino

Celie

Taraji P. Henson

Shug Avery

Danielle Brooks

Sofia

Colman Domingo

Mister

Corey Hawkins

Harpo

Phylicia Pearl Mpasi

Young Celie

Halle Bailey

Young Nettie

Ciara

Nettie

H.E.R.

Squeak

David Alan Grier

Reverend Avery

Deon Cole

Alfonso

Jon Batiste

Grady

Louis Gossett Jr.

Ol' Mister

Tamela Mann

First Lady

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

Mama

Elizabeth Marvel

Miss Millie

Stephen Hill

Henry (Buster) Broadnax

Adetinpo Thomas

Mary Ellen

Tiffany Elle Burgess

Olivia

Terrence J. Smith

Adam

Aba Arthur

Abena

Jeffrey Marcus

Immigration Officer

Jamaal Avery Jr.

Young Harpo

Ailani Flowers

Lil Cat

Emana Rachelle

Corrine

Charles Green

Mayor

Brad Raymond

Big Slim

P. Kofi McDonald

Domino Player

L. Warren Young

Domino Player

Zakiya Boyd

Deaconess

David Vaughn

Postman (Mr. Edmonds)

Chase Steven Anderson

Ticket Booth Operator

John L. Adams

Sharecropper

Ashton Maxwell

Harpo's Buddy

Marvin Laviolette

Harpo's Buddy

Raphael Thomas

Harpo's Buddy

MaCai Arrington Griffin

Bub

James Carey

Debuty

Whoopi Goldberg

Midwife (uncredited)

Matthew James Gulbranson

Domino Player (uncredited)

Latasha Bryant

Dancer

Crew

Tangela Large

Dialect Coach

Pete Chiappetta

Executive Producer

Anthony Tittanegro

Executive Producer

Stephen Bray

Songs

Allee Willis

Songs

Brenda Russell

Songs

Anthony G. Nakonechnyj

Gaffer

Quincy Jones

Songs

Keith Kinsey

Video Assist Operator

Hannah Hildebrandt

Art Department Coordinator

Dan Laustsen

Director of Photography

Jon Poll

Editor

Kris Bowers

Original Music Composer

Tiffany Little Canfield

Casting

Destiny Lilly

Casting

Bernard Telsey

Casting

Paul D. Austerberry

Production Design

Andi Crumbley

Art Direction

Larry Dias

Set Decoration

Francine Jamison-Tanchuck

Costume Design

Lawrence Davis

Hair Department Head

Carol Rasheed

Makeup Department Head

Mark Anthony Little

First Assistant Director

Rory Bruen

Supervising Art Director

Rebecca Runyon

Assistant Art Director

Hang Dara Zhao

Assistant Art Director

Andrew Lary

Executive Producer

Richard Bullock Jr.

