The world was stunned yesterday by the unexpected death of beloved musician Prince at age 57. Following the news, there have been numerous tributes to the performer, including MTV getting back to its roots by airing some of his music videos, but his movie career will also get some recognition. Over three decades after its initial release, Prince’s feature film debut, Purple Rain, is returning to theaters.
Earlier today, AMC Theaters announced today that it will be screening 1984’s Purple Rain from tomorrow, April 23 to next Thursday, April 28 across select theaters in 28 states. Accompanying the picture of Prince on that distinctive motorcycle was the line, "It’s the day and time to relive the revolution." While Prince was primarily known for his musical innovations, he certainly left an impact on the movie industry as well, so this is fitting tribute to pay recognition to that work.
Directed by Albert Magnoli, Purple Rain featured Prince as The Kid, the frontman for the Minneapolis and The Revolution who used music as a way to escape the troubles in his personal life. The movie was intended to be a platform to showcase how talented Prince was, and also featured Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day and The Time (shoutout to the Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back fans out there). While the movie itself wasn't received well (including two Razzie Award nominations), the soundtrack won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score, and was the last movie to earn that award. After airing his music videos, MTV also showed the movie yesterday.
Following Purple Rain, he directed, starred in and composed 1986’s Under the Cherry Moon, the 1987 concert film Sign o' the Times and 1990’s Graffiti Bridge, which was a "semi-sequel" to Purple Rain. Of course, comic book fans will recognize Prince’s music from 1989’s Batman, especially the single "Party Man," which played when Joker and his goons were defacing the priceless artwork at the Gotham City museum. TV-wise, Prince most recently guest starred in a 2014 episode of New Girl, appropriately titled "Prince."
In case you’ve never seen Purple Rain, take a gander at the original trailer that was released way back when and get a taste of the ‘80s weirdness.
If you want to check out Purple Rain on the big screen for yourself, click here to see a list of participating theaters, but remember you’ll only have six days to take advantage of this opportunity starting tomorrow.
