I saw UTCM on opening night in Mandeville, Louisiana. I would say that it was about 1/2 full, but that's only because I went to an early show (about 6:00- I was 12 at the time-so I couldn't go to the latest show ). When I left the theatre at the end of my show, there was a huge line of older teenagers/young adults wrapped around the theatre. They were all dressed up in Prince gear (you know, lace, purple jackets, high heels, etc) all waiting in line to get in to see UTCM. I thought they were going to be very disappointed, because it was obvious they went there expecting something "Purple Rain"-y.


S
[Edited 11/9/04 8:18am]

I saw it twice in the same day on the day of it's release in 1986 and both times the theater was sold out. It was like that for about a week....then it bombed. I personally loved the style of the movie. The acting wasn't the greatest, but it had a mysterious charm to it. Like an old Ginger Rogers movie.

I watched it one weekend after it's release at the mall in National City (in San Diego). My sis-in-law dropped me off and I watched it alone. I remember walking out, smiling to myself, having absolutely loved the film. But, as I was walking away, I remember some overhearing some people dissing the ending, how much "fluff" it was, not hard and deep like Purple Rain was. They dampened my spirits...for a minute. Then I got to renact the whole thing for my sis-in-law!

I remember a few weeks later, when it finally showed near my hometown. My nephew, his cousin, and I walked EIGHT blocks to the theater in the desert heat to the theater for a matinee. There were only about 2 or 3 others in there (and that was a huge 100+ theater). It was great. We all cracked up, and tried to sneak around for the next showing...but uhhh..that's hard to do when we were the only ones around.

Including me and my folks, there might have been about 20 or 30 people there. I remember the scene when Tricky says to Christopher, "Why you selfish son of a biscut eater" everyone cracked up. It kinda became my favorite phrase after that.

Rico said:

I saw it at the same theatre but it was pretty full. I remember because the laughter when he died was so loud!

It seems Londoners were quite keen on this movie.

I remember taking a girl called Tanya (a massive Jacko fan) to the cinema in Leicester Square that now houses the WB complex. Whilst queuing to get tickets (yes, it was a full house... Prince had recently blown the roof off Wembley Arena so interest in the guy was at fever pitch), I was amused to realise that Steven Berkoff, the guy who plays Mary Sharon's evil dad in the movie, had sent his minions to distribute pamplets amongst the crowd forming outside the cinema. He was plugging his latest West End play, his version of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis... Berkoff is not one to miss capitalising on exposure, and I guess he thought he had found a new audience with Prince fans

When the movie ended and whilst we were leaving the cinema, I was even more amused to overhear a very posh lady making the following comment, without the slightest hint of irony: "What a wonderful piece of film-making that was"

It takes all sorts...


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I was In Minneapolis....the SKYY Theater....saw it twice!!!