Sound Mixer

Chris Campagna

Foley Editor

Brendan Croxon

Foley Supervisor

Paul Massey

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Ken McGill

Sound Designer

Steven A. Morrow

Sound Mixer

Paul Pirola

Foley Mixer

Karina Rezhevska

Foley Recordist

Julian Slater

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Julian Slater

Supervising Sound Editor

Ryan Squires

Foley Editor

Nataliia Syeryakova

Foley Artist

Renée Tondelli

Supervising Sound Editor

Andrea Bowman

Key Hair Stylist

A. Renea Dyson

Hairstylist

Jennifer E Ivey

Makeup Artist

Bridgette Michelle Bentley

Stunt Double

Shellita Boxie

Stunt Double

Max Calder

Stunts

Mark Hicks

Stunt Coordinator

Grip

Brandon Blakely

Michael Beugg

Executive Producer

Steven Spielberg

Producer

Jordan Carroll

Music Supervisor

Morgan Rhodes

Music Supervisor

Nick Baxter

Executive Music Producer

Stephen Bray

Executive Music Producer

Blitz Bazawule

Executive Music Producer

Oprah Winfrey

Producer

Quincy Jones

Producer

Alice Walker

Novel

Marsha Norman

Musical

Scott Sanders

Producer

Blitz Bazawule

Director

Marcus Gardley

Screenplay

Alice Walker

Executive Producer

Rebecca Walker

Executive Producer

Kristie Macosko Krieger

Executive Producer

Carla Gardini

Executive Producer

Mara Jacobs

Executive Producer

Tiana Melvina Woods

Stunts

Carla Martinez

Art Direction

February 1, 2024

Sometimes it's better just not to re-imagine/invent/devise a feature that had such a visceral impact not just on the cinema, but on the theatre and, of course - the literary world in the first place. I"m not sure this isn't one of those. It follows the story of the young "Celie" who is essentially sold to a neighbour "Mister" (Colman Domingo) when she's barely into adulthood - for a cow and some eggs. Turns out his hale-fellow-well-met character is a bit deceptive: he's a bit of a misogynist brute who sees this woman as his property. With her now the plaything of another man, her sister "Nettie" becomes the latest object of the desires of their father and in panic she flees to "Celie" for help. Out of the frying pan into the fire, perhaps - she has soon to get away from there whilst the men folk continue as if nothing has happened. The chronology speeds up a bit now and we find ourselves dipping in at various stages of their lives only discover that little has changed and their opportunities are still tied by their apron strings. Until, that is, the arrival of the jazz sensation that is "Shug Avery" (Taraji P. Henson) who brings with her the winds of quite empowering change. Meantime, "Harpo" - the stepson of "Celie" has found himself a rather feisty and independently-minded wife in "Sofia" (Danielle Brooks) and we start to think that perhaps things might just be about to improve. The only abject lesson in racism to feature here occurs around this point demonstrating the cruelty and brutality that made this story abhorrently poignant in the first place. What now ensues instils a growing determination among these women to assert themselves and thrive on their own terms. Can they? What I found this lacked was the earthiness, the grittiness, the squalor of the 1985 screen version. It's also a musical at times but a pretty sterile and overly choreographed one that seemed to be unsure if it wanted to be "West Side Story" or "Washington Heights". There's an ensemble number by a waterfall with the water flowing with almost symmetrical and flawless evenness. Even the scenes of evil are somehow just a bit too de-sensitised. I think possibly the problem for me was that the powerful performance of Fantasia Barrino was just too good, and the power balled from her towards the end presented almost as if there were space for applause afterwards. Domingo is a good actor, too, but again here he just didn't cut it as either the charismatic charmer or the sexually rapacious bully - though he did fare a little better as the story moved on. The soundtrack has some belters and taken in isolation, there are some great performances here from Barrino, Henson and my favourite - Brooks; but I'd sooner watch the original, any day - it has more authenticity in it's impact.

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r96sk

⭐ 9/10

February 8, 2024

A film of quality, this.

<em>'The Color Purple'</em> is a blast, what is a noteworthy thing for me to say given I'm not a lover of musicals; though, to be fair, I'm way more into them in recent years since doing reviews... have learnt to appreciate 'em! This has good music alongside an extremely deep narrative, one that hits the feels directly. I've never seen or read any version of this story previously, but this is a great introduction to it… read the rest.

Brent Marchant

⭐ 6/10

February 19, 2024

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve routinely made it clear that I’m not a big fan of movie musicals. In addition, less known is the fact that I’ve also never been particularly enamored with the original dramatic version of this story (1985), a picture in which director Steven Spielberg still had his training wheels on when it came to making serious cinematic fare. With those admissions in mind, then, it would appear that this latest iteration of the classic Alice Walker novel would have two prejudicial strikes against it going in, and that assessment would be accurate, as these qualifications sincerely reflect my characterization of this alternative take on this beloved tale. Director Blitz Bazawule’s musical adaptation of this tale about a young African-American woman (Fantasia Barrino) struggling to find happiness under harsh conditions in early 20th Century Georgia is plagued by an array of issues, including an ill-fitting fusion of this story in a Broadway format/context, an uneven distribution of production numbers throughout the course of the narrative, numerous over-the-top (and frequently silly) surreal song and dance sequences (many of which look like they’ve been plucked fresh from a Baz Luhrmann movie), understandable but nevertheless-disappointing plot and character development alterations, and some serious miscasting choices (such as the usually-reliable Colman Domingo, who’s decidedly out of place in the role of Mister). This combination of misfire elements makes for somewhat disappointing viewing for those who adored the book and original screen version and does little for winning over innately lukewarm supporters of the material (like me). Granted, the film gets better as it goes along (probably because there are fewer musical numbers in the second half than the first), and its ensemble cast, for the most part, is quite compelling, including Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, David Alan Grier, Corey Hawkins and Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks. However, on balance, this is one of those projects where things probably would have been better off left alone.

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