The Color Purple (1985 film)

The Color Purple
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed by	Steven Spielberg
Screenplay by	Menno Meyjes
Based on	The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Produced by	Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall Steven Spielberg Quincy Jones
Starring	Whoopi Goldberg Oprah Winfrey Danny Glover Adolph Caesar Margaret Avery Rae Dawn Chong
Cinematography	Allen Daviau
Edited by	Michael Kahn
Music by	Quincy Jones
Production companies	Amblin Entertainment The Guber-Peters Company
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	December 18, 1985 (1985-12-18) (United States)
Running time	153 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$98.4 million

The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic coming-of-age period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes. It is based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker and was Spielberg's eighth film as a director, marking a turning point in his career as it was a departure from the summer blockbusters for which he had become known. It was also the first feature film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams did not compose the music, instead featuring a score by Quincy Jones, who also produced. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg in her breakthrough role, with Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey (in her film debut), Margaret Avery, and Adolph Caesar.^[2][3]

Filmed in Anson and Union counties in North Carolina,^[4] the film tells the story of a young African-American girl named Celie Harris and the brutal experiences she endured including domestic violence, incest, child sexual abuse, poverty, racism, and sexism.^[5]

The film was a box office success, grossing $98.4 million against a budget of $15 million. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise going to its acting (especially Goldberg's performance), direction, screenplay, musical score, and production values; criticism was directed by some for being "over-sentimental" and "stereotypical". The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Goldberg, Best Supporting Actress for both Avery and Winfrey, and Best Adapted Screenplay, but did not achieve a single win. It also received four Golden Globe Award nominations, with Goldberg winning Best Actress in a Drama. In 2006, the American Film Institute ranked the film 51st on its list of most inspiring movies.