The Color Purple
Director: Steven Spielberg
Year Released: 1985
Rating: 2.0
Directed with one eye on the action and another on the Oscar ballot slips, Spielberg was gunning for gold with his white, Jewish adaptation of Alice Walker's novel (I know, I know, but wasn't there anyone else available?). Done with panache - Steven gets a good performance out of Whoopi Goldberg and a remarkable one from Oprah Winfrey - but the screenwriters overload the movie with excessive emotional triggers designed to manipulate the audience - he goes all out, turning the Danny Glover character into an abominable rapist-monster that just beats on everyone constantly. Time is condensed to a great degree to fit in the necessities, leaving a lot behind.
