Purple Rain (film)

Purple Rain
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlbert Magnoli
Written byAlbert Magnoli
William Blinn
Produced byRobert Cavallo
Joseph Ruffalo
Steven Fargnoli
Starring
CinematographyDonald E. Thorin
Edited byAlbert Magnoli
Ken Robinson
Music by
Production
company
Purple Films
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • July 27, 1984 (1984-07-27)
Running time
111 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7.2 million[3]
Box office$70.3 million[4]

Purple Rain is a 1984 American romantic rock musical drama film scored by and starring Prince in his acting debut. Developed to showcase his talents, it contains several concert sequences, featuring Prince and his band The Revolution. The film is directed by Albert Magnoli, who later became Prince's manager, from a screenplay by Magnoli and William Blinn. The cast also features Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos and Clarence Williams III.

Principal photography took place almost entirely in Minneapolis: the film features many local landmarks, including the Crystal Court of the IDS Center and the First Avenue nightclub, which was paid $100,000 for being used during filming; it was closed for 25 days.[5] Some of the First Avenue scenes were shot at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.

It grossed $70.3 million worldwide, against its $7.2 million budget.[3] The film won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Publications and critics have regarded Purple Rain as one of the greatest musical films.[6] In 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7]

The film was supported with its soundtrack album of the same name, which featured two US chart-topping singles, "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy", as well as the number-two hit "Purple Rain". The soundtrack is certified 13× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide.[8]

  1. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "PURPLE RAIN (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 5, 1984. Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Prince". Rockhall. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Prince's movie legacy: Will there ever be another like 'Purple Rain'?". Los Angeles Times. April 21, 2016. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  7. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (December 11, 2019). "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks". Time. New York, NY. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).