The Color Purple - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Color Purple



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Not gonna lie here, I actually didn’t pay much attention to the fact that there was a musical feature film adaptation of the classic story The Color Purple except when I saw the preview on the Steven Spielberg 4K UHD a month or so ago. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the theater to see a feature film outside of my home theater, so I stayed pretty blind about the film’s release, and wanted to keep it that way. Modern trailers have a tendency of spoiling the entire film, and I wanted to see exactly how it compared to the original (and the Broadway play) without spoilers or biases creeping in from other sources. As with most remakes it isn’t exactly as good as the original, but it does crossover some of the pizazz and exuberance of the Broadway production into the film, crafting something that is decidedly unique among all of the adaptations of the original novel.

As a big fan of the 1985 feature film I wasn’t sure what to expect upon watching, and even more nervous when I saw it was a musical. The Broadway production is absolutely stunning, but a serious film like The Color Purple is hard to make into a musical and required a lot of fine tuning to make it tonally correct. Well, Blitz Bazawule’s attempt mostly gets it right, as I feel it captured much of the heart of the movie, while putting a glossy musical veneer on it to soften some of the impact of the 1985’s brutal take on Celie’s life.

Much like the original, we open up to young Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey) living in the deep south, where their father Alfonso brutally treats the two girls. Nettie is slated to become something with her life, so Alfonso decides to marry off homely Celie to a widower the film coins “Mister” (Colman Domingo) so that he could have someone to take care of his 3 children. Again, just like the previous film and Broadway play, Mister is not exactly the nicest man on earth, beating Celie constantly while sleeping around with local Blues singer Shug Avery (Taraji P. Henson). Driving off Nettie after she won’t sleep with him, Mister forces Celie into a life that is barely one step above the slavery her family faced less than a century ago.

As Celie grows up (Fantasia Barrino in her feature film debut), her life changes, taking inspiration from the free spirited Shug Avery, and while she doesn’t exactly have the strength to leave her husband, a spark of life is born in the young woman. Little by little self realization matures into full grown maturity, and no matter the cost, the beaten down, cruelly treated, homely, poor, woman takes life by it’s hand and steps out into the world to make something of herself, even if that “something” is merely finding her own spirit.

As a huge fan of the original it’s nearly impossible not to compare it to Spielberg’s best picture winner. On the surface they seem to be very similar, with near beat for beat scenes that mirror the 1985 film on paper. In real world they are two completely different films with completely different tones. The 1985 original is really tough to watch. The film is incredibly brutal tonally, and paints the men and women in opposition to Ceilie to be unbelievably cruel and evil at times. Here the characters are softened a bit, although still kept accurate to their actions for the most part. Danny Glover, for example, was unbelievable as “Mister” in the original film. His character exuded slimy, greasy, nasty and spineless to the core. Something which Colman Domingo has a hard time replicating. It’s hard to really explain “HOW”, but Colman is much more suave and collected, seemingly more unhinged than Danny’s portrayal of Mister, but also almost likable by the end of the film. It was kind of disconcerting (especially his reason for being nice to Celie near the end) as Danny Glover was so repulsive, so slimy, so whimpy, that seeing that faint glimmer of humanity in him for that brief moment near the end was jarringly shocking and humanized him for a brief moment. Domingo feels more likable the entire film, and his reason for flip flopping came across as self serving and completely against his character.

Fantasia Barrino is by far the stand out of the production though. This is her feature film debut as her Broadway role as Celie in the early 2000s shot her to stardom in a theater role, but she absolutely KILLS it in film as well. Celie is live, vibrant, and fully fleshed out as a character, something the original had a hard time doing. The new production is definitely easier to watch, and more pop star infused, but it sort of charmed me nonetheless. I know there’s some give and take with what I’ve mentioned, but I still feel that it doesn’t completely live up to both the Broadway play OR the 1985 film. The darker and more brutal tone in the original really creates an emotional impact, while this feels just a little void of emotion at times outside of shiny dance work and FANTASTIC singing (my goodness, the singing was incredible). Still a fun flick, but more modernized and more cotton candy esque.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexual content, violence and language.




4K Video: Video:

Taken from a native 4.5K digital capture and mastered in 4K for the home video release, The Color Purple looks fantastic on 4K UHD. The flick is moderately stylized, infusing a sort of blurred and gauzy backdrop to the entire film, giving it a hazy dreamlike aesthetic at times that is an attempt to make it look “old timey”. However fine details and textural nuances abound tremendously. Every little facial feature and droplet of sweat is crystal clear, while we can see the actual sequins and threads on Celie’s evening gown that she borrows from Shug. Black levels are sharp and revealing, although some minor milkiness would bleed in once in a while. I don’t have access to the Blu-ray to compare, but this is a solid looking transfer that makes mild use of HDR (the NITS on screen is not even 300), which seems to really shine with the sparkling dress that Shug wears, or a splash or two of southern greenery.








Audio:

The Color Purple’s Atmos track is what I would describe as the less active variety. Sure, there’s surround usage with the copious songs, and there’s some minor ambient noises that come through overhead and behind as the film progresses, but it is not wildly over stimulating or aggressive. The musical numbers are crystal clear and absolutely jaw dropping, and there’s even a few minor bumps in the bass channel (outside of the music, such as in the juke joint where the fight breaks out), but overall this doesn’t exactly stretch the Atmos capabilities a ton. It’s a great musical track, but like I said, it doesn’t really take advantage of the next gen format’s real nuances, and that is completely normal. A musical number like this doesn’t have a ton of action or ambient effects to make you guess what direction a sound is coming from. It’s entire purpose is to flood the film with music and fill out the low end with the same music. Effective, nice, and definitely pleasing, it may not be a Transformers contender, but the Atmos track should please most people well enough.













Extras:

• Creating The Color Purple: A Bold New Take on the Beloved Classic
• Join the director, Blitz Bazawule, filmmakers and cast on their high-stakes, high intensity, heart-stopping, and awe-inspiring odyssey to bring Alice Walker’s beloved novel to life.
• Hell Yes! The Iconic Characters of The Color Purple
• The cast, producer Oprah Winfrey, and director Blitz Bazawule explore the characters – their personalities and intricate interpersonal dynamics, as well as their relatability and lasting impact – and how the actors connected and grew as performers.
• In The Flow: Creating The Color Purple’s Biggest Musical Moments
• Rehearsal footage reveals what it took director Blitz Bazawule, producer Scott Sanders, Quincy Jones, the cast, and the music team to push through the stumbles and missteps and hone all the rough edges to get each musical number exactly right.
• A Story For Me: The Legacy of The Color Purple
• The cast and filmmakers discuss the importance of Alice Walker’s novel – its timelessness and how it has touched so many, from book to landmark 1985 film to 2005 Broadway musical – and what it means for them to be a part of this bold new film.

Final Score: ​

The Color Purple may not be a perfect remake, but it is still quite enjoyable, adding a different dimension to the original 1982 novel (published only a few months after I was born). The cast is quite enjoyable with Fantasia Barrino absolutely stealing every moment that she’s in. The 4K UHD looks and sounds great, and the extras are really impressive to top it all off. Again, I’m going to gripe about the lack of a Blu-ray to make a combo pack (whine, snivel, pout), but overall this is a nice package for an enjoyable musical remake of a classic story.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, cColman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Ciara, Halle Bailey, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi
Directed by: Blitz Bazawule
Written by: Marcus Gardley, Alice Walker, Marsha Norman
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English, French, Spanish DD 5.1, English DVS
Sugtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 140 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 12th, 2024

Recommendation: Good Watch