We have, of course, already had a film adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, The Color Purple. That Spielberg kid called the shots all the way back in ’85. But this latest version is a) produced by the ‘Berg, along with Quincy Jones, Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey, and b) an adaptation of the hit musical based on the book. Intrigued? Read on…
When is The Color Purple being released in New Zealand?
The Color Purple hits UK cinemas on January 26.
The Color Purple (2023)
What is The Color Purple about?
Directed by Ghanaian mutli-hyphenate Blitz Bazawule, who recently had a hand in Beyoncé’s Black is King, The Color Purple follows the life of African American woman Celie Harris-Johnson in the deep South of the early 20th century. This time with songs. The book is a sprawling epistolary novel that deals with race, class, homosexuality, domestic violence, rape, and more. How a musical handles all that is anyone’s guess. What even rhymes with “intergenerational trauma”?
The cast of The Color Purple
Fantasia Barrino is Celie, reprising her role from the stage; Taraji P. Henson is Shug Avery; Danielle Brooks is Sofia; Colman Domingo is Albert “Mister” Johnson; Corey Hawkins is Harpo Johnson; with H.E.R., Ciara, Halle Bailey, Louis Gossett Jr., David Alan Grier, Aunjanue Ellis, Deon Cole, Jon Batiste, Tamela J. Mann, and Elizabth Marvel also on board.
The Color Purple trailer
Why we’re excited about The Color Purple
With a stacked cast and simply stellar source material, a lot would have to go wrong for The Color Purple to suck. Plus, musicals keep threatening to come back, and we’re hopeful this might be the one to finally reinvigorate the genre. And while we’re huge fans of Steven Spielberg and his adaptation of Walker’s novel, he did elide away both the darker elements of the story and the vast majority of the queer content. With any luck this version will restore those. With songs.
