I haven't watched this since I saw it in the theater as a kid. It's still the only movie I've ever been to where someone actually threw popcorn at the screen. Looking at it with adult eyes, I have to say, it's pretty entertaining! A bunch of really good ideas (and also some bad ones) that were just...poorly executed? Best moments...

1. Morris proving he's the boss by eating an entire "Red Hot Chili Pepper," even though it was clearly just one of those salad peppers from Olive Garden.
2. Phillip C.'s dramatic delivery of his one line. "Bang!" How many times did he rehearse that?
3. The Kid drives from 7 Corners to Graffiti Bridge for the first time, and you're instantly struck by a ton of shit bricks with how cheap and unrealistic it looks compared to where he just was. Shocking.
4. Aura's hiccuping to let the viewers know she's drunk.
5. The Kid's motorbike stunt double during the Thieves In The Temple chase scene. "Pull over, boy!" It looks like they slapped a Dollar Store wig on Levi.
6. The Kid dragging what looks like Aura's lifeless corpse over his shoulder, after he rescues her from the evil clutches of Morris and Jerome.
7. The Kid's internal struggle with whether or not to touch a passed out Aura's breasts. So glad he did the right thing.
8. The extra sloppy inclusion of the Joy In Repetition sequence, which nearly ruins the entire song.
9. The bedroom scene where the Kid looks like an actual Bearded Lady playing Hangman with Aura on a pink heart-shaped notepad.
10. "I still write imaginary letters to my dad."
11. Aura takes the first bite of the apple, dooming all of humankind forever.
12. Robin Power's performance-face during Shake is everything.
13. The nerve of pairing of a one-armed lycra jumpsuit with a peasant shirt.
14. "You better put some treble on that tone, Grace, or you gon' be pullin' some Stacy Adams out yo' ASS!"
15. Mavis Staples delivering the most believable acting out of everyone. But possibly the least believable lip-syncing.
16. People talk about Tick, Tick Bang as being the most embarrassing music clip, but what about the, 'Hey, look at me, I'm Jesus' moment of Still Would Stand All Time?! Way to take the deepest song on the album and shit on it with no apologies.
17. Prince, the director, pioneering his patented "floating feather" technique, inspiring one of the greatest films of all time, Forrest Gump. You're welcome, Bob Zemeckis.

Has anyone else watched it lately?

Watched it twice in the past few months (saved on the dvr).

I'm wondering what Prince was pointing up at (56 minute mark) as he and Aura walked through the city in daytime.

I'm thinking it was the executive producers getting ready to jump out of a 10th floor window after watching the final edit...

-

Also, She's 3-fine!"

And what's with all the Prince/Aura hugging?

Wimp...

[Edited 5/16/15 21:57pm]

SchlomoThaHomo said:

awesomeav said:

THE WHOLE THING I ADORE IT Its in my top ten Movies Of All Time right next to Moonwalker & the Digimon Movie (shut up there the best) but I love all of Prince's films so yea

That's how I feel about the movie Cool as Ice (starring Vanilla Ice).

I just enjoy watching it, especially The Sugar Shack scene.

I'm gonna watch it right now....

One unintentionally funny scene....

After the "Love Machine" performance,Morris takes Aura and they walk right past Prince....Prince looks at her and he smiles then just a few seconds later,he's on the roof,acting all hurt and rejected as he performs "Theives In The Temple"

Prince would probably hate this comparison (lol) but in many ways,Graffiti Bridge is alot like Xanadu,that 1980 musical fantasy film starring Olivia Newton John In that film,Olivia plays a "muse",which is similiar to the angel that Ingrid Chavez plays in GB.Both movies center around a nightclub.Xanadu is basically a long-form music video without a plot,as is GB.And both movies were box office duds.

Graffiti Bridge Best moments? You might just have well asked for the best Tony M raps.

EroticDreamer said:

Watched it twice in the past few months (saved on the dvr).

I'm wondering what Prince was pointing up at (56 minute mark) as he and Aura walked through the city in daytime.

I'm thinking it was the executive producers getting ready to jump out of a 10th floor window after watching the final edit...

-

Also, She's 3-fine!"

And what's with all the Prince/Aura hugging?

Wimp...

[Edited 5/16/15 21:57pm]

Heaven?

SoulAlive said:

Prince would probably hate this comparison (lol) but in many ways,Graffiti Bridge is alot like Xanadu,that 1980 musical fantasy film starring Olivia Newton John In that film,Olivia plays a "muse",which is similiar to the angel that Ingrid Chavez plays in GB.Both movies center around a nightclub.Xanadu is basically a long-form music video without a plot,as is GB.And both movies were box office duds.

