Search - The Color Purple on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Rape & Sexual Abuse, Questionable for Children, Profanity, Watch With Your Teen Movie Release: 1985 DVD Release: 03/26/1997 Format: DVD - Soft-Matted WSE for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 34 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 19 Genres: Drama, Period Film, Marriage Drama, Feminist Film, Rural Drama See Also: The Color Purple [Special Edition], The Color Purple [Widescreen/Fullscreen]

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple spans the years 1909 to 1949, relating the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), a Southern black woman virtually sold into a life of servitude to her brutal husband, sharecropper Albert (Danny Glover). Celie pours out her innermost thoughts in letter form to her sister Nettie (Akousa Busia), but Albert has been hiding the letters Nettie writes back, allowing Celie to assume that Nettie is dead. Finally, Celie finds a champion in the don't-take-no-guff Sofia (Oprah Winfrey), the wife of Glover's son from a previous marriage. Alas, Sofia is "humbled" when she is beaten into submission by angry whites. Later, Celie is able to forge a strong friendship with Albert's mistress Shug (Margaret Avery). Emboldened by this, Celie begins rifling through her husband's belongings and finds Nettie's letters. Able at last to stand up to her husband, Celie leaves him to search for a new life on her own. A major box-office hit, The Color Purple was nominated for eleven Oscars. The film was co-produced by Quincy Jones, who also wrote the score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Danny Glover - Albert
Whoopi Goldberg - Celie
Margaret Avery - Shug Avery
Oprah Winfrey - Sofia
Willard E. Pugh - Harpo

Steven Spielberg's adaptation of The Color Purple comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.0, while a French soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Surround. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include production notes and a pair of theatrical trailers. While the sound and picture quality are very strong, one could hope for more information about the production. Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey made their film debuts in this effort and their insight would be interesting. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide