Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ turns 40, and one thing still rings true: Its authenticity

By Kaila Nichols, CNN

(CNN) — For 40 years, fans of Prince have been “laughing” and “bathing” in his movie “Purple Rain.”

In the semi-autobiographical musical, released on July 27, 1984, Prince played “the Kid,” a musician who performs at a local Minneapolis club with his band while trying to escape his abusive father. The main character also faces a rivalry with another group and starts a relationship with an aspiring singer played by Apollonia.

Prince reportedly came up with the idea to star in the film, telling his managers that he wouldn’t re-sign with them unless they got him a major motion picture with his name above the title.

According to people involved in the making of the film, it almost didn’t happen. In 2016, producer Bob Cavallo said in a discussion with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that many directors and studios initially passed on “Purple Rain,” concerned that it would feature mostly unknown actors, Prince in his first movie role and a first-time director. Studio executives even tried to suggest that John Travolta replace Prince, but producers shot that down. Ultimately, Warner Bros. made the film. (CNN and Warner Bros. are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

During their first meeting, director Albert Magnoli recalled pitching Prince his own vision for the script: a story in which the main character had a father who also made music, and how, following his father’s death, the lead reconciles with his bandmates. “And Prince responded, ‘How is it that you just told me my life story in the last 10 minutes?’” Magnoli told Variety in 2019.

Once released, the movie became a commercial and critical success, with its soundtrack winning an Oscar and multiple Grammy Awards for Prince.

While the cast and director didn’t know how big the film would be, Prince’s drummer, Bobby Z., recalled that the Purple One did, the night they shot the concert scenes.

“He was frantically telling us we were making history: ‘We’re making history tonight, this is history tonight!’” Bobby told Yahoo Entertainment.

“I was there,” Prince told Alan Light in his book “Let’s Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Pain.” “I did it, it was my baby. I knew about it before it happened. I knew what it was going to be. Then it was just like labor, like giving birth – in ’84, it was so much work.”

Years later, Prince – who died in April 2016 – admitted that “Purple Rain” was a defining moment that would follow him throughout his career. He even called it his “albatross.”

“In some ways more detrimental than good. … It pigeonholed me,” he once said.

Prince gave very few interviews, but once responded to criticism of the film’s portrayal of women – including one scene in which a character has an ex-girlfriend thrown into a garbage can.

“I didn’t write ‘Purple Rain.’ Someone else did and it was a story – a fictional story – and it should be perceived that way and nothing else,” he said. “Violence is something that happens in everyday life and we were only telling a story. I wish it was looked at that way. I don’t think anything we did was unnecessary. Sometimes for the sake of humor we may have went overboard and if that was the case then I’m sorry, but it was not the intention.”

The film – centered around what became one of the most successful albums of all time – is credited for paving the way for other groundbreaking music-infused projects, like Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalker,” Eminem’s “8 Mile,” and Beyoncé’s “Lemonade.”

After Prince’s death, “Purple Rain” had a return run in movie theaters. In 2019, the film was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry alongside 24 others for its “cultural, historic and aesthetic importance.”

“I think the most important part of all this is to make something that rings true,” Magnoli told Variety. “And that has proven to be the right path as time has gone on, because the film constantly gets revisited and there’s a fan base that protects and cherishes it. And that starts at the very beginning with authenticity.”

The film is set to become adapted into a stage musical as well, according to Playbill. The production is being billed as “pre-Broadway” and performances will begin in spring 2025 in Minneapolis.

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