Purple Rain
40th Anniversary Edition
[4K Ultra HD]
This is a weird one. The soundtrack is a banger, but the movie is straight up Prince propaganda. That may be obvious to everyone, but it’s also my main hangup with Prince. Prince the man, as he portrays himself, is what’s preventing me from truly loving his music. He’s just too full of himself. Sure, the music should speak for itself, and the album this movie is promoting (or vice versa) has some incredible songs. Just the song Purple Rain itself is enough to convince anyone that Prince has the goods.
The reason all this is important is because this is a movie after all, and the things that happen on screen should matter. Purple Rain isn’t a great movie for the same reason its “sequel” Under the Cherry Moon isn’t a great movie: Prince gets in the way. Every shot from this movie is about how Prince is great but has so far been unable to unleash his even greater potential.
The songs are fantastic, but the plot of Purple Rain is a complete mess. If your story has a hero, then they should do heroic things. Instead, Prince is egotistical, selfish, stubborn, toxic, and basically a dick to everyone he’s around. Anyone who gets caught up in his aura suffers from it. We’re supposed to think his charisma and talent make up for all these shortcomings, but what we’d like to see is him actually learn something from his experiences.
This 4K is very cool, with a director’s commentary track, a making-of featurette, and 8 music videos. At least the music gets the attention it deserves.
Purple Rain needs to be experienced, I guess. It’s funny, but not intentionally. Laugh at Prince and cry at Purple Rain. These songs are the true heroes.