Never saw this, but the similarities you've mentioned are striking.

KingSausage said:

Awesome post. I've always laughed my nutz off at the scene where Prince tries to prop Aura up against the wall and kiss her. It looks like one of those spider species where the female is like 20 times the size of the male and when they try to mate things get dicey fast.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

People talk about Tick, Tick Bang as being the most embarrassing music clip, but what about the, 'Hey, look at me, I'm Jesus' moment of Still Would Stand All Time?! Way to take the deepest song on the album and shit on it with no apologies.

OMG yes that! I always cringe the fuck out at that bit!!

It's my favourite movie of all time though so I like all of the movie but:

Mine are:

When Aura gets hit by the car and the speed at which the ambulance arrives, like jesus they're practically there before the accident happens!

When he's writing to his Dad on the little heart shape note pad

The whole outfit/makeup from Elephants and Flowers, aesthetic goals tbh.

'SHE'S THREE FINE, MAN!'

When the Kid is like 'i'm gon kill myself' and he loads up the gun but then PLOT TWIST!!! Auras not actually dead and she comes back!! Well she is dead but you get what I mean lmao

The random bit where they start sampling each others 'release it''s at the start.

Also omg ' It's still the only movie I've ever been to where someone actually threw popcorn at the screen'.

Kid: "The King has arrived"

Morris: "Guess who the Queen is....."

Best moment we never saw.

You needed to see this at the dollar movies in the hood to get the full live commentary experience.

SoulAlive said:

Prince would probably hate this comparison (lol) but in many ways,Graffiti Bridge is alot like Xanadu,that 1980 musical fantasy film starring Olivia Newton John In that film,Olivia plays a "muse",which is similiar to the angel that Ingrid Chavez plays in GB.Both movies center around a nightclub.Xanadu is basically a long-form music video without a plot,as is GB.And both movies were box office duds.

Xanadu 1990? LOL

Prince was a douche for acting like Jesus, but let's give him tips for successfully looking like him.

ufoclub said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

ufoclub said:

You needed to see this at the dollar movies in the hood to get the full live commentary experience.

:lol: I bet that was something special. The only commentary I got was the lady in front of me, cackling and throwing popcorn. The other 5 people in the theater were dead silent. And this was opening night. In Minneapolis!

After The Time performed "Release It", it was all down hill from there.

CharismaDove said:

SoulAlive said:

Prince would probably hate this comparison (lol) but in many ways,Graffiti Bridge is alot like Xanadu,that 1980 musical fantasy film starring Olivia Newton John In that film,Olivia plays a "muse",which is similiar to the angel that Ingrid Chavez plays in GB.Both movies center around a nightclub.Xanadu is basically a long-form music video without a plot,as is GB.And both movies were box office duds.

Xanadu 1990? LOL

SoulAlive said:

Prince would probably hate this comparison (lol) but in many ways,Graffiti Bridge is alot like Xanadu,that 1980 musical fantasy film starring Olivia Newton John In that film,Olivia plays a "muse",which is similiar to the angel that Ingrid Chavez plays in GB.Both movies center around a nightclub.Xanadu is basically a long-form music video without a plot,as is GB.And both movies were box office duds.

God, I love Xanadu. I love the Broadway production even more though.

I have YET to get my hands on Grafitti Bridge. I still need to watch it. I think I saw one clip and it was this one which was also dubbed one of the best moments of the film.

Watched it via a lot of fast forwading on dvr the other night. What a god awful movie, much less a semi sequel to the great PR.

Was the city scene the only thing in the movie that wasnt shot on a soundstage?

EroticDreamer said:

Watched it twice in the past few months (saved on the dvr).

I'm wondering what Prince was pointing up at (56 minute mark) as he and Aura walked through the city in daytime.

I'm thinking it was the executive producers getting ready to jump out of a 10th floor window after watching the final edit...

-

Also, She's 3-fine!"

And what's with all the Prince/Aura hugging?

Wimp...

[Edited 5/16/15 21:57pm]

Content and acting aside, shooting it all on soundstages really did contribute to the "cheap" and "claustrophic" feel. Purple Rain, by start contrast, had a large amount of outdoor shots and real-world sets (First Avenue, warehouse and home interiors). If anything of the sets were artificial in the movie, you couldn't tell.

.

Kinda like the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Most of the sets and FX shots were all CGI -- whereas in the originals, they filmed in real locations. The desert, snow and forest scenes felt real because they were.

Se7en said: