The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic period drama film, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes, based on the 1982 novel by Alice Walker. Spielberg's eighth film as a director, it marked a turning point in his career as it was a departure from the summer blockbusters for which he had become known. It is the first film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams did not compose the score, which was done by Quincy Jones instead. Jones also produced the film alongside Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg in her breakthrough role, along with Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey (in her film debut), Margaret Avery, and Adolph Caesar.

Filmed in Anson and Union counties in North Carolina, The Color Purple tells the coming-of-age story of a young African-American girl named Celie Harris and the brutal experiences she endured including domestic violence, incest, child sexual abuse, poverty, racism, and sexism.

Upon its release by Warner Bros. on December 18, 1985, The Color Purple was a box office success, grossing $98.4 million against a budget of $15 million. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise going to its acting (especially Goldberg's performance), direction, screenplay, musical score, and production values; criticism was directed by some for being "over-sentimental" and "stereotypical". The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but did not achieve a single win. It holds the record for most Oscar nominations without one for Best Director. It also received four Golden Globe Award nominations, with Goldberg winning Best Actress in a Drama. In 2006, the American Film Institute ranked the film 51st on its list of the most inspiring movies.

Plot

Celie is an African American teenager in early 20th-century rural Georgia who twice has borne children by her abusive father, which were taken from her. He gives her away as a wife to Mister, who also abuses her, and his children mistreat her. Celie's loving younger sister, Nettie, runs away from their abusive father and seeks shelter with Celie. The sisters promise to write if they are separated. Mister attempts to rape Nettie, and he kicks her out after she fights him off.

Years later, Celie is meek from abuse. Mister's son Harpo marries Sofia, and Celie is shocked to find theirs to be a matriarchal household. Harpo attempts to overpower and strike Sofia, but he fails. Celie advises Harpo to beat Sofia, who retaliates and later confronts Celie, revealing her long history of abuse. She threatens to kill Harpo if he beats her again and tells Celie to do likewise to Mister. Harpo does not change, so Sofia leaves, taking their children with her.

Mister and Harpo bring home the ailing Shug Avery, a showgirl and Mister's long-time mistress. Celie, who has slowly developed a fondness for her through a photograph sent to Mister, is in awe of Shug's strong will. Celie nurses Shug back to health; Shug in turn takes a liking to her, writing and performing a song about her at Harpo's newly opened juke joint. Shug tells Celie she is moving to Memphis, and Celie confides to Shug that Mister beats her. Shug tells Celie she is beautiful and that she loves her, and they kiss. Celie packs her things to follow Shug to Memphis but gets caught by Mister.

Meanwhile, Sofia has been imprisoned for striking the town's mayor after he slaps her for speaking back to his wife Ms. Millie. Years pass, and she, now a shell of her former self, is released from prisononly to be immediately ordered by the judge to become a maid to Ms. Millie. Having not seen her children in eight years, Sofia is allotted Christmas to be with her family. When Ms. Millie tries to drive her, she panics and turns around after encountering a group of Sofia's family and friends, who were only trying to help her.

Shug returns to Celie and Mister's home with her new husband Grady, expecting to receive a recording contract. She gives Celie a letter from Nettie, who tells her that she is working for the couple who adopted Celie's children. Celie and Shug realize that Mister has been hiding Nettie's letters from Celie so, while he and Grady are out drinking, they search the house. They find a hidden compartment under the floorboards filled with dozens and dozens of Nettie's letters.

Engrossed in reading, Celie does not hear Mister's calls to shave him, so he beats her. She attempts to kill Mister with his straight razor, but Shug stops her. At a family gathering, Celie finally speaks up against Mister, putting a "curse" on him much to the delight of Shug and Sofia. This fighting spirit prompts Harpo's new wife Mary Agnes to stand up for herself as well. Shug and Grady drive away, taking Celie and Mary Agnes with them.

Years later, Mister is an old drunk and suffering alone while Harpo has made amends with Sofia; they now run the juke joint together, and Shug still performs there as a featured act. Upon Celie's father's death, she finally learns from Nettie's letters he was not their biological father. When their mother died, "his" property was legally inherited by Celie and Nettie. So, she receives the home and shop that had belonged to her father.

Celie begins to operate a tailor shop. When Mister receives a letter from Nettie addressed to Celie, he takes money from his secret stash, and arranges for Nettie, her husband, and Celie's children to return to the U.S. from Africa, where they had been living. While Mister watches from a distance, Celie, Nettie, and Celie's children reunite, and the two sisters bond over a hand-clapping game from their childhood.

