Under the Cherry Moon
Warner Home Video / 1986 / 109 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street date: August 24, 2004
Reviewed by Mike Restaino on August 22, 2004. (Bio / Equipment list)

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"All I can tell you is that you'll have a good time. I'm hoping that everyone understands where I was trying to go with it. It is like an album for me, and I put my heart and soul into it and I worked very long and very hard. There's a message behind it all and I hope people think about it when they leave. That's the main thing. It's a lot of fun, but there's something to think about when it's over. You know, there's a reason for everything."

- Prince discussing Under the Cherry Moon in The Electrifying Mojo DJ (1985)

Despite being the winner of five Razzie Awards, including a nomination for worst film of 1986, Prince's Under the Cherry Moon (and, yes, he directed it, thank you very much) is a legitimate nominee for the most deliriously fun motion picture ever made.

Seeing as the film has been in a moratorium of sorts over the past fifteen years (before this DVD came around, it was almost impossible to find this picture anywhere, even on VHS), it's only natural that its merits have been overlooked, but now that its inaugural DVD release is here, it's time for we camp aficionados to give Under the Cherry Moon another chance. It should not, and will not, be ignored.

Under the Cherry Moon is like eating a delicious dinner at a lovely restaurant and then finding out that there was a rat in your soup. A dirty rat. A dirty, rabid rat. A pregnant, dirty, rabid rat. A bug-infested, pregnant, dirty, rabid rat. You follow me? I hate using this kind of an allegory but since obtaining a review copy of this picture, this writer has watched the thing almost five full times. There's always something new to marvel at. During my first go-around, I couldn't get over the raucously awful scene where Prince (our leading man, natch) sees Kristin Scott Thomas from across a crowded patio for the first time. As Prince coos and plays with his hair while wearing the most ridiculous outfit Earth has ever seen (it's kind of like a skin-tight tuxedo with tails worn backward), a painfully synthesized drum beat pulsates through the air - this is no mere meeting of the minds. It's a percussive mating dance. Yikes.

There is more that is truly disturbing in a terribly funny way. I double-checked on some UTCM websites just to make sure I wasn't crazy: when Prince and Thomas dance for the first time, there's a shot in which Prince's - how should I say? - “little red corvette” is just about ready to pop out of his skin-tight paisley tuxedo. And it ain't so little, either, ladies - as the purple one and Thomas cut a rug, it looks as though the Starship Enterprise is about to go into warp drive out of Prince's jockey shorts.
This is movie magic. Am I right?

Under the Cherry Moon is a monolith of outrageous filmmaking, a motion picture terrible but valiant, and uniquely transcendent entertainment. I know you've “heard” it's terrible and that “it's nowhere as good as Purple Rain”, but it's time to discover for yourself. Do Prince and yourself a favor. Just see this movie. It'll make a believer out of you.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

This first-ever 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation of the film is just fine. The movie was originally shot in color, so while there are a few examples of muddiness here and there that can be attributed solely to the color-to-monochrome conversion, overall the contrast of the film benefits nicely from its source material. The telecine print used is clean and crisp, as well, and there are very few examples of dirt and dust. Detail is pretty good for a nearly 20-year-old film, and edge enhancement is noticeable but slight. Pretty nice.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby 2.0 surround track won't knock your socks off, but it gets the job done. Consistency and dialogue reproduction is sketchy, but the music comes through quite lovely. Atmospherics and effects are all but nonexistent, though, and surround imaging weak. Bass is also a step down from the CD soundtrack. Just fair.

Also included are English, French and Spanish subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Where's that Prince commentary? What about a two-hour documentary about Mary Lambert getting fired as director because of “creative differences”? Ugh! At least we get the theatrical trailer, which is cute, and four music videos (“Girls and Boys”, “Kiss”, “Mountains” and “Anotherloverholeinyohead”). They are are cheesy, but Prince fans will eat them up.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

There are no ROM extras on the disc.

Parting Thoughts

This writer can't deny that he wishes Under the Cherry Moon received a four-disc collector's box set, but since many people have yet to experience the wonders of this black and white masterwork, the fact that there's even a bare-bones edition out there allows me to sleep better at night. So drop the $19.99. You will laugh your ass off. And if you don't, just write me some hate mail. I'll be checking my inbox as I watch the movie over and over again over the next few weeks.

You won't get any hate mail from me. I've loved this movie from day 1. I think the humor is phenomenal throughout this movie. It makes me laugh everytime I see it (not in a ridiculous way) and if you view it with an open mind, the serious message I got from it has influenced me thoughout my entire lifetime. I, of course, don't know if it's the message he intended to send but, nevertheless, it's the message I got from it. If I'm wrong, I don't want to know. LOL

so has anyone found the easter egg that allows you to view the movie in color yet?