An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.
Acting
Whoopi and Oprah—legends born in a single film.
Score
Quincy Jones' jazz-soul fusion haunts beautifully.
Cinematography
Spielberg's golden-hour South never looked so cruel.
Director
Steven Spielberg
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Spielberg directed this between Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies—his 'serious' era nobody talks about.
Alice Walker and the NAACP criticized the film for softening the lesbian relationship between Celie and Shug; the 2023 musical adaptation went further.
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Reactions from the web
we never needed a sequel to this. The original should have won every award
@DominoChild 73
"All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my brothers!" *- Sofia*
@SpammytheHedgehog 75
Not kidding when this is the first movie that brought me to tears. When I watched other movies I cried a little bit, but this actually got me balling my eyes out.
@kizyyy-r1 58
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