A few words about...™ - The Color Purple -- in 4k UHD (3 Viewers)

[Kyle_D]

How many films were openly made about lesbian couples in 1985? How obvious was it in These Three?

Oh, the film is absolutely a product of its time and needs to be appreciated as such. That's an explanation, however, not an excuse. The best stories and films transcend the times they were made in. Also, Spielberg has never been particularly comfortable with sex (gay, straight, or otherwise) in any of his films. I think Catch Me if You Can may be the only film in his entire career with a fun, positive depiction of it. It's a directorial mismatch for a story that is partly about a woman learning to enjoy sex after years of sexual subjugation by men. He's acknowledged in multiple interviews that he fumbled that part of the film.

 

[B-ROLL]

Oh, the film is absolutely a product of its time and needs to be appreciated as such. That's an explanation, however, not an excuse. The best stories and films transcend the times they were made in. Also, Spielberg has never been particularly comfortable with sex (gay, straight, or otherwise) in any of his films. I think Catch Me if You Can may be the only film in his entire career with a fun, positive depiction of it. It's a directorial mismatch for a story that is partly about a woman learning to enjoy sex after years of sexual subjugation by men. He's acknowledged in multiple interviews that he fumbled that part of the film.

It's too ban there isn't a newly reimagined version of it coming to theaters or on a premium channel/streaming service ...

.

 

[jayembee]

How many films were openly made about lesbian couples in 1985? How obvious was it in These Three?

Personal Best in 1982, and John Sayles’s Lianna in 1983, are both good movies. Personal Best is estimated to have had a slightly larger budget than The Color Purple but bombed at the box office. Maybe there was a lesson in that.

And there was Desert Hearts in 1985.

 

[JoshZ]

It's beloved by many, but it has always had a vocal contingent of detractors with various reasons and agendas. Spielberg himself always questioned whether he was the right person to direct the material, and he later admitted that he wasn't fully mature or comfortable with it at the time, which led him to infantilize some of the characters and shy away from certain aspects of the storyline. He took the criticisms to heart and applied a lot of the lessons learned on this film when he made Schindler's List.

I've always found it a gorgeous, if flawed, film with several iconic performances. For my money, Allen Daviau is still the best DP Spielberg ever worked with, and it's wonderful to hear that this disc showcases his work.

I was working out a response in my head, but I think you articulated it better. Spielberg made this movie too early in his career. It's a well-made film and has some powerful lead performances, but also suffers from some Spielberg Schmaltz. He couldn't resist over-sentimentalizing the story, and just making the whole thing far too pretty. It's such an overt piece of awards-bait from that period where he so desperately craved an Oscar. Another decade, and he'd learn to temper some of those impulses.

Also, it needs to be said, the movie really should have been made by a Black director, though I'm sure that would have been near impossible for a production of this scale in Hollywood at the time.

 

[Kyle_D]

I was working out a response in my head, but I think you articulated it better. Spielberg made this movie too early in his career. It's a well-made film and has some powerful lead performances, but also suffers from some Spielberg Schmaltz. He couldn't resist over-sentimentalizing the story, and just making the whole thing far too pretty. It's such an overt piece of awards-bait from that period where he so desperately craved an Oscar. Another decade, and he'd learn to temper some of those impulses.

Also, it needs to be said, the movie really should have been made by a Black director, though I'm sure that would have been near impossible for a production of this scale in Hollywood at the time.

IIRC, Spielberg himself initially thought it should have been made by a black and/or female filmmaker, but Quincy Jones wanted to make a commercial picture and thought it would both symbolically and commercially validate the story if the most successful director of all time agreed to direct it. Spielberg, for his part, was at a professional crossroads and eager to demonstrate that he could direct more "adult" prestige cinema, so he accepted the job.

Once I accepted the film's schmaltz and inarguably sanitized "prettiness," it actually became a feature of the film for me, not a bug. It is a gorgeous film, and the performances by Whoopi and Oprah are legendary. I completely understand why the film means so much to so many people who rarely get to see their stories so lavishly produced on screen by a filmmaker of Spielberg's stature. It may be counterintuitive to critics who value absolute realism and authenticity, but to Jones' point, the production values actually do a lot to validate those stories. I'm reminded of the following exchange from Gerwig's excellent Little Women adaptation:

Jo: Who will be interested in a story of our domestic struggles and joys? It does not have any real importance.
Amy: Maybe it does not seem important because people don't write about them.
Jo: Writing does not confer importance, it reflects it.
Amy: I don't think so. Writing them will make them more important.

 

[Robert Harris]

And there was Desert Hearts in 1985.

Desert Hearts was one of my assistant’s favorites.

 

[Robert Harris]

I was working out a response in my head, but I think you articulated it better. Spielberg made this movie too early in his career. It's a well-made film and has some powerful lead performances, but also suffers from some Spielberg Schmaltz. He couldn't resist over-sentimentalizing the story, and just making the whole thing far too pretty. It's such an overt piece of awards-bait from that period where he so desperately craved an Oscar. Another decade, and he'd learn to temper some of those impulses.

Also, it needs to be said, the movie really should have been made by a Black director, though I'm sure that would have been near impossible for a production of this scale in Hollywood at the time.

An interesting concept, and apparently something discussed at the time, but things (as you know) just didn’t work that way.

Should The Robe have been directed by a Catholic? Porgy and Bess? A Raisin in the Sun?

It wasn’t until recently that things went in that direction with 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight…

 

[Robert Crawford]

An interesting concept, and apparently something discussed at the time, but things (as you know) just didn’t work that way.

Should The Robe have been directed by a Catholic? Porgy and Bess? A Raisin in the Sun?

It wasn’t until recently that things went in that direction with 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight…

Unfortunately, Spike Lee's directing career took off 4-5 years too late for this film as it would've been interesting to see what he could've done with this film.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Is this Warner's final 100th Anniversary 4K for 2023? That promotion felt less like a celebration and more like a "let's get this over with" on the part of the studio. I've heard rumblings of the studio ramping up their 4K output next year. I hope there's some truth to that.

The promotion was an embarrassment. With the greatest film library of any studio, they released a small handful of 4k releases that gravitated toward more modern films than actual classics. It indeed felt like "let's get this over with" rather than an actual celebration. But, then again, physical media has been on the decline and I don't think the budget is there to roll out as many classic 4k releases as they could have.

THE COLOR PURPLE stands as one of my top 10 favorite films. Has me in tears every single time. I ordered this day one, was happy to see it priced nicely on Amazon (under $24), and am looking forward to spinning it at the end of the week.

 

[Robert Harris]

Unfortunately, Spike Lee's directing career took off 4-5 years too late for this film as it would've been interesting to see what he could've done with this film.

Agreed. More like 7 or 8, but I could see it, especially after Malcolm X.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The promotion was an embarrassment. With the greatest film library of any studio, they released a small handful of 4k releases that gravitated toward more modern films than actual classics. It indeed felt like "let's get this over with" rather than an actual celebration. But, then again, physical media has been on the decline and I don't think the budget is there to roll out as many classic 4k releases as they could have.

THE COLOR PURPLE stands as one of my top 10 favorite films. Has me in tears every single time. I ordered this day one, was happy to see it priced nicely on Amazon (under $24), and am looking forward to spinning it at the end of the week.

I agree with you that I consider this Warner 100th Anniversary celebration disappointing to say the least. It's not all Warner's fault as the consumer physical media market has continued to shrink as people are just not buying discs in volumes that would encourage the studios to release more classic films on 4K/UHD or even Blu-ray. The profit margins for the major studios/corporations is just not large enough to get their attention to do more in that area. It's now a smaller boutique market.

 

[cineMANIAC]

In a way, I'm glad physical media is now more of a niche since the boutique labels will, in many instances, turn out better work, and not all the majors have "lost faith" so to speak but, generally, things aren't so bad. Too bad George Feltenstein's role at the studio is limited to WAC. Kino is our best hope for more classic/Golden Age output on disc and they have certainly been delivering on that front for many years now. I remember when they weren't sure about 4K as a format. Needless to say, that dip of the toe in the water didn't have tragic consequences

That's a terrible cover, BTW. This makes two major fails on the part of the studio on that front. Not a dig on Whoopi Goldberg lol. The whole thing just looks lifeless and lazy, just like with The Exorcist.

 

[Robert Crawford]

In a way, I'm glad physical media is now more of a niche since the boutique labels will, in many instances, turn out better work, and not all the majors have "lost faith" so to speak but, generally, things aren't so bad. Too bad George Feltenstein's role at the studio is limited to WAC. Kino is our best hope for more classic/Golden Age output on disc and they have certainly been delivering on that front for many years now. I remember when they weren't sure about 4K as a format. Needless to say, that dip of the toe in the water didn't have tragic consequences

That's a terrible cover, BTW. This makes two major fails on the part of the studio on that front. Not a dig on Whoopi Goldberg lol. The whole thing just looks lifeless and lazy, just like with The Exorcist.

Things are bad, you just haven’t realized it yet.

 

[cineMANIAC]

Things are bad, you just haven’t realized it yet.

I'm coming from the perspective of someone who primarily follows and collects boutique label titles and I fully understand it's now a niche thing but, from our perspective, things couldn't be rosier for fans of offbeat and obscure films both foreign and domestic. It's easy to see people having a completely different (and defeatist) perspective from the other side of that spectrum. That perspective mostly comes from frustration from people whose personal wishlists of traditional Hollywood output has been reduced to just a handful of titles a year now. It's not all bad - even stubborn studios like Disney are still active, some more than others. Some are even "waking up" and opening their vaults as we speak.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm coming from the perspective of someone who primarily follows and collects boutique label titles and I fully understand it's now a niche thing but, from our perspective, things couldn't be rosier for fans of offbeat and obscure films both foreign and domestic. It's easy to see people having a completely different (and defeatist) perspective from the other side of that spectrum. That perspective mostly comes from frustration from people whose personal wishlists of traditional Hollywood output has been reduced to just a handful of titles a year now. It's not all bad - even stubborn studios like Disney are still active, some more than others. Some are even "waking up" and opening their vaults as we speak.

I'm a high-volume buyer of catalog movies on discs. Except for a couple of months in 2023, my average purchases per month have been around 23-25 catalog movies on 4K/UHD and Blu-ray. Back in the day, that number would easily be double that amount per month. This year I had a couple of months above 40 titles, but the other 10 months it was more like 23-25. The reason for that decline is because the number of catalog titles to purchase on disc has declined.

Disney is one of the main culprits when it comes to lower amount of physical media releases. Furthermore, it's even worse because now because they have the Fox library and have done absolutely nothing with it.

The physical home video market is on life support and there is no other way to look at it from that perspective/reality!

 

[Kyle_D]

Charles Burnett would have been an interesting alternative choice to direct the film in 1985, but it likely would have been a much smaller production.

I hope I haven't stirred the pot too much in this thread by raising some of the negative commentary on the film. I was not planning on purchasing this disc, but RAH's initial post and subsequent discussion has convinced me to upgrade my blu-ray. I hope Warner eventually releases Empire of the Sun on UHD so we have all the Spielberg-Daviau feature collaborations, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Robert Harris]

Charles Burnett would have been an interesting alternative choice to direct the film in 1985, but it likely would have been a much smaller production.

I hope I haven't stirred the pot too much in this thread by raising some of the negative commentary on the film. I was not planning on purchasing this disc, but RAH's initial post and subsequent discussion has convinced me to upgrade my blu-ray. I hope Warner eventually releases Empire of the Sun on UHD so we have all the Spielberg-Daviau feature collaborations, but I'm not holding my breath.

Love to see Bugsy and Avalon in 4k.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Possibly, but it remains beloved by many, many people.

Which is why I said "beloved by many" and added especially to the comment about the Black community.

 

[titch]

That's a terrible cover, BTW. This makes two major fails on the part of the studio on that front. Not a dig on Whoopi Goldberg lol. The whole thing just looks lifeless and lazy, just like with The Exorcist.

The original one-sheet poster art is available (once again, courtesy of Warner Bros. UK), on the steelbook.

See on Amazon

 

[mskaye]

Personal Best in 1982, and John Sayles’s Lianna in 1983, are both good movies. Personal Best is estimated to have had a slightly larger budget than The Color Purple but bombed at the box office. Maybe there was a lesson in that.

Charles Burnett would have been an interesting alternative choice to direct the film in 1985, but it likely would have been a much smaller production.

I hope I haven't stirred the pot too much in this thread by raising some of the negative commentary on the film. I was not planning on purchasing this disc, but RAH's initial post and subsequent discussion has convinced me to upgrade my blu-ray. I hope Warner eventually releases Empire of the Sun on UHD so we have all the Spielberg-Daviau feature collaborations, but I'm not holding my breath.

It's a fun game to play - "what if..? directing assignments" - but Charles Burnett directing TCP would have been brilliant and brutal. Kudos. Never thought of that one. My brain always went to Gordon Parks or Martin Ritt. Both semi obvious choices who would have had way less glossy approaches to the subject matter.