Warner Home Video released the Prince Movie Collection on Blu-ray this week and I have to admit, I didn’t know he was in more than one film. I only remember Purple Rain being the big one in his trio of films from WB and I faintly remember it was warmly received when it came out in the 80s. Plus, the album by the same name was spectacular, which probably helped it. Anyway, his other two films, Under the Cherry Moon and Graffiti Bridge, are also included in the set and they were, to say the least, interesting.
Let’s get on with this, shall we?
Purple Rain
Official Synopsis
Winner of Grammy® and Academy Awards®[ii] for its pulsating song score; Purple Rain marks the electrifying movie debut of Prince as The Kid, a Minneapolis club musician as alienated as he is talented. The Kid struggles with a tumultuous home life and his own smoldering anger while taking refuge in his music and his steamy love for sexy Apollonia Kotero. Prince and the Revolution scorch with “Let’s Go Crazy”, “I Would Die 4U”, “When Doves Cry” and the title song in what Rolling Stone calls “the smartest, most spiritually ambitious rock-’n’-roll movie ever made.”
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The movie has good moments, which generally are around Prince playing music and singing, and it has some decent moments. The decent moments generally are Prince’s silent stares in place of dialogue, which is not a knock! Most actors these days, especially the young ones, don’t know how to use their eyes to tell the story and Prince has no issue with that during Purple Rain. You can see that when he gets angry with his father, his band and his love interest Apollonia. The movie is more than just a reason to sell a soundtrack, though I finally understand where Jay & Silent Bob got Jungle Love from, so don’t think it was a one-off for the music. It has some deep content, though it’s not always delivered beautifully, especially in script. The pacing of the film is good, though the editing can get a bit choppy here and there. Regardless, this film tells a great story and is the best of the bunch in this set.
Graffiti Bridge
Official Synopsis
With “Thieves in the Temple”, “New Power Generation”, “Elephants and Flowers” and more red-hot Prince tunes from the Platinum-selling Graffiti Bridge soundtrack. What time is it? Party time! Morris Day and the Time play “Release It, Shake!” and more. And you’ll also see and hear George Clinton, Tevin Campbell, Robin Power, Mavis Staples and other hot performers, too. Graffiti Bridge is where the movie meets the music.
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I had no idea they made a sequel, but it’s a good compliment to the original. I like the connection with Purple Rain. It brings about nearly six years removed familiar faces, pairs them with new and good music, as well as does its best to push along The Kid’s storyline that was developed in the first film in 1984. It’s bold, but as with Purple Rain, the acting and such isn’t nearly as good as the music made for it. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you understand what you’re getting when you’re going into it.
Prince fans will adore this.
Under the Cherry Moon
Official Synopsis
Prince plays an American musician living with his pal (Jerome Benton) on the French Riviera and on the bank accounts of bored divorcees. The next object of his affection is a lovely and spirited young heiress (Kristin Scott Thomas in her movie debut). He doesn’t count on confronting the girl’s enraged father (Steven Berkoff). And he certainly doesn’t count on falling in love. But with Prince in charge, you can definitely count on exciting music, shimmering costume, production design and style to burn.
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Under the Cherry Moon was a weird mixture of Romeo & Juliet meets some elements of Oceans Eleven, without the good writing and acting. It was a good attempt at doing something outside of a serious Purple Rain-esque movie, but it never quite gets going. A little over and under acting engulfs it, but has a solid ground with a neatly done 80s style, as period pieces were a big thing for some odd-ass reason back in the day. Definitely the weakest of the trio, if you ask me. The soundtrack is pretty phenomenal, though.
Overall, Prince fans will adore this set, but movie goers might find only one of the three movies of any interest. The price certainly says that you can take a risk on the set, if not only to honor one of the best musicians in modern history.
As for the quality of the Blu-rays, they’re up there. Purple Rain looks phenomenal in its HD transfer, though it does hit some graininess when you get into some of the less well-lit shots. It does shine when you get that full 80s exposure with neon and good lighting, as well as avoids color banding in the nighttime shots. The daytime shots are outstanding, though. 1980s lighting and daytime shots are typically spot on when transferred to HD. As for the other two Blu-rays, Under the Cherry Moon wasn’t quite as good as Purple Rain or Graffiti Bridge. It had some more prominent graininess in it, though it still looked superior to DVD. Graffiti Bridge was just as good as Purple Rain. No issues there.
On the special features side of things, you get the following on Purple Rain:
Special Features:
· Commentary by Director Albert Magnoli, Producer Robert Cavallo and Cinematographer Donald E. Thorin
· First Avenue: The Road to Pop Royalty: Visit the Nightclub Where Prince Started
· Purple Rain Backstage Pass: Behind the Scenes
· Riffs, Ruffles and a Revolution: The Impact and Influence of Purple Rain
· MTV Premiere Party Original Broadcast
· 8 Music Videos: Let’s Go Crazy, Take Me With U, When Doves Cry, I Would Die 4 U/Baby I’m a Star, Purple Rain, Jungle Love, The Bird and Sex Shooter
· Trailer
There is some neat stuff here. The MTV Premiere Party, when MTV actually showed music videos, was pretty neat to see. There is a lot to love here. As for the other two films, you get trailers and that is it.
