I don't even remember what it was about!

rap said:

2 1/2 hours! Really?

That would be pure torture.

I remember seeing the world premiere of the "Thieves In The Temple" video and thinking 'this movie is doomed'.That video didn't really make me excited to see the film.

It's a classic age-old tale: Boy owns nightclub, Girl meets feather, boy has sex with girl who is actually sort of an angel. Boy has to risk his nightclub in a battle of the bands which inexplicably takes place in the street rather than in the club. Tevin Campbell enters stage left, sings, leaves stage right... boy goes to a bridge, girl dissapears... "Hi Mavis", everyone crys. Prince wins.

My question is... who (at WB) thought THIS was better than a movie about The Time? They're a great band, confident and Morris is insanely charismatic & infinitely watchable.

Noodled24 said:

It's a classic age-old tale: Boy owns nightclub, Girl meets feather, boy has sex with girl who is actually sort of an angel. Boy has to risk his nightclub in a battle of the bands which inexplicably takes place in the street rather than in the club. Tevin Campbell enters stage left, sings, leaves stage right... boy goes to a bridge, girl dissapears... "Hi Mavis", everyone crys. Prince wins.

My question is... who (at WB) thought THIS was better than a movie about The Time? They're a great band, confident and Morris is insanely charismatic & infinitely watchable.

Lets face it - without Prince, The Time was never mainstream enough (meaning enough white people will pay to see them) to merit their own movie - at least not in business terms. Remember that was the 80s - there was still categories defined as black in the National Academy of the Recording Arts and Sciences

Graffiti Bridge is probably my favorite Prince album. There's a difference between "best" and "favorite". It's my favorite because of the time it was released. I was getting over a terrible breakup and I was completely heartbroken. I was 21. It was summer - Cape Cod. During this time, I knew this album was on the horizon. I saw a TV preview clip of "Tick Tick Bang" and it excited me thoroughly. Then he released "Theives in the Temple" which was the EXACT song I needed that described my anger toward my girlfriend who just broke my heart.

I remember hearing "New Power Generation" on the radio for the first time and thought it was AMAZING.

By the time the album came out that summer, I listened to it daily while driving along the coastline during sunset. "Still Would Stand All Time" cooled my anger and healed me. I met a new girl, a hippy type, and she liked "The Question of U" and "Elephants and Flowers". Incredible songs - unlike anything Prince had released before.

I loved the album cover. I loved "Melody Cool". I love the album. It's the Prince album I'd take to a desert island. The emotional journey is all there; from confusion and anger to healing and spiritual renewal.

Noodled24 said:

It's a classic age-old tale: Boy owns nightclub, Girl meets feather, boy has sex with girl who is actually sort of an angel. Boy has to risk his nightclub in a battle of the bands which inexplicably takes place in the street rather than in the club. Tevin Campbell enters stage left, sings, leaves stage right... boy goes to a bridge, girl dissapears... "Hi Mavis", everyone crys. Prince wins.

My question is... who (at WB) thought THIS was better than a movie about The Time? They're a great band, confident and Morris is insanely charismatic & infinitely watchable.

Noodled24 said:

It's a classic age-old tale: Boy owns nightclub, Girl meets feather, boy has sex with girl who is actually sort of an angel. Boy has to risk his nightclub in a battle of the bands which inexplicably takes place in the street rather than in the club. Tevin Campbell enters stage left, sings, leaves stage right... boy goes to a bridge, girl dissapears... "Hi Mavis", everyone crys. Prince wins.

My question is... who (at WB) thought THIS was better than a movie about The Time? They're a great band, confident and Morris is insanely charismatic & infinitely watchable.

If it happened in 1986 Under the Cherry Moon would have been a great Time movie...

The Time could have been great and more world appeal: If they were allowed to have more creative control and had more diverse song subjects. I mean the pimping and making it only goes so far. The Time could have been huge as a result of the Purple Rain era, but we know what happened with that.

Can anyone verify that there was indeed a 2.5 hour version or is that another prince myth?

GottaLetitgo said:

I wasn´t expecting much and watched it just as a collection of songs, since I LOVED the cd...I think they should have exploited more Morris´scenes because he is really funny. But that Ingrid girl...

RJOrion said:

eyewishuheaven said:

I can almost handle it until they go to 'The Bridge'... it looks like they walked onto the set of The Dark Crystal!

Oh, man, and I thought I was the only one who kept thinking of that.

I watched it for the first time a few weeks ago and I liked it. I liked the moral storyline where good won out over evil and I thought Prince looked gorgeous in it. Loved his hair!!!!!

emesem said:

The low budget feel didnt help. They filmed 98% in a studio that looked as real as a 70's Doctor Who set. Also unlike Purple Rain, the music was not recorded live which makes it look more like a TV special than a feature film.

Plot and acting wise it made Under the Cherry Moon look like Citizen Kane.

.

It was filmed on soundstages at Paisley Park, which meant paying PP from the film budget (an accounting trick favorable to P).

