Search - Purple Rain on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Adult Language, Profanity Movie Release: 1984 DVD Release: 06/25/1997 Format: DVD - Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 51 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Total Copies: 2 Genres: Drama, Romance, Rock Musical See Also: Purple Rain [20th Anniversary Special Edition], Purple Rain [Blu-ray], Purple Rain [HD DVD]

Purple Rain, the first starring film for Prince, is the story of an arrogant, young black singer, born and raised in Minneapolis, who reaches the pinnacle of stardom. The dramatic complications include "The Kid's" (Prince) miserable home life, where he suffers the brutalities of his father (well played by Clarence Williams III) and the youth's efforts to win the love of the beautiful Apollonia. Despite the misogynistic undercurrents in Purple Rain, the film's biggest fans were young women. Gorgeously photographed by Donald Thorin, Purple Rain is essentially a glorified music video, highlighted by a catalogue of Prince's hits, including I Would Die 4 U, When Doves Cry and Let's Go Crazy; the score deservedly won an Academy Award and a Grammy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Prince - The Kid
Apollonia - Herself
Morris Day - Morris
Olga Karlatos - Mother
Clarence Williams III - Father

The film that helped establish Prince's public persona comes to DVD with this lackluster release from Warner Bros. The transfer is a standard, full-frame 1.33:1 image. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, while a French soundtrack is recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include production notes and theatrical trailers. The best aspect of this disc is the sound, which was also the best aspect of the movie. Considering Prince's stature as one of the superstars of the last 20 years, one wonders if a special edition release of this film on DVD might be in the works. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide