The Purple Rose of Cairo
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Movie Reviews of The Purple Rose of Cairo
Movie Review: One of Allen's masterpieces
Summary: 5 Stars
A comedy with a bitter sweet edge, "The Purple Rose of Cario" has a fairly simple premise. Cecilia (Mia Farrow) struggles to make ends meet during the Great Depression. Her husband Monk (Danny Aiello)is a lout who cheats on her and gambles since losing his job and Cecilia has to work in a restaurant and take in laundry to meet their bills and rent. The only escape that Cecilia has is going to the movies--the fantasy world of Hollywood gives her a coccoon from the brutal real world. Her favorite movie "The Purple Rose of Cario" featuring Gil Shepard (Jeff Daniels) as Tom Baxter (also Jeff Daniels in a dual role)changes her life when the character Tom Baxter walks out of the movie into the real world. He says he's in love with her and wants her to be happy something no one else except Cecilia's sister cares about. The rest of the characters in the film (Edward Herrman,Milo O'Shea, Deboarh Rush, Zoe Caldwell, John Wood, Van Johnson)are pretty upset and end up sparing with the audience watching them on screen when they complain how boring the movie is.
"Purple Rose" is one of Allen's most complete films and captures all the wistfulness that lurks in the background of his films. This DVD looks extremely good considering that the transfer is from 2001. There's some minor artifacting particularly when characters move quickly on screen but, on the whole, it's not a big deal. Allen hasn't done commentary tracks are allowed extras on his releases which is too bad as there's cut footage of Viggo Mortensen and Michael Keaton (who was originally cast in the lead instead of Daniels)that would be of interest. I don't know if that footage still exists but if it did it would make a lovely addition to this. Why MGM didn't choose to include archieved footage of Allen talking about the film and new interviews with the stars is beyond me. This Oscar nominated (for Best Screenplay)film certainly deserves a documentary on its making or, at the very least, a featurette. We do get the original theatrical trailer and a booklet that discusses the making of the film.
A great movie that will hopefully get better treatment when it ends up on the Blu-Ray format, "Purple Rose" is still a treat and well worth picking up. It's also priced well at $12-14 at most retail outlets and at amazon.com.
Movie Review: A Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
An absolutely masterpiece, Woody Allen's "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is a great movie that even people who don't usually like Woody Allen might like. I love Woody Allen and out of all of the films I've seen by him (7, I think) this is in my top 3 (below Annie Hall and Manhattan). The movie blends comedy, romance, drama, and features a genuinely sad ending. Allen's baby mama (and wife's mama) Mia Farrow plays Cecilia, a Depression-era housewife trapped in an unhappy marriage. She works as a waitress, makes little money, and is clumsy which frequently pisses off her boss. To escape from everything, she goes to the movies. When she sees the newest movie, 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' she falls in love with the character Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels); When Cecilia is finally fired from her job, she sees the movie five times in a row prompting the character Tom to take notice. In doing so, he walks right out of the screen and into the arms of Cecilia. Leaving his fellow characters trapped in the movie and needing him to come back, Tom takes off from the theatre prompting management to call the films producers. When the actor who plays Tom, Gil Shepherd (Jeff Daniels again) gets wind of it...He fears his career may be in jeopardy and he seeks out Tom, but falls in love with Cecilia in the process. Meanwhile, on screens across America; The Tom Baxters are going haywire, forgetting their lines and trying get out of the movie. It's definitely a strange and original idea that could fail in the wrong hands. Any fan of Allen's should love it, but I did say that non-Allen fans would like it too. Here's why. If you don't like Woody Allen because of his work (a lot of people don't like him because of the Soon-Yi debacle), then it's probably because you don't like the neurotic character that's featured in almost all of his films (and almost always played by him) or you don't look his way of storytelling (the Greek thing in "Mighty Aphrodite" or the three endings in "Sweet and Lowdown"); This film has no neurotic Woody character, straight-forward storytelling. The only way you could even tell it's a Woody Allen movie is from the score and the credit sequences. This is a truly wonderful movie and I highly recommend it.
GRADE: A
Movie Review: Allen Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
It is the depression and Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is married to bum Monk (Danny Aiello). She works and he spends her money. Cecilia's one escape is the movies at the Jewel. When the new film "The Purple Rose of Cairo" opens, Cecilia becomes infatuated with it and its star Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels).
She goes to the film every night, until one night Gil Shepherd (Tom Baxter) stops mid-scene and addresses Cecilia. She is shocked but more shocked when he steps down from the screen. Not only does this throw Cecilia for a loop but the movie is stuck at that point and the actors cannot go on.
Gil does not understand that his false world on the screen and the real world are different. Also, the studio executives are perplexed on what to do. What happens if this happens elsewhere. Tom is also worried that this might hurt his career. So he goes to the town to find his alter ego and convince him to return.
This is a wacky romantic comedy and is Allen's most imaginative film ever. There was no subtext, no hidden messages.
If you want a great original film this is it. If you do not like Woody Allen films, you will probably like this.
DVD EXTRAS: None
Movie Review: Another Woody Allen Masterpiece!
Summary: 5 Stars
A poignant glimpse at the fantasies of everyday people in the depression relating to the glitz of Tinsel Town. In 1930 New Jersey, a forlorn woman toughs out the depression with a dead-end job and a philandering, dead-beat husband who beats her and takes her for granted. Like so many in blue-collar America, the only solace she can find is in the hey-day productions of RKO with the like of Fred and Ginger and the offbeat serio-comic fluff such as presented in their latest feature, ";The Purple Rose Of Cairo";. After walking out on her husband and losing her job she retreats into the bowels of the 'Jewel' theatre watching a full days showing of ";Rose"; when the romantic lead incredibly starts a dialogue with her and boldly goes where no character has gone before. Who has been a fan of the movies and not wished to be part of the many stories unfolding on the silver screen? Allen skillfully brings this premise to bear in a touching and romantic fantasy so unlike his other efforts. The Author has never found the merit in him that so many critics have, but with this film; he mercifully stays out of it and relies on his pen to trigger the necessary drama without overdoing his trademark wit. A first.Movie Review: One of Woody's best
Summary: 5 Stars
Woody Allen has long admired the works of both Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini, and while he has done other movies that intentionally (and not very successfully, in my opinion) mimic those two great directors, I think "Purple Rose of Cairo" is his better homage to Fellini. He captures the same poignant combination of humor and pathos as Fellini does in his earlier masterpieces "La Strada" and "Nights of Cabiria." In fact, the concluding scene of Cecilia (Mia Farrow) staring at the movie screen, her eyes transforming from despair to hope (as her life has just gone down the toilet) is a mirror of the concluding scene in Fellini's "Cabiria." This is also Allen's most loving tribute to "the movies." Movies allow us to escape to a better world and--at least temporarily--to escape our selves. The cast is great--especially the wonderful supporting characters who seem right out of the Depression era, as are those who play the movie characters who get stranded on-screen when one of their colleagues steps out into the real world. While this may not be one of Woody Allen's most popular films, it is a near-perfect little gem.