http://www.aintitcoolnews...i?id=18259

I was fourteen years old in 1984. Michael Jackson and THRILLER were the absolute biggest thing on the charts, but as far as my friends and I were concerned, it was all about Prince and PURPLE RAIN that summer. Rock’n’roll shouldn’t be safe, and when you see grandmothers doing the moonwalk, it was obvious that Michael Jackson was as safe as it got. There was no “Darling Nikki” on THRILLER. Tipper Gore wasn’t calling for Congressional hearings about “Billie Jean.” Prince was dangerous. Prince was forbidden. And no matter how big Jackson’s videos were, he didn’t have a movie playing in theaters.

Warner Bros. releasing all three of Prince’s narrative features at once was like a wave of nostalgia I couldn’t wait to ride. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since PURPLE RAIN was in theaters. The 2-disc set is enormous fun, and it’s the best print I’ve ever seen of the film. It still looks like it was shot for about $11, but they’ve done everything they can to clean it up. There’s a commentary on the film by director Albert Magnoli, producer Robert Cavallo, and cinematographer Donald Thorin, but the majority of the extras are on the second disc. There are three documentaries, including one about First Avenue, the club that inspired the movie. I loved watching the MTV Premiere Party with guests like Lionel Ritchie, a bible-thumping Little Richard, Sheila E., Weird Al, and a half-naked Eddie Murphy. That’s the MTV of my childhood, and it’s great to see that they also included all eight of the videos that were released from the film by Prince, The Time, and Apollonia. I own “Sex Shooter” on DVD, fer pissakes! How cool is that? It’s kind of amazing to look at what used to be the cutting edge and realizing just how low-budget it all was.

The film is still definitely one of the best rock movies ever, walking the fine line between camp and cool. Prince is at his doe-eyed freakazoid best as The Kid, and Morris Day proves to be a perfect foil for him. The interplay between Day and his sidekick Jerome is still loads of fun. Apollonia is plush and lovely eye candy, but a bit of a zero onscreen. The plot of the film is slight, but doesn’t matter remotely. It’s all just an excuse for the music, and time hasn’t diminished that one little bit. From the opening blast of “LET’S GO CRAZY” to the final epiphany of “Purple Rain,” the film delivers the goods, and the DVD is a thing of beauty when cranked up loud enough to make the neighbors cry.

UNDER THE CHERRY MOON is a bit more of a mixed bag, although I think it’s far from the disaster that most people paint it as. There’s a lot to like about Prince’s directorial debut, but I’m still not sure how much of the film he actually directed. Mary Lambert was the film’s original director, and left at some point during the production. This is the film where I wish they had a commentary track to help answer some of the questions I have, but I wonder how forthcoming Prince would be on the subject. One thing’s for sure: it’s a more visually striking film than PURPLE RAIN, thanks to collaborators like production designer Richard Sylbert and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. It’s also a little more of a stretch for him as an actor. He plays Christopher Tracy, a gigolo/piano player working the south of France with his best friend and partner Tricky. The nice thing about this is that Jerome Benton, who plays Tricky, gets plenty of screen time here without having to play second fiddle to Morris Day. Tracy makes the cardinal mistake of falling in love with one of his targets, a spoiled young heiress played by Kristen Scott Thomas in one of her earliest film roles.


The film works best as a comedy with music, and when it tries to get serious in its second half, it just doesn’t have the courage of its convictions. It either needs to get a lot uglier than it does, or it needs to stay light and fun. The schizophrenic tone of the film is what ultimately undoes it. Thankfully, the soundtrack is still pretty damn great. One of the best Prince songs ever, “Kiss,” sums up what works about the film... playful and sexy and adventurous. There are four music videos included on the DVD, and it looks and sounds wonderful.

And then there’s GRAFFITI BRIDGE. Ugh.

It’s little wonder this was the last feature film that Prince has directed so far, and this time he wasn’t working from a screenplay by someone else. All the blame for this mess falls squarely on his shoulders. It’s an awful film, nearly incomprehensible, and it’s hard to believe this is the official sequel to PURPLE RAIN. What a difference those six years made. This was about the time I lost interest in the music Prince was putting out. He was still technically proficient as a musician, and he could still build a groove, but he became more consumed by the spiritual than the carnal, and it just wasn’t any fun. As a result, this movie is a bizarre mix of angels and band battles and muddled messages about... well... I’m not actually sure what the message of the film is. For a little while, I thought he was trying to say something about artistic integrity in the face of commercial pressures or being true to your muse or maybe just making Morris Day look bad. I don’t even like the songs from this one, but if you’re a New Power Generation fan, there are four music videos on the disc. As with the other two films, this is probably the best possible presentation of sound and picture for this particular film.

Hats off to Warner Bros. for making all three of these available at once. It was one heck of an afternoon, and I’m sure I’ll revisit PURPLE RAIN many times 2 cum.

way cool!

QstnOfU said:

Probably from the time that boom mic is seen in a frame to the end.

Supernova said:

I don't remember that! Which scene was it? Was Christopher talking to Tricky in the bedroom? That also happened in that Jack Nicholson movie something's gotta give, so I suppose it can happen with the so-called "professionals", as well as Prince, who was an amateur at movie production at the time.
[Edited 9/6/04 14:30pm]

Ugh!

there's a few comments in the talkback section that are mildly amusing. Though Aint it cool is slower than the org.

http://www.aintitcoolnews...259#799445
[Edited 9/6/04 14:55pm]

UTCM is now one of my fav movies, it is just the best, no matter who directed what, there is always a good time to watch UTCM and be in love all over again!