This Saturday (July 27) will mark 40 years since the debut of the 1984 masterpiece, "Purple Rain" starring Prince, The Revolution, Morris Day, Jerome Benton and the Time, Billy Sparks, Jill Jones, Clarence Williams, III, Ogla Karlatos and 'introducing' Apollonia Kotero. Come post your memories, like where you were, how did effect you, etc.

Was such a fun summer, I was 10, was a Prince fan at that point for a bit over 3 years, our next door neighbor's Dad took me and his daughter to the movie (god the 80s were so great and free). We loved it and came back singing all the songs for that entire summer.

Wow, time flies. I remember being on vacation with my family (in Wildwood NJ) and the hotel had MTV. The "Purple Rain" premeire special was slated to air on Friday night at 10pm. Thankfully (after a night out on the boardwalk), we made it back in time to watch it. That MTV special really amped me up to go see "P.R". Seeing all of the Hollywood celebs and the excitement of everyone outside the theater was something. I had been a fan since 1979, but for me, this was P's true moment of "his worldwide arrival". I didn't get to see the film until later in September, so "P.R." has always been a "fall/autumn" film to me. Seeing and hearing the film on the big screen was almost a religious experience. Hearing him actually speak was strange too. The following year when it aired on HBO, I probably watched it everytime it came on (no VCR yet). This was the movie that made me become a musician. Happy 40th "P.R".

I was on vacation in the US that summer and had picked up both Sheila E and The Time's albums before seeing the movie. I went with a dear friend and I was amazed that people were actually dancing in the aisles during the movie as that would never happen in Europe!

Anyway, I was blown away by the movie and the miusic and got the Purple Rain album the next day. It was on sale for $ 4.99 which was also quite the shock because I was used to European album prices

Prince’s bandmates refl... - YouTube

‘Purple Rain’ turns 4...film | CNN

PRINCE & 1984's PURPL... - YouTube

^^Thanks for posting those Soul! I thought this thread would have had many posts, but I guess not..lol.

SPYZFAN1 said:

^^Thanks for posting those Soul! I thought this thread would have had many posts, but I guess not..lol.

There's so much excitement and media attention surrounding the 40th Anniversary of Purple Rain.Such a shame that the estate isn't releasing a massive,multi-disc Purple Rain SDE right now.I can't think of a better time for it!

SoulAlive said:

stuff that I remember

*** In January of 1984,I saw a news blurb in JET magazine (I think) that said the MPAA (Motion Picture Association) gave this film an X rating I was a young teen at the time and I was thinking "Oh no....I won't be able to go see it......it will only be for adults!" apparently,some scenes were edited/cut out (we've all heard about the barnyard scene) in order to get an R rating.

***In late '83 or early 84,I also recall an article in Right On! magazine that listed songs like "Electric Intercourse" and "G-Spot".At an early stage,both of these tunes were in the script.

***if you like movies with alot of music,the 80s was the best time around the time when Purple Rain came out,I was also into the movie 'Beat Street'.Recently,I heard that 'Beat Street' will be getting a huge 40th Anniversary Edition (the movie and its soundtrack) so I wait patiently for that.

As 'Purple Rain' turns 40...e The News

40 years after 'Purple Ra...star : NPR

MIRvmn1 said:

SoulAlive said:

There's so much excitement and media attention surrounding the 40th Anniversary of Purple Rain.Such a shame that the estate isn't releasing a massive,multi-disc Purple Rain SDE right now.I can't think of a better time for it!

Obviously McMillon thinks it's a bad idea

they're clueless

JabarR74 said:

Recently,Brenda Bennett was on a podcast and she said there are some things "relating to Apollonia 6" that are coming up,but that she can't really talk about it yet.I wonder if those plans have now been cancelled or put on hold I was hoping for a remastered Apollonia 6 CD or at least having it finally appear on the streaming sites.

SoulAlive said:

The movie never did it for me.

I definitely can get how it did for new fans in '84, but I checked it out after I was already somewhat well-versed in Prince and it just felt like an extended video, but like his videos from the 80s with the bad miming and the minimalist backdrops.

The album, of course, perfect intro for a new fan. And again, I could see if the album was brand new and the film brand new it would have the effect it obviously has for a generation.

I was 15 when the movie was released in the summer of 1984. I already had the album and played it regularly, so the anticipation for the movie was incredibly high for me. I was not a Prince fan before Purple Rain, but the songs and seeing the movie trailer on TV made me a fan before I even saw the film. I saw it a few times in cinemas and then later watching it on VHS became a routine experience. To this day, it remains the movie I've seen more that any other.

Another nice article

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https://www.wliw.org/radio/news/40-years-after-purple-rain-princes-band-remembers-how-the-movie-came-together/

Vannormal said:

Another nice article

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https://www.wliw.org/radio/news/40-years-after-purple-rain-princes-band-remembers-how-the-movie-came-together/

Thanks ! Same article as this one already posted.

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/26/g-s1-13857/purple-rain-prince-movie-40-anniversary

The Revolution’s Bobby ... of Prince

SoulAlive said:

The Revolution’s Bobby ... of Prince

Nice words.