Purple Rain (1984)
Director: Albert Magnoli Run Time: 111 min. Rating: R Release Year: 1984
Starring: Apollonia Kotero, Clarence Williams III, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos, Prince
Country: United States
Language: English
About the film:
A victim of his own anger, the Kid is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music. While trying to avoid making the same mistakes as his truculent father, the Kid navigates the club scene and a rocky relationship with a captivating singer, Apollonia. But another musician, Morris, looks to steal the Kid’s spotlight — and his girl.
About the filmmaker:
Albert Magnoli graduated from the Film School at the University of Southern California. While there he wrote, produced, edited, and directed his Thesis Film project Jazz (1979), which went on to win 15 filmmaking awards including a Student Academy Award. After graduation, Magnoli was introduced to rock star Prince, who screened Jazz and recruited Magnoli to direct Prince’s feature film debut. Magnoli went to Prince’s hometown of Minneapolis and sequestered himself in a hotel room for four weeks to research and write the script for Purple Rain (1984). Purple Rain topped the box office in its first weekend eleven months later, knocking Ghostbusters (1984) from the #1 spot.
In addition to directing the critically acclaimed concert film Sign ‘o’ the Times (1987), Magnoli’s ongoing relationship with Prince culminated with him becoming Prince’s manager for two years. The soundtrack album for Batman (1989) was created during this union, and two #1 videos, “Batdance” and “Partyman”, were written and directed by Magnoli to promote the film and soundtrack.
Magnoli later took over the directing reins on Tango & Cash (1989) starring Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. The $65-million film was behind schedule and over budget, and Magnoli was asked to begin shooting immediately. He delivered the picture to the studio in time for a Christmas release just two months later. Tango & Cash was a commercial success, grossing over $150 million worldwide.
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