Purple Rain DVD Is Da Shiznit!!!

[dougdigitalpro]

Just picked this up on Tuesday and it blew my fuckin mind!
I've been waiting on this one for years and it was well worth the wait! Still no Prince or primary cast interviews, but that's cool because it maintains some of that mystery that the movie has always had. Great interviews with the Revolution though. The bonus disc is loaded with stuff and I think the most prized of all of this is the music videos that were out back then. What memories that conjured up! Tool me right back to 1984! Two of em are concert videos, "Take Me with U" and "Baby I'm a Star" and the latter reminds you of how great a performer this man really is and how GOOD we had it back in the day! These kids don't know what fuckin' good music is today or good performance!
The "Sex Shooter" video is some crazy shit to watch also. I think this video got pulled soon after it premeired because it was so amazingly BAD! But to see Appolonia makes up for it. Man, she was so freakin' beautiful!!! Do they even make women like this anymore???
I wish they had archived more stuff like the bloopers, outtakes and deleted scenes and the rumoured X-rated version that was never released, but word has it that none of this footage exists anymore. Just never thought it would be used for anything I guess. The only stuff that has seemed to survive is the clips of deleted scenes in the trailers and videos. You really see in those clips how Purple Rain could've been a very different movie if that stuff would've made it in. They may be saving it for down the line. Who knows? But this version is suffice and I was up in here rocking with the 5.1's and widescreen format. It was truly 1984 all over again. The audio commentary is great and I learned alot of film stuff which is always great. The one thing that I guess I learned more of than anything is how much of a contribution the director & editor Albert Magnoli made and HE is the reason this film is so great just from a cinematic standpoint. It's really great filmmaking. But the way the film was always promoted it's as if this guy had little to do with it. I always viewed it as "Prince's" film. That's the way they pushed it. Like it was Prince's singular vision. From this you find out though a lot of hands went into making this as good as it is. And I guess based on Prince's later projects, that would make sense.
The MTV premeire party clip is fun to watch also.
Any true Prince fan has GOT to get this set and it's more than worth the twenty dollars I spent!

[bingolong]

dougdigitalpro,
I wonder if JTF has got his copy yet? You know he did a book report on Prince in Middle school.

[dougdigitalpro]

bingolong,

[JTF]

bingolong,

I haven't got mines yet. I heard about it. I actually sold my old dvd on ebay about 6 months ago because I knew about the widescreen version. What I really want to pick up is the Under The Cherry Moon dvd...

The reason that there are no extra footage (re: deleted scenes) apparently is due to Prince having them locked up in his "vault." Technically, WB own the footage, but Prince has the footage. Guess we'll never see the full barn scene...

[dougdigitalpro]

JTF,
Almost bought the Under the Cherry Moon DVD today. Great little quirky, weird movie. Somethin' different fo sho. Man, that's what pisses me off about Prince. He can be so fuckin selfish about shit. I also heard that the reason there are no Morris, Appolonia and Jerome interviews is because Prince personally told them not to do it unless they were gettin paid. What does he have, mind control over these people? They made the freakin movie twenty years ago!!!
I love the Purple Rain film on the merits of what the film itself is, which is pure magic. But Prince the artist needs to seriously lighten up and quit acting the little spoiled brat who has to have everything his way. He only hurts himself in the end and it seems he is startin to learn but he still has a long way to go. Send the nigga to therapy or somethin'! ;p

[mojones]

dougdigitalpro,

Prince is like the obligatory relative at the family reunon that get on your nerves with his idiosyncrasies. But you love the bastard anyway. I know he's a pain. But he's one helluva performer. I'll purchase my DVD this week...

[Reg_Man_98]

dougdigitalpro,
Regardless of the little motherfucker's many personal quirks, I can definitely tell you that, even though he made better records 20 years ago, as a live performer he's at his absolute best RIGHT NOW. As one who has seen him in concert about eight times (including twice on the Purple Rain tour in '85), I can tell you that the gimmicky spectacle part of his act is gone, and now the focus is purely on the music. (This year I saw him twice in a small club setting and twice at the Staples Center.) And with all due respect to his former band, his current band (featuring James Brown's old sax man Maceo Parker) kicks the Revolution's ass. He's still THE SHIT after all these years. Who would have ever thought he'd age so gracefully?

[dougdigitalpro]

Reg_Man_98,
I'm just glad he's finally acting his age. I would have liked to have seen him live this year if for no other reason because it's been almost twenty years since the last time i saw him.(Parade birthday concert, Detroit '86)I know that stuff during the Purple Rain tour was gimmiky, but damn was it good! I just watched it on the DVD and it still is amazing to watch. Man, we had it good back in da day!
I'm glad he's finally found a comfortable groove though today. That's good news considering what he's been putting the fans through for the last decade & some years.

[Reg_Man_98]

dougdigitalpro,
I've got the "Purple Rain" and "Under The Cherry Moon" DVDs, too, but I haven't had time to watch them yet.

By the way, my favorite all time concert souvenier was from a Prince show I attended in '86. He was playing a small venue (the show had just been announced the day before), and I was within the first five or so rows. The first song he did was "Around The World In Day," on which he was playing a purple tambourine. Just as the song was finishing, he threw the tambourine into the audience and I caught it. (I'm 6-feet, 2 inches, so it was easy.) The tambourine had a see-through sticker on it that said, "Love God." I've still got the motherfucker.

[dougdigitalpro]

Reg_Man_98,
I believe that's the same show he performed here in June '86 for his birthday. I thought it was a one time deal, but he did have a Parade stage set up with paisley speakers and gear, so he must've did a small tour. Great show! He opened with "Around the World in a Day" and i was mesmerized. I also was in the fifth or sixth row and he jumped off stage at one point and landed right in front of me. He was shorter than me even then and I was 16 at the time. I still vividly remember that opening number like it was yesterday. I don't know why I remember that show so much better than the Purple Rain show. That concert is a blur to me now for some reason. The only thing I can remember is when he sang Purple Rain and the stage was all lit up in purple. This birthday concert was also where he did the infamous "Mojo interview". Back then he never did interviews as you know but he had really strong ties in Detroit, which is why he celebrated his birthday here that year, and he was cool with this DJ in the city named "The Electrifying Mojo" and granted him a live interview after the show and they talked for about twenty minutes and it was a really good interview and showed a different side of Prince. You had to live in Detroit to get how legendary Mojo was here. He was truly one of a kind. I don't know what he's doing now, but I miss him.

"When you feel like you're gonna fall off that rope, don't let go. Just tie a knot, keep hangin'... keep remembering, that it ain't nobody bad like YOU!"
-The Electrifying Mojo
Detroit Radio DJ
1976-1991