Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, The Color Purple spans the years 1909 to 1949, relating the life of Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), a Southern black woman virtually sold into a life of servitude to her brutal husband, sharecropper Albert (Danny Glover). Celie pours out her innermost thoughts in letter form to her sister Nettie (Akousa Busia), but Albert has been hiding the letters Nettie writes back, allowing Celie to assume that Nettie is dead. Finally, Celie finds a champion in the don't-take-no-guff Sofia (Oprah Winfrey), the wife of Glover's son from a previous marriage. Alas, Sofia is "humbled" when she is beaten into submission by angry whites. Later, Celie is able to forge a strong friendship with Albert's mistress Shug (Margaret Avery). Emboldened by this, Celie begins rifling through her husband's belongings and finds Nettie's letters. Able at last to stand up to her husband, Celie leaves him to search for a new life on her own. A major box-office hit, The Color Purple was nominated for eleven Oscars. The film was co-produced by Quincy Jones, who also wrote the score. Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Genre: Drama
- Category Feminist Film, Marriage Drama, Period Film, Rural Drama
- Theme: Success is the Best Revenge, Arranged Marriages, Domestic Abuse, Social Injustice, Race Relations, Women's Friendship
- Studio: Warner Home Video
- Run Time: 02 hr 33 min
- Edition: Restored / Remastered
- Language: English, French
- Subtitle Language: French, Spanish, English
- Picture Format: widescreen
- Format: DVD
- Release Date: February 18, 2003
- Lead Actor: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Willard E. Pugh
- Supporting Actor: Clarence Avant, Carl Anderson, Susan Beaubian, Lelo Masamba, Howard Starr, Hawthorne James, Ethel Taylor, Drew Bundi Brown, April Myers, Rae Dawn Chong, Margaret Freeman, Marcus Liles, Lillian Njoki Distefano, Leonard Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Katie Simon, James Tillis, Donna Buie, Arnold Turner, Bennet Guillory, Carrie Murray, Juliet Poe, Phillip Strong, Dana Ivey, Adolph Caesar, Desreta Jackson, Akosua Busia, Peto Kinsaka, Maurice Moore, Daphaine Oliver, David Thomas, Jadili Johnson, Jeris Poindexter, John Hart, John Patton Jr., Lechanda Lathrap, Marcus Covington, Leon Rippy
- Director: Steven Spielberg
awards
- Awards: Golden Globe Awards (1)
- Winner: Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Pictur, 1985, Whoopi Goldberg
- Nominations: Academy Awards (10)
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Art Direction, 1985, Linda de Scenna, J. Michael Riva, Robert W. Welch III
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Song, 1985, Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Rod Temperton
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Score, 1985, Chris Boardman, Andraé Crouch, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, Quincy Jones, Randy Kerber, Joel Rosenbaum, Fred Steiner, Rod Temperton, Jeremy Lubbock, Jorge Calandrelli, Caiphus Semenya
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Makeup, 1985, Ken Chase
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Cinematography, 1985, Allen Daviau
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1985, Menno Meyjes
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Costume Design, 1985, Aggie Guerard Rodgers
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Actress, 1985, Whoopi Goldberg
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actress, 1985, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey
- Nominee: Academy Awards, Best Picture, 1985, Quincy Jones, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Steven Spielberg
