So ok, the soundtrack was amazing, but the film itself is kinda bad if you exclude the musical performances. Still, it captured something from its era, that deeply touched the youth of 1984 and made the film a hit.

I was 8 years-old in 1984, so i could perfectly explain why any mid 90's movie was appealing to youngsters of this era, but i don't know what it was to be 16-22 years-old in 1984. I know some of u were there, so please tell me, besides the music and the charisma of Prince, what made u and your friends enjoy this film for itself, what was ringing a bell, what was it in it that reflected your life or your problems or your ideals?

Thanks 4 sharing

the thing is we didnt think the film was bad, P was not much older than us and yet had this rocknroll life, crazy band stuff, beautiful girls etc it was almost as if it was all real, i think lots of people believed it was all based on his life. it was sexy, fun and so contemporary, the clothes the makeup, guys wearing girls stuff was all around us, androgyny mixed with music had been around a while. mysterious prince was suddenly available on screen, he was photogenic, funny and exciting to watch. the music quickly became iconic including the time, morris was such fun and every guy wanted apples. the people were us, they seemed attainable and believable, they could have been kids we knew, it was just like that, i think that is why P became such a sex symbol because of that film, his presence fills the screen and his eyes are hypnotic, much like he is on stage he just overwhelms the viewer. he could have been the guy next door, but obviously was so much more than that.

i still love this film it sums up what it was like to be young in the 80s, it hinted at family/teenage trouble, breaking free, freedom in music and fashion, sex and rocknroll in a completely different way to anyone else, it told of a success story despite tragic circumstances it offered hope during a time of recession, it was fantasy becoming reality for young people.

thats how i saw it anyway!

I was 16-22 years-old in 1984 and can't explain the success of Purple Rain to save my life.

Always saw it as an embarrassing movie.

Sorry

Can't really explain it

It was something in the air with Prince-1999 Michael Jackson preThriller Prince pre Purple Rain

It was magical, couldn't explain it.

Same thing I feel when I saw/see Michael J perform Billy Jean on the Motown Awards

What I felt when I saw the white cloud guitar in the store room window

It's what I felt when I heard the 1983 1st Avenue performance that featured Electric Intercourse & Purple Rain

Purple Rain was real, that's why it was so successful

BEFORE HE CREATED THE MUSIC, HE LIVED EVERY BIT OF IT

Another's word 2 explain why

"To me, Prince and the Time's entire thing is visual. The microcosm they've developed 4 themselves was a movie begging to be made.

There's music. That means there's night, there's bars, there are alley's. All of a sudden, a story begins to emerge.

They're exaggerations or minimizations developed to fit a story that never happened, yet, in a strange way, a story that is their reality." - Albert Magnoli on Purple Rain

Another explaination

Film
Purple Rain is the story of the Kid (Prince), a Minneapolis musician who fronts the rock group The Revolution (keyboard players Lisa Coleman and Matt “Doctor Fink, bassist Mark “Brownmark” Brown, drummer Robert Zajonic and guitarist Wendy Melvoin), one of the house bands at the First Avenue Club and Seventh Street Entry. The crowds at the club are not really fans of The Revolution and the band itself is falling apart due to in-feuding, mainly between the Kid and the women of the band who want to write and perform their own songs. But the Kid has no interest in material other than his own.

The Revolution's internal fighting is not helped by the popularity of the rival house band The Time, fronted by Morris Day (himself) and percussionist Jerome Benton (himself). Rivalries reach breaking point when Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero) arrives in town and catches the interest of both the Kid and Morris. Apollonia is interested in the Kid, but Morris can offer her a start in the music business. The Kids jealousy abounds when Apollonia joins Morris’s all girl group, Apollonia 6.

The Kid’s situation isn’t much better at home, with his parents constant abusive fighting and then heart-warming reconciling creating a spin cycle on the Kid’s mind. With his would-be girlfriend working for his rival, his parents fighting, his band falling apart and the owner of the First Avenue Club threatening to cancel the Revolution’s slot at the club, the Kid is in major trouble. Will everything work out in the end?

Purple Rain is a flawed film, but every flaw cannot diminish the fact that it’s a great film. No really, it’s a great film! Prince has said that the whole Purple Rain situation was a time period and he’s right; if Purple Rain had been released in say 1987, it may not have been as successful. MTV began in 1981 and by 1984, the music video was just becoming a bona-fide art form and artists were becoming known for their style rather than their music. Purple Rain was released at the perfect time when music videos were just becoming a major part of popular culture. Purple Rain fuses a superb soundtrack, an immensely talented (with an ego to match) musical star with a groundbreaking visual style to make a gloriously entertaining 'rock musical' that is unrivalled in its success.

* Great music

* Great performances

* An interesting back story (His parents. Best line in the movie by Clarence Williams lll -"NEVER GET MARRIED!")

* Really good chemistry and comic relief between Morris Day and Jerome

* Apollonia (sex always sells)

.... And even though he didn't say much, Prince as THE KID had a pretty good screen presence.

Kinda self explanatory and obvious why the film did so well in my opinion.

If Purple Rain was released TODAY (in light of the shitty music and movies out now), it would be an even bigeer hit than it was in 1984!

Well obviously the music came first. This was at a time when music videos had taken over radio. I was 14 and obviously at an age where sexuality is playing a HUGE role, for me at least. Hearing songs of two lesbians in a bathroom scene, some horny bitch masturbating with a magazine. Then going out and buying the 1999 album. Some guy fucking the taste out of your mouth, a woman vocalizing her satisfaction with sex, and on and on. Oh yeah, I was definitely interested! So going to see the movie was a must, to see what other freaky shit he was going to do and sing about. That's what pulled me in!

PANDURITO said:

I was 16-22 years-old in 1984..........

Are you a dog or something?

mcmeekle said:

PANDURITO said:

I was 16-22 years-old in 1984..........

Are you a dog or something?

I just spotted the OP as I posted that!

As you were......

I remember a plethora of music/dance movies around that time, purps fit right in!

I think the movie is actually quite good... especially compared to other "music" genred movies.

Is it oscar calibre acting? no.

But I think they did a great job, especially considering none of them were actors.

I think the movie has the right balance of truth and fiction... they put enough of their real personalities in there (Morris and Prince)... to give a degree of authenticity.

It really surprises me how much truth there is to the whole Prince/Wendy/Lisa relationship... and how much it reflects their real relationship... what made Prince decide to be so open?

[Edited 10/15/10 16:57pm]

all the points made so far are good ones, but dont forget it had the classic appeal of being hated by parents for supposedly being vulgar and offensive, therefore the kids loved it.

I (age 13) already loved the music going in. But when I discovered that 'The Kid' grew up in the same sort of home that I did, Purple Rain became the light at the end of my tunnel.

[Edited 10/15/10 21:41pm]

syble said:

the thing is we didnt think the film was bad, P was not much older than us and yet had this rocknroll life, crazy band stuff, beautiful girls etc it was almost as if it was all real, i think lots of people believed it was all based on his life. it was sexy, fun and so contemporary, the clothes the makeup, guys wearing girls stuff was all around us, androgyny mixed with music had been around a while. mysterious prince was suddenly available on screen, he was photogenic, funny and exciting to watch. the music quickly became iconic including the time, morris was such fun and every guy wanted apples. the people were us, they seemed attainable and believable, they could have been kids we knew, it was just like that, i think that is why P became such a sex symbol because of that film, his presence fills the screen and his eyes are hypnotic, much like he is on stage he just overwhelms the viewer. he could have been the guy next door, but obviously was so much more than that.

i still love this film it sums up what it was like to be young in the 80s, it hinted at family/teenage trouble, breaking free, freedom in music and fashion, sex and rocknroll in a completely different way to anyone else, it told of a success story despite tragic circumstances it offered hope during a time of recession, it was fantasy becoming reality for young people.

thats how i saw it anyway!

Love this post.

Timing, a good storyline, a great soundtrack.

Siskel and Ebert put it on their top 10 list of movies from 1984. Called it the "Citizen Kane of rock films".

As far as anything cheesy about it goes - you can nitpick any so-called "classic film".

I would do a back to back with "Saturday Night Fever", "Purple Rain", and "8 Mile" (and maybe "Get Rich or Die Tryin') as a comparison, because at the end, there's no "golden ticket", it might have been that one night in the spotlight where they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. None of those movies really had a happy ending, either.

databank said:

So ok, the soundtrack was amazing, but the film itself is kinda bad if you exclude the musical performances. Still, it captured something from its era, that deeply touched the youth of 1984 and made the film a hit.

I was 8 years-old in 1984, so i could perfectly explain why any mid 90's movie was appealing to youngsters of this era, but i don't know what it was to be 16-22 years-old in 1984. I know some of u were there, so please tell me, besides the music and the charisma of Prince, what made u and your friends enjoy this film for itself, what was ringing a bell, what was it in it that reflected your life or your problems or your ideals?

Thanks 4 sharing

umm the music performances were pretty much the movie. Purple Rain was so different than current music it just grabbed hold of you and wouldn't let go. Raw emotion - good times

the success of purple rain was down to one word.............. THE MUSIC

.

.

great music

pretty people everywhere, and some sex...

80s feel of "I wanna be somebody", perfect for the Reagan times

minimal plot for the teen/young audience...

good timing with the explosion of MTV...

many people saw the film as new classic of the "musical" genre... the movie got great reviews during 84-85, until Under the Cherry Moon appeared and movie critics just started dissing Prince and his movies...

if you ask me, this movie is a fuckin' fossil, it's horribly dated; The Revolution is the only reason why I still watch this movie ... every two/three years ...

I really can't.

It's really unexplainable to me.

But I think anything coudl've have happened in that time and place.

joseph8 said:

* Great music

* Great performances

* An interesting back story

* Really good chemistry and comic relief between Morris Day and Jerome

* Apollonia (sex always sells)

.... And even though he didn't say much, Prince as THE KID had a pretty good screen presence.

Kinda self explanatory and obvious why the film did so well in my opinion.

All this, plus great cross promoting - music sells the movie, movie sells the music.

Also the pseudo-autobiographical nature of it gave it an air of intrigue that kind of went along with Prince's unique/mysterious image any way.

Like a lot of these kind of moments in pop culture, a lot of it is about timing, those points where everything just converges and hits the mark.

Thanks y'all 4 sharing. I understand much better now, and yeah, it makes sense