Cast

Production Development

Alice Walker was initially reluctant to sell the film rights to her novel The Color Purple, due to Hollywood's portrayal of female and African American characters. She only agreed to executive producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber's offer after consulting with friends, who agreed the only way to improve representation of minorities was to work within the system. Walker's contract stipulated that she would serve as project consultant and that 50% of the production team, aside from the cast, would be African American, female or "people of the Third World".

Walker wrote an initial screenplay draft, but was replaced by Dutch-born writer Menno Meyjes, under the provision that she be given final script approval. Walker worked as an uncredited script doctor, and coached actors in their use of a Southern African American Vernacular English dialect.

Music mogul Quincy Jones, whose only prior film experience was as a composer, served as producer and approached Steven Spielberg to direct. Spielberg was initially reluctant to take the job, feeling his knowledge of the Deep South was inadequate and that the film should be directed by someone of color. Walker was likewise skeptical but was convinced otherwise after watching E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Spielberg waived his usual $15 million salary in lieu of the Directors Guild of America minimum of $40,000. He chose to play down the lesbian subtext between Celie and Shug, feeling that it would increase the rating if he did not.

Casting

Rather than cast established stars, Walker sought out lesser-known actors to play the principal roles, since their rise from obscurity represented the experience of characters in her novels. Whoopi Goldberg was a comedic stage performer who had starred in an acclaimed one-woman show on Broadway but whose only prior film role was in a 1982 avant-garde film, Citizen: I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away.

In her 2024 memoir Bits and Pieces, Whoopi revealed she sent a letter to Alice Walker at the encouragement of her daughter after enjoying Walker's readings of the novel on the radio. As Whoopi was relatively unknown in the mainstream at the time she was shocked to receive a reply from Walker who indicated she was not only aware of Whoopi's stage work but she had put her on Quincy Jones and Steven Spielberg's radar ahead of casting talks. Oprah Winfrey was a radio and television host without prior acting experience, who was hired at Jones's insistence.

Oprah later said she had chosen the film as it had special meaning in her life. After lobbying producers for the part, 29-year-old Goldberg was personally selected by Walker after she saw her stand-up. Goldberg's audition for Spielberg, where both Jones and Michael Jackson were present, saw her perform a routine involving a stoned E.T. being arrested for drug possession.

Other cast members, such as Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, and Carl Anderson, were predominantly stage performers. Akosua Busia was a graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and the daughter of Ghanaian prime minister Kofi Abrefa Busia. Goldberg's real-life daughter Alex Martin has a minor role as one of the children in the Easter sequence.

Margaret Avery was a veteran actress who had previously won an NAACP Image Award for the made-for-television film Louis Armstrong – Chicago Style. Spielberg had pursued singers Chaka Khan and Tina Turner but both turned it down. Patti LaBelle and Sheryl Lee Ralph also auditioned, and Phyllis Hyman was considered. Though Avery had prior musical experience, her singing voice was dubbed by Táta Vega.

Filming While the novel was based on Walker's childhood home of Eatonton, Georgia, the film was shot predominantly in James C. Bennett's house, located in Lilesville (Anson County), and Union County in North Carolina during the summer months. Sets were constructed at an Antebellum-era plantation outside Wadesboro, while the town of Marshville had its paved roads covered in mud and clay to match the early 20th-century setting. The church was a real 60-year-old Baptist chapel that was moved piece-by-piece from its original location. Due to the summer heat, the winter sequences were shot with fabricated snow. Additional scenes were filmed on the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot, and a second unit led by Frank Marshall traveled to Kenya to shoot scenes in Nairobi and in the Maasai regions. Principal photography began on June 5, 1985.

Spielberg encouraged both Goldberg and Winfrey to ad lib during filming, including Sofia's speech at the dinner table. Quincy Jones' insistence on giving more dialogue to Winfrey sparked an apparent feud between her and Goldberg that lasted several years afterwards.

Soundtrack

The Color Purple's film score was written by Quincy Jones, the first feature film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams did not compose the music. The score combines elements of classical and period jazz, blues, and gospel, and features several popular songs of the era. The track "Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)", performed in the film by the character Shug (Avery; dubbed by Táta Vega), later gained popularity as a concert piece.

Due to his dual responsibilities as both producer and composer, Jones delegated many of the tasks to a team of eleven other musicians and arrangers. This led to a dispute during the Academy Awards over the nominees for Best Original Score. While Jones is the sole credited composer of the film, the nomination lists all twelve musicians (Jones, Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Andraé Crouch, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, Randy Kerber, Jeremy Lubbock, Joel Rosenbaum, Caiphus Semenya, Fred Steiner and Rod Temperton).

Release The Color Purple premiered on December 18, 1985, in Los Angeles. However, the premiere was picketed by members of the NAACP for its depiction of rape. The film went into general release in the United States on February 7, 1986. It was also shown at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival as a non-competing title.

Reception Box office