The sudden death of the enigmatic celebrity, the
electrifying performer, the virtuoso musician Prince made me jump immediately
to a movie I’d never seen before. Purple
Rain was Prince’s first movie. He starred in it and of course wrote all the
music that his character, The Kid (a somewhat autobiographical version of
himself), performs. He won an Oscar for Best Original Musical – the last time
that Oscar category was even awarded. Purple
Rain has never a bright reputation. It’s no work of cinematic gold and is
only remembered today because it stars Prince and his music. By most accounts,
it is the best of Prince’s four films so I can only imagine just how bad Under the Cherry Moon must be.
