The Color Purple is a 1985 American epic coming-of-age period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes, based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It was Spielberg's eighth film as a director, and marked 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 cast stars Whoopi Goldberg in her breakthrough role, with Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey (in her film debut), Margaret Avery, Rae Dawn Chong, Willard Pugh, and Adolph Caesar.
Filmed in Anson and Union counties in North Carolina, the film tells the story of a young African-American girl named Celie Harris and shows the problems African-American women experienced during the early 20th century, including domestic violence, incest, child sexual abuse, poverty, racism, and sexism.
The film was a box office success, grossing $98.4 million against a budget of $15 million. The film received acclaim from critics, with particular praise going to its acting (especially Goldberg's performance), direction, screenplay, musical score, and production values. However, it was also criticized by some for being "over-sentimental" and "stereotypical", and was boycotted by some chapters of the NAACP for its depiction of rape. Nonetheless, 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. Spielberg received a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and a Golden Globe nomination.
Plot
In early 20th-century rural Hartwell, Georgia, Celie Harris is a teenage African-American girl who has had two children born of rape by her abusive father, who removed them from their home before forcing Celie into marriage to Albert "Mister" Johnson.
Mister, a widower, initially wanted to marry Nettie, Celie's younger sister, to whom he is attracted. He abuses Celie, and his children mistreat her. One day, Nettie runs away from home because she is tired of fighting off her father's sexual advances and seeks shelter with Celie, where the two promise to write if they are separated. When Mister attempts to sexually assault Nettie, she fights him off and he furiously kicks her out of the house. As she leaves, Nettie promises to fulfill the promise she and Celie made.
Years later, in 1916, Celie has grown meek from prolonged childhood abuse. Mister's son Harpo marries an assertive woman named Sofia. Celie envies Sofia's self-confidence and advises Harpo to beat her, but she fights back and confronts Celie, revealing her long history of abuse. She threatens to kill Harpo if he beats her again and tells Celie to do likewise to Mister. After years of constant abuse by Harpo, Sofia leaves and takes their children.
Mister and Harpo bring home the ailing Shug Avery, a showgirl and Mister's long-time mistress. Celie, who has slowly developed a fondness for Shug through a photograph sent to Mister, is in awe of Shug's strong will. She nurses Shug back to health, and Shug, in turn, takes a liking to her, writing and performing a song about her at Harpo's newly opened juke joint that he operates with his girlfriend, Squeak. Shug tells Celie she is moving to Memphis, and Celie confides to Shug that Mister beats her. Shug tells Celie that she is beautiful and that she loves her, and they kiss. Celie packs her things to follow Shug to Memphis, but is caught by Mister.
Sofia is beaten and imprisoned following an altercation in town with the mayor and his wife, Ms. Millie. Eight years later she is released, a shell of her former self, and immediately ordered by the judge to become Ms. Millie's maid. Ms. Millie agrees to let Sofia spend Christmas with her children, but then recants when she is frightened around them and has trouble putting the car in gear.