When I first saw it, I told my friend "no wonder he changed to a symbol".

But seeing it now, as a collection of music videos, it works on that level.

.

OldFriends4Sale said:

CAL3 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

http://www.themortonrepor...-part-two/

An Interview with Jimmy Jam of The Original 7ven, Part Two

Jimmy Jam discusses The Time, Prince, and working with Janet and Michael Jackson.

April 19, 2012

By Chaz Lipp, Contributor

Let’s look back to 1990 and the Graffiti Bridge movie. How did the original seven members of The Time come to be involved with that project?

Let me try to clarify a little bit. There might be a misconception that we got back together to do the Graffiti Bridge movie. That’s absolutely not the case. What happened, Morris [Day] was working on a project with Prince. It was basically going to be more of a solo project. Prince was going to do the bulk of the writing and playing. I think it was going to be calledCorporate World, but there were a few different names floating around at that point. Around that same time period, we had also been working with Morris on different projects and things. We thought, let’s get The Time back together and just make a record. So we got back together and started making an album. This was with Prince’s blessing, by the way. And we had our own idea for a film.

What kind of film did you guys have in mind?

It was basically based on our own true story, rather than a fictional story. Purple Rain was a fictional story based in some truth, the whole backdrop of Minneapolis and the competition of the bands. The way that worked was very true and very well done in that movie. But we really wanted to make a film about our exploits on the road and some of the things that went on, because we had a great time on the road.

How far did you guys get with this project?

We actually brought in someone to write a screenplay. We sat and talked with a couple of screenwriters, telling them the stories we thought were funny, letting them weave a storyline around it. We were in talks with Warner Bros. to do it. The next thing you know, literally out of the blue, Prince called us for a meeting at Paisley Park. And I remember we walked in thinking it was going to be about the movie — the movie we thought we were going to do. All of sudden it turned into Graffiti Bridge, and we were like,“What’s Graffiti Bridge?” Prince was like, “This is my movie.” And it was, you know, this girl and a feather. [laughs] It was like, “No, no, no — we’ve got our own ideas for a movie.”

Thank you so much for including part of my interview with Jimmy Jam in this discussion. I've been a longtime lurker here, but more so in recent weeks in search of solace. That was a great discussion I had with Jimmy Jam and he was extremely nice - especially considering I had laryngitis at the time and could barely croak out a few words at a time.

I also revisited my Graffiti Bridge DVD, a few days after seeing Purple Rain in theaters during the reissue. I found it difficult to access in conventional terms at this point. I remember getting the album in August '90 and finding it so tantalizing with all the guest appearances - I think I dreamed up a more fantastical movie in my mind in the two-plus months waiting for the actual film to come out.

For me, the movie is now kind of priceless. It's not any "better" in terms of narrative, but I'm just so grateful to have it. Yes, I'm romantizing it in light of Prince's passing but I think that's okay as long as a little perspective is maintained. As others have been saying, it works fairly well as a string of music videos all glued together with a vague plot thread. A real screenwriter might've worked wonders with the basic ideas - and made characters like the ones played by Mavis and Tevin more integral. "Melody Cool" is still a knockout sequence. The lapse into "musical" territory in certain spots (like "Love Machine") is jarring, but in a way enhances the slightly surreal atmosphere.

I always thought of "Graffiti Bridge" as something along the lines of McCartney's "Give My Regards to Broad Street" - studio-backed vanity projects created by artists who demanded a lot of creative control. McCartney tried his hands at screenwriting with "Broad Street" too, with similarly anemic results. His film turned into a series of well-shot music videos too. I honestly think Prince exhibited a more creative vision in "Bridge" (he had the benefit of Morris and Jerome and their long-established comedic chemistry). McCartney managaed to waste a supporting cast that had "real" actors, like Tracy Ullman, Bryan Brown, and Sir Ralph Richardson.

Anyway, I liked to watch "Graffiti Bridge" every few years and I'm glad it's around now more than ever. Even though "Under the Cherry Moon" is Prince's true cinematic best - so misunderstood and so, so good. Though I haven't been able to bring myself to revisit that one just yet.

[Edited 5/18/16 7:07am]

"Give My Regards to Broadstreet" is a great comparison, but also it's the first movie I walked out of.

TrivialPursuit said:

I kept waiting for Jaggar and Bowie to pop out of one of those fake buildings and sing "Dancing In The Streets.

missfee said:

*Please also note that when I popped the DVD in last night, I already had about 3 full glasses of red wine and drank two and a half more while watching.

Talk about burying the lead!

rap said:

Can anyone verify that there was indeed a 2.5 hour version or is that another prince myth?

??

He seems so "down" in this movie. Purple Rain was intense but he had more life in him.

RJOrion said:

GottaLetitgo said:

The feather should have won an Oscar.

and his hair should have won an oscar for best supporting actress... [Edited 7/9/16 5:21am]

ivey0126 said:

nursev said:

MissMarySharon said: