Prince Movie Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Prince Movie Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Three in Royal Purple

Reviewed by Michael Reuben October 9, 2016

Warner Brothers was already planning to release a collected set of the three movies in its catalog starring Prince, when the world was stunned earlier this year by the news of his sudden death at age 57. As a tribute to the late artist, the studio accelerated the release's timetable (which explains why some retailers were late receiving stock). Supplied in a purple keepcase and slipcover, the three-film collection serves as a fitting addition to the outpouring of tributes for one of pop music's true originals.

Prince's film oeuvre, such as it is, doesn't even begin to approach his musical achievements, but he did star in one certifiable hit, 1984's Purple Rain, which was previously released on Blu-ray and has been newly transferred and remastered for this collection. His later efforts, Under the Cherry Moon in 1986 and Graffiti Bridge in 1990, were box office flops and deservedly so—but both are interesting as cinematic "B" sides to an overall career that any entertainer would envy. (A fourth film, the concert presentation Sign 'o the Times, is not part of Warner's library.)

All three titles in the collection are also available separately.

For discussion of Purple Rain, please see the separate Blu-ray review as well as the 2007 review by Casey Broadwater.

For discussion of Under the Cherry Moon, please see the Under the Cherry Moon Blu-ray review.

For discussion of Graffiti Bridge, please see the Graffiti Bridge Blu-ray review.

Prince Movie Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Purple Rain

Purple Rain's cinematographer, Donald E. Thorin, passed away this year, after a long and varied career that included An Officer and a Gentleman, Midnight Run and the remake of Shaft. Purple Rain was a low-budget film from which the studio expected little, which freed the production to shoot guerilla-style in real locations, but without the benefit of glossy studio lighting The musical performances at Minneapolis' First Avenue club were shot live on stage with multiple cameras, and and no attempt was made to add a Hollywood sheen to the smoky atmosphere and hot washes of colored light. The shooting conditions helped Thorin and director Albert Magnoli capture the vibrant energy of the Twin Cities' exploding music scene, but it also yielded a rough and gritty image that presents challenges in the translation from film to Blu-ray. Both onstage and off, most of Purple Rain takes place at night and/or in dark interiors, taxing the capabilities of the era's slower film stocks. No matter how carefully Purple Rain is transferred and mastered, the image cannot show more detail than was initially captured on film.

The 2007 Blu-ray was derived from an earlier HD master initially prepared for DVD, and while it's not a bad presentation, it does reflect the mastering philosophy of its era. Light grain reduction was applied; the image was slightly windowboxed to compensate for overscan; and the palette was downshifted toward the cooler end of the spectrum, dampening reds and accentuating blues. For this new 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, Warner's Motion Picture Imaging has created a new scan from an IP (at 2K), which has been color-corrected using an answer print as a guide. The result may not have yielded a significant increase in detail, but in scene after scene, the new Blu-ray reveals superior contrast, a more natural grain structure and a warmer palette that accentuates the film's rainbow of colors, especially in the musical performances.

Screenshots don't capture the entire perceptual experience of watching a moving picture, but in an attempt to illustrate some of the differences in the new Blu-ray, the extra screenshots accompanying the Purple Rain review (beginning at no. 6) present a series of comparative frames, with the new Blu-ray first, followed by the 2007 disc. To repeat: The new Blu-ray shots come first. In most instances, the 2007 captures are readily identifiable by the thin black bars at left and right. Due to limitations in the capture procedure used by Blu-ray.com reviewers, it isn't possible to match frames exactly, but I've tried to come as close as possible. (The screenshots accompanying the 2007 review are not a reliable reference, because different equipment was used back then.)

The 2007 Blu-ray of Purple Rain was mastered on a BD-25 with an average bitrate of 17.36 Mbps, using the VC-1 codec. Warner has placed the new, AVC-encoded version on a BD-50 with an average bitrate of 34.99 Mbps. To my eye, comparing both discs in motion, the new version represents a clear upgrade, although neither "blows the other one out of the water" (to use a favorite catchphrase from the Blu-ray.com forums).


Under the Cherry Moon

Under the Cherry Moon was shot (and sometimes co-directed) by the great German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, who must have found it strange to add Prince to his list of notable collaborators, which includes Rainer Werner Fassbinder (e.g., The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant), Mike Nichols (Working Girl) and Martin Scorsese (from After Hours through The Departed). As best as I have been able to determine, the film was shot in color, then converted to black-and-white in post-production. For this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, Warner's Motion Picture Imaging has done a new scan at 2K from a fine-grain master positive, followed by cleanup and repair of any damage or age-related flaws. The result is a nicely detailed image with solid blacks and finely delineated shades of gray that allow generous appreciation of the film's elaborate costume and production design, which is often so visually busy that, were it in color, it might be overwhelming. Post-processing to remove color appears to have softened the image somewhat, but the film's grain pattern is natural and finely resolved. Warner has mastered Cherry Moon at the high average bitrate that has become standard for its catalog releases, specifically, 35.02 Mbps.


Graffiti Bridge

One cinematic lesson that Prince learned from the experience of Purple Rain is the importance of a first-rate cinematographer. Graffiti Bridge was shot by Hollywood veteran Bill Butler, whose eclectic résumé includes Jaws, the first three Rocky sequels and Hot Shots! Butler obviously studied Donald E. Thorin's lighting for Purple Rain, because GB features the same heavy use of smoke and haze with floods of bright, colored light, mostly blue and red. Although GB was shot six years after Purple Rain, when film stocks had significantly improved, the lighting and production design give it much of the same soft texture as the earlier film.

For this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, Warner's Motion Picture Imaging has scanned an interpositive at 2K, followed by color correction guided by an answer print. The result is a vividly colorful image that is as detailed as the gimmicky lighting allows. The film has a natural-looking grain texture that is noticeably finer than Purple Rain's, but the grain is still heavy enough that it may be a distraction for some viewers. Still, the look is true to the source and deserves high marks for accuracy. The rare scene in outdoor daylight reveals a tighter, clearer image that confirms the deliberateness of the many softer sequences featuring musical performances. A number of scenes depicting the antics of Morris and Jerome occur in brightly lit interiors, and these also offer superior sharpness and detail. Warner has mastered GB at a high average bitrate of 32.98 Mbps.

Prince Movie Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Purple Rain

Purple Rain was released to theaters in Dolby Stereo, which was remixed in 5.1 for the film's 2004 DVD. That 5.1 mix appeared on the 2007 Blu-ray in a choice of either Dolby Digital or lossless Dolby TrueHD. For the new Blu-ray, the 5.1 track has been re-encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1. With some minor differences, the description in my former colleague's review of the previous Blu-ray's audio applies, but, at least to my ear, the new disc's soundtrack isn't as "hot" as its predecessor's, so that the sound is better balanced overall. The track remains front-oriented, which is true to the original, and the dialogue is mostly clear and well-prioritized, with an occasional line buried in the mix. Having repeatedly experienced Purple Rain in multiple incarnations, including its original theatrical release, I am confidently that this Blu-ray's track fairly reproduces the theatrical experience, which is the primary reason for my higher audio score.


Under the Cherry Moon

Under the Cherry Moon was released in Dolby Stereo, which has been encoded for this Blu-ray release in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0. The soundtrack is much less busy than the visual design, focusing primarily on dialogue (which is clear most of the time) and the musical score by Prince and the Revolution. The dynamic range and bass extension are sufficient to provide effective renderings of signature musical selection such as "Kiss" (which is probably the best-known song from the soundtrack). Perhaps with a bigger budget, the seaside surroundings would have been more fully re-created by the soundtrack, but the environmental effects are just enough to tell the story.


Graffiti Bridge

GB's theatrical Dolby Surround track has been encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0, and it serviceably reproduces the musical numbers but is otherwise nothing special. The dynamic range is somewhat wider than the 5.1 remix on Purple Rain, and the highs haven't acquired the kind of harshness that sometimes results from pulling apart a stereo track to re-encode it for 5.1. The dialogue is mostly intelligible; Morris Day still can't resist slurring his words for effect, but that's not the fault of the soundtrack.

Prince Movie Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Please see the individual reviews for their respective extras.

Contrary to early reports, no title cards or other special inserts are included with the three-disc set.

Prince Movie Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With a list price of $24.98 (and less at most retailers) for three films, this collection is an easy recommendation for any Prince fan. Even if Purple Rain is the only film that you end up re-watching, fans of The Artist will want to visit (or revisit) the other two films, and these are worthy presentations.