An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.
"It's about life. It's about love. It's about us."
Top Billed Cast
Danny Glover
Albert
Whoopi Goldberg
Celie
Margaret Avery
Shug Avery
Oprah Winfrey
Sofia
Willard E. Pugh
Harpo
Akosua Busia
Nettie
Desreta Jackson
Young Celie
Adolph Caesar
Old Mr.
Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews
G GenerationofSwineVerified TMDB Critic
2023-01-12
Well, this is one of those movies that hinges on a singular performance. In this case it's Danny Glover who is absolutely amazing in his role, probably the best performance of his career, and one of the best that came out of the 80s.
But Goldberg and Oprah really stink. I don't know what was going on there but they were all over the place.
However, despite them, Glover does carry the role, and Spielberg realized that this was a film adapted from a play. He kind of took that and ran with it, so the performances (minus two notable ones) were as earnest as you would get in live theater, the...
C CinemaSerfVerified TMDB Critic
2026-07-02
I think that rarely can a better cast have been assembled to tell a story than here. Telling the often quite harrowing lifestory of "Celie" (Whoopi Goldberg), we take a poignant look at a life in the American south where racism certainly prevailed, but where the African-American community saw it's own women frequently brutalised by their own menfolk. She frequently finds herself on the wrong end of the wrath of her husband "Albert" (Danny Glover) but her options aren't just limited, they're pretty much non-existant. Sadly, this relationship wasn't her first with a man who treated her with cont...
