Throwback Thursday: Purple Rain

Now you know normally I have a Rewind Wednesday but I got so caught up yesterday it just flew right past me. But fret not I got one for you today....now this one may be a little different than your normal flick but its a classic...the 1984 musical film Purple Rain.

"The Kid" (Prince) is an aspiring and talented, but troubled Minneapolis musician with a difficult home life. He meets a singer named Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero), and they become involved in an untidy romance. The plot centers on Prince trying not to repeat the pattern of his abusive alcoholic father, played by Clarence Williams III (famous at the time for his role as Lincoln Hayes on The Mod Squad), and keep his band, The Revolution, and his relationship with Apollonia, together. His main antagonist is fellow musician Morris Day and his group The Time.

I can honestly say this is one of the greatest musicals of ALL TIME, and it is definitely in the Top 5 in my book. This was one of those films that accented the 80's and made it truly shine (BLING!). The film pretty much gives an almost perfect snapshot of the neon light and skinny tie era… but then you realize that it was made during the time of curly perms and tinny synths, wow...I hope we don't ever revisit that era...lol. Prince truly exemplified an award-winning film with Oscar-winning music, and it would take him to his zenith. On a flip side it's somewhat saddening to realize that even though he would make some fine albums, I don't think he would ever capture this high again. Nonetheless, many people overlook this film and miss out on all the passion that is housed inside of it.

*Did You Know?
The movie idea was apparently developed by Prince during his "Triple Threat" tour. Initially the script was to be darker and more coherent. Prince intended to cast Vanity, leader of the girl group Vanity 6, but she left the group before filming began. Her role was initially offered to Jennifer Beals (who turned it down because she wanted to concentrate on college) before going to Apollonia Kotero, a virtual unknown at the time. Excluding Prince and his on-screen parents, almost every actor in the movie uses his/her actual name for his/her character.

The film would earn $68.4 million in the US (2009 dollars US$140,017,340) at the box office. To this day when it comes on tv, I can't help but to watch it. It would also win an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score in 1985. Thus also resulting in a soundtrack that sold over 14 million copies in America alone.

Purple Rain evokes an eighties style clothing, and music ensemble, which effortlessly captivated the movie audience!! Put it like this Purple Rain put Prince on the map!!