I was lucky enough to be an extra in GB. I spent three 14 hour days in a huge warehouse near Golden Valley in Minnesota. Got to see performances of almost every song and dance to them during filming. I stood next to both Prince and Morris day off set (We weren't allowed to speak to them, it would have meant immediate removal). George Clinton was cool, he hung out with us extras many times during down times. We were fed a sandwhich and a cookie once each day . With that said... the movie sucks but the songs are great. My first post. Been a reader of the org for years though.

[Edited 9/4/18 20:39pm]

MLS said:

I was lucky enough to be an extra in GB. I spent three 14 hour days in a huge warehouse near Golden Valley in Minnesota. Got to see performances of almost every song and dance to them during filming. I stood next to both Prince and Morris day off set (We weren't allowed to speak to them, it would have meant immediate removal). George Clinton was cool, he hung out with us extras many times during down times. We were fed a sandwhich and a cookie once each day . With that said... the movie sucks but the songs are great. My first post. Been a reader of the org for years though.

[Edited 9/4/18 20:39pm]

Welcome, officially thay's a pretty incredible experience

PeteSilas said:

purple rain was a star vehicle directed right at us, the guys who'd heard of Prince, maybe seen him on Bandstand, liked a couple of his songs and were intrigued, this turned me into a diehard forever. Kurt Loder said it was a "great film" no it wasn't but it was perfect for what it was. MJ had turned the music world upside down for the previous few years and Prince had to find something different and he did it with this flick. So, instead of trying to make a fancy video, he made a feature film that was like a fancy video and became our hero in the process.

databank said:

Like you said, the atmosphere is charming, there's something about this movie. Now of course the plot doesn't make much sense and the acting leaves a lot to be desired. On the other hand what to expect of movies like this or PR where you in fact have a 45 minutes long short film featuring non-professional actors alongside an hour of music videos.

I loved it deeply in my youth, I found it beautiful and very inspiring, spiritually speaking, when I was 15. And at the same time I was always aware of its numerous flaws. I never objectively considered it a good movie but it's a movie I loved and, like I said above, there is this little something to it that makes it a chaming, if clumsy, arthouse film. I haven't watched it in more than 15 years but I've probably watched it 20 times when I was a teenager, so I still know it by heart after all those years. I actually thought the other day I'll have to watch it again soon. I don't think my opinion will change much, however.

[Edited 9/4/18 10:26am]

Yeah, absolutely: both the record and the movie were truly relevant to the zeitgeist of 1984, they had something to say that resonated strongly in the young people of those days, that represented this generation's emotional state, rebellious attitude and frustrations; and it was also quite smart in surfing over the new MTV "music is film" phenomenon at the exact right time (Electric Dreams, sometimes called "the first MTV generation motion picture", was released exactly a week before PR). None of the above can be said about GB, both the record and the movie, in the context of 1990. Now, soundtrack and zeitgeist aside, is PR a much better motion picture that than GB? I'd say hardly.

mechanicalemotion17 said:

It seems to get even worse with time.

wow, that is actually true

I see it as an extention of the album

I can't get past those amateurish sets tho especially the Grafitti Bridge scene when Morris and Jerome pull up to check out Aura Lol

Every time they're on that bridge set, I expect to see Kirk & Spock go running by.

MLS said:

I was lucky enough to be an extra in GB. I spent three 14 hour days in a huge warehouse near Golden Valley in Minnesota. Got to see performances of almost every song and dance to them during filming. I stood next to both Prince and Morris day off set (We weren't allowed to speak to them, it would have meant immediate removal). George Clinton was cool, he hung out with us extras many times during down times. We were fed a sandwhich and a cookie once each day . With that said... the movie sucks but the songs are great. My first post. Been a reader of the org for years though.

[Edited 9/4/18 20:39pm]

How cool! My tween friends and I stalked that warehouse with the hopes of getting a glimpse of Prince. We saw him walk by the front door once in his Thieves In The Temple regalia, and were kicked off the premises shortly thereafter. I still remember the makeshift sign at the parking entrance, with GB primitively scrawled in black marker. So secretive.

eyewishuheaven said:

I can't get past those amateurish sets tho especially the Grafitti Bridge scene when Morris and Jerome pull up to check out Aura Lol

Every time they're on that bridge set, I expect to see Kirk & Spock go running by.

The movie only had a $7 million budget,which is why some of the sets look so cheap.That so-called "bridge" looks like it's made of styrofoam but interestingly,Purple Rain was also a low-budget movie ($7 million to make) and yet it just looks so much better.

donnyenglish said:

I did the same thing a few weeks ago and I could not defend it. So many cringe worthy moments. 89-92 was the lowpoint in his career both in the studio and live, but there were some bright spots.

Really? Diamonds and Pearls, from 1991, is his second (or third) best-selling album after Purple Rain (and possibly 1999). The title track, Insatiable, Gett Off, and Cream. Cream was his last #1 hit.

eyewishuheaven said: