THE COLOR PURPLE

US, 1985, 154 minutes, Colour.
Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong, Dana Ivey.
Directed by Steven Spielberg.

The Color Purple is Steven Spielberg's film of Alice Walker's celebrated novel about American blacks and their history. The novel was written in letter form: screenplay keeps the letter form but works on a more conventional narrative form.

Audience responses to the film were mixed. Those who remembered the novel felt that this was a prettier version and were unhappy with the changes from the letter structure. Others found the film a very moving experience, accepting that this was a film version of a written work. The film was nominated for eleven Oscars - but did not receive any. These included Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress and Supporting Cast.

The film offers a tour de force performance by comedian Whoopi Goldberg in the central role of Celie. She is most affecting. A very good cast supports her, many of whom rose to prominence at the time of The Colour Purple. Danny Glover as Mister, Adolphe Caesar as Mister's father, Rae Dawn Chong as Squeak and, of course, Oprah Winfrey.

The film is beautiful to look at, runs for 2 1/2 hours and has a scope of several decades of American history. While the film version may be softer than the novel, the adaptation for the widest possible audience means that the insights of The Color Purple, as well as the characters and message, receive wide attention.

1. The acclaim for the film and the performances? Critiques of the film and the adaptation from the novel?

2. The work of Alice Walker, her insights, characters? An appropriate adaptation for the screen? Treatment of characters, situations, themes? The film as a version with the spirit, point of the novel? A more colourful version of the novel?

3. The title and the focus, the meaning of The Color Purple, beauty, creation, the focus on God, appreciation? The use of purple motifs throughout the film?

4. The range of the period: 40 years, the changes in American history, for black people, in the south? Poverty, hardship? The use of the locations? Beautiful photography? Harsh conditions? The contrast with the African sequences? The musical score and the themes? Miss Celie's Blues?

5. The novel with its narrative in letter form? The letters to God, Nettie, Celie? The film's suggestion of the letter narrative structure? Celie's lot, God? Celie's love for Nettie, communication? The letters and Mister? Celie's reading and treasuring the letters? Revelation? The finale and Mister and his callous attitudes? The voiceover?

6. The indication of periods, dates? 1909, 1916, the '20s and '30s? Blacks and whites? The 19th century and its heritage? The war and changes? The opening up of the '20s, the development of the '30s? Civil rights and consciousness?

7. Themes of poverty, hardship and oppression: for all, men and their domination within the black community, the significance of work, the long hours, men as masters, marriage, children and their being taken from their mothers? Expectations for the blacks? Women: black and poor, self-effacing, ignorant, slaves? Sex and its role, pedestal? The need for breaking out, attacking these expectations? The film's vision of growth in awareness? Themes of growth in consciousness, of 20th century dignity?

8. Whoopi Goldberg's performance as Celie, persuasive? The incarnation of Alice Walker's central character? Her focus on God, talk to God? As a young woman, her family, her father, sexuality and brutality, her children and their being taken away - and her seeing the children in the shop? Poverty? Nettie and her love, protection? Love and games? The rich detail of their life? Drudgery?

9. The arrival of Mister and her going with him? The children and the treatment? Filthy and clean? The way Celie was treated by Mister, as a sexual object, slave? The arrival of Shug? Cooking and cleaning? Nettie's escape? Playing, reading (and the lessons and the words)? Leaving because of Mister? Grief and promises, home and change? The importance of Harpo and Sophia - and her attitudes, even to advising Harpo to beat Sophia? Her grief and the absence of letters? Admiration for Shug: breakfast? In the house, friendship? Brought out? Love for Shug, the sexual encounter and its effect? Within the perspective of the film, Celie's story, awareness? The clothes? The outing and the fight? Harpo and Sophia, the children? Shug and the letters? The father and the house? Rebelling, leaving? Celie's beginnings in self-assertion, defiance? To Mister, to old Mister? The trousers? The importance of the reunion, the meal and the conversation, Celie's stances and attitude towards Mister and his father? The importance of the leaving, the smouldering violence? Her being persuaded to go? On the train, drinking, throwing the sweets for Nettie - and the child on the tracks? The build-up to the reconciliation, the children? What happened to Celie as a character? The harshness, the beauty? Consciousness?

10. Nettie and the father, the detail of their life, church etc? Play? Going to Mister? Her leaving? The sequences in Africa, the children, progress? African education? The initiation sequences and their cross-cutting with the shaving sequence and the knife for Mister? Celie and the possible violence? The trip and the reunion? Nettie in Celie's vision? 80 years? Father and his cruelty, the children, property, Nettie, his wife and her death, the truth, the wife leaving, the money?

11. Mister and his father? Nettie and Celie and their place in the household? The children and the squalor? The work, the treatment, drudgery, sex? Seeing Shug with his clothes, excitement? Relationship and Shug? In the house, breakfast? Harpo and the shotgun? The wedding, the work, oppression, the father? His cruelty with the letters? The final defiance, the knife in Celie's hand? Old and alone? Death? A hard man? Old Mister and his influence, crusty, abuse, reinforcing his son's attitudes? The measure of manhood?

12. Harpo, the boy, growing, awkward and falling, marrying Sophia? Celie's advice, the clashes, the children? The passing of the years, Sophia going? Shug and the treatment? Harpo's place, Shug and the visitors? Harpo as a no-hoper, the set-up? The children and Sophia's visit? Squeak leaving? Sophia and her size, influence, standing up for herself, the children, Celie's help, leaving and friends? The mayor and the hit, his wife? Prison? Down and grey? Mad, driving the car? V1sit for Christmas? The wider family, introduced, going to leave?

13. The portrait of the whites: the shop-owner, the trousers, the mayor, the wife and her possessive attitude, afraid of black men?

14. The sketch of Squeak, Harpo? Her name, Mary Agnes? Leaving?

15. The south, society, expectations and patterns, sorrow and joy, religion and God, prayer, the minister?

16. Shug and her reputation, children, Mister, at the house and down? Celie, the song and her recovery? Miss Celie (and reactions)? Clothes, love, help? Singing and brawls? Moving, the husband?, Driving in, changing? At the meal, helping Celie go? The Color Purple?

17. An American portrait, a black portrait, a humane and universal portrait?