Purple Rain will help you understand Prince’s wild and wacky filmmaking. Prince’s multi-platinum albums “1999” on MTV and his music videos were what made him famous before the movie that changed all rock movies. Prince’s sensual style and androgynous look made him just as appealing on screen as on stage. Prince’s vision for himself didn’t end at legendary rock star — he wanted to be a movie star as well. According to legend, Prince was reportedly pressuring his managers for a movie role or he would leave. The got him to star in “Purple Rain”.
Prince is “The Kid” in the film, a young performer who tries to get by on the rough, musical streets Minneapolis. The Kid is one of the all-time greats, and he knows it — which causes a bit of friction between him, his band, and his abusive father. Screenwriter William Blinn fashioned the story from some semi-autobiographical musings from Prince and the film’s director, Albert Magnoli. Not exactly a biopic and not entirely not one, “Purple Rain” is a riot of color, music, motorcycle rides, and making out —- plus music scenes that are some of the best ever committed to film. There’s also a scene in which Prince speaks to a doll.
Audiences loved the film — puppets, problematic attitudes toward women, and all — as well as the Grammy and Academy Award-winning soundtrack Prince made for it. The film pulled in a domestic gross of around $70 million against a $7 million budget, and provided Prince with a cinematic blank check for whatever came next.