On April 21st last, the music world lost a legend with the passing of the legendary Prince. But the musical innovator didn’t just stay in one realm of the creative world, crossing over to movies to create some of the most unique music soundtracks of all time. His biggest contribution to the world of cinema of 1984’s rock opera Purple Rain, a fast moving boy meets girl take with a stellar soundtrack, which is ranked the sixth biggest selling soundtrack of all time. As a tribute to the passing of the late star, Cork’s Tiskel Christchurch Cinema is bringing the movie to their screens from the 19th to the 22nd of June.
Let Purple Rain transport you back to the big hair and glamourous stylings of the 1980s, a decade Prince made all his own. It is a quasi-biographical film about a musicians’ rise to fame and his attempt at keeping a hand on the things most important to him. The plot focuses on the Kid (Prince) as he struggles with the pressures and expectations of his rise to fame with plenty concert footage in the mix. This wouldn’t mark the last time Prince would appear on film, he went on to appear in three other movies from then until 1990. This stands out as the one and only time the artist was in a movie he did not also direct.
Purple Rain was hugely successful in its time, grossing 68 million dollars on a 7 million budget. It made the ‘Best Movies of 1984’ list drawn up by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Described as a ‘beautiful marriage between modern music and the moving image’ by the Village Voice, it’s a wonderful showcase of the artist’s talent, both his charisma as a musician and as an actor. Come check out this digital restoration of rock musical mastery.
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