Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Color Purple 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

From book to screen to Broadway to screen.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 15, 2024

First brought to the big screen as Steven Spielberg's 1985 melodrama (recently re-issued in 4K UHD to coincide with this film's theatrical release), Blitz Bazawule's The Color Purple takes its cues from the more recent Broadway musical which ran from 2005-2008. All are, of course, based on Alice Walker's 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of overcoming physical, sexual, and emotional abuse as well as other adversities, with this musical version attempting to bolster the novel's potent narrative with songs that unsurprisingly run the gamut of emotions, from somber to celebratory.

It's an admirably bold (to use a word from the film's tagline) take on the material, with past Broadway adaptations of films and properties such as Rocky, Carrie, and Spider-Man proving that just about anything can be adapted to a stage show. Whether they should is a matter up for debate... but if nothing else, at least Blitz Bazawule's film preserves the bulk of its source's original narrative despite a comparatively slimmer runtime than the Spielberg version.

Both primarily follow the rocky path of one Celie Harris-Johnson (Fantasia Barrino, with her younger self played by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi), whose life in early 20th-century rural Georgia is anything by idyllic: she and her sister Nettie (Halle Bailey) are abused by father Alfonso (Deon Cole) and Celie's future husband Albert "Mister" Johnson (Colman Domingo), who kicks Nettie out one night for refusing his advances. Mister's somehow quasi-respectable son Harpo (Corey Hawkins), meanwhile, marries brash and fiercely independent Sofia (Danielle Brooks), who's already carrying his baby and won't stand for such abuse at the hands of any man. As its narrative unfolds during roughly four decades, The Color Purple traces the lives, loves, and losses of these characters and a few others, often depicting how trauma deeply affects its victims and the different degrees in which they are ultimately able to overcome it.

In comparison to the imperfect but mostly well-remembered 1985 Steven Spielberg film, this new adaptation of The Color Purple reminds me of that infamous charity single We Are the World 25 for Haiti: it's a showier, campier, and less effective effort than the original, at least partially due to what feels like an excess of self-importance behind the scenes. (Those who have seen Netflix's recent documentary The Greatest Night in Pop may remember producer Quincy Jones' sign above the studio door that read, "Check Your Egos at the Door".) Though I've no doubt that this adaptation of the Broadway show was done with the best of intentions, it can't help but feel like everyone is trying to outdo one another and the film mostly suffers for it. But what it really comes down to is that the wide majority of its many musical breaks simply don't mesh well with the narrative. This genre lives or dies by its ability to organically integrate songs that can and should push the story forward... but in this case, they routinely bring momentum to a halt.

Are the roots of Alice Walker's original story still potent? Yes. Is the drama effectively told? For the most part. Can the majority of its performers sing their asses off? Absolutely. Yet the end result of this big-screen musical adaptation still mostly left me feeling cold: even with a few obvious highlights and performative standouts, it honestly doesn't seem all that necessary. Nonetheless, fans of the source material -- which may as well include both Walker's original novel and the 1985 film -- will at least want to give it a fair shake, and anyone who saw and enjoyed it in theaters will be mostly pleased with Warner Bros.' home video packages, available separately on both 4K UHD and Blu-ray.

The Color Purple 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from the Blu-ray edition, available separately and reviewed here.

I've become so used to awarding Warner Bros.' 4K discs with consistently high marks that it's honestly surprising to get one that falls a little short. Case in point is The Color Purple, which checks most of the boxes for visual excellence yet, like the film itself, still left me feeling cold for very specific reasons. First, the good: this 2160p / HDR10 (Dolby Vision compatible) transfer features overwhelmingly impressive fine detail, allowing viewers to soak in much of its admittedly impressive production design and attention to background detail more fully. Superior contrast levels give the picture a smooth and almost buttery appearance, which plays extremely well with the film's dependence on natural light that pours through large storefront windows and other interiors, most of which feature limited electric light in keeping with the time period. Black levels don't run especially deep by design but likewise make their presence known when needed (especially during night scenes), overwhelmingly giving this transfer a very thick and stable appearance that's further supported by excellent encoding on this triple-layer (100GB) disc which runs at a consistently high bit rate.

But the colors? I'm not sure what happened here, but the colors are disappointingly drab with a gauzy palette that quite literally pales in comparison to the separate Blu-ray. Even that 1080p disc isn't especially vivid, but the 4K disc's less saturated values -- and overall slightly darker appearance, which also contributes to its flatter atmosphere -- is almost immediately noticeable and, in direct comparison to the Blu-ray, somehow less effective in its ability to convey the story's mixture of emotions. Overall, I'd almost consider it a toss-up when placed against the Blu-ray in a pound-for-pound competition: are better image detail, contrast levels, and encoding worth the trade-off? Maybe, maybe not... but as surprising as it is to admit, this native 4K production quite simply isn't a slam dunk on UHD.

The Color Purple 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Color Purple's default Dolby Atmos mix is a winner, offering a wide and frequently enveloping soundstage that remains impressive at key moments. It plays more or less as expected: frequent dialogue-driven scenes offer largely front-forward presentation with light atmospheric touches, while emotionally intense sequences and peppered musical performances dial up the intensity considerably, employing regular use of the side and rear channels to convey a more "blanketed" atmosphere that sits somewhere between a genuine stage production and a more cinematic one. Height channels are used sparingly and mostly to reinforce the sides and surrounds, as only a handful of moments call for discrete use of upward directionality. Overall, a solid sonic presentation and this disc's obvious highlight.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the film and all bonus features listed below.

The Color Purple 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and a Digital Copy redemption code. The extras are lightly entertaining but I feel like something more substantial could have been made out of them.

• Creating The Color Purple: A Bold New Take on the Beloved Classic (6:21) - A surprisingly brief and surface-level behind-the-scenes overview of the film's beginnings and early development including a 2022 table read, concept art, location shooting, dance rehearsals, the Broadway production, and short interview clips with key cast and crew members, including producers Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.

• Hell Yes! The Iconic Characters of The Color Purple (7:00) - A similarly short and basic piece focusing exclusively on the film's large slate of performers, from the early casting process to their on-set camaraderie, including the blend of relative newcomers with more established singers and dancers.

• In the Flow: Creating The Color Purple's Biggest Musical Moments (8:03) - Director Blitz Bazawule, musicians/lyricists Stephen Bray and Brenda Russell, and others speak about inheriting the Broadway musical numbers, changes and tweaks, and the challenges of adapting everything to the big screen.

• A Story for Me: The Legacy of The Color Purple (6:38) - Stephen Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and others reminisce about the original 1985 film and its obvious impact on this updated version.

• Musical Moments (18 clips) - Direct access to the film's main song breaks and performances.

The Color Purple 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Blitz Bazawule's The Color Purple, the cinematic adaptation of a Broadway show based on Alice Walker's original novel (which was itself already adapted in Steven Spielberg's famous 1985 film), is proudly advertised as "a bold new take on the beloved classic". That's certainly true... but brash confidence doesn't guarantee success and, as such, its (perhaps unavoidably) showy performances result in musical numbers that aggressively compete for attention with the narrative. Some may be more receptive to their lyrical and melodic charms, but I often couldn't wait for the songs to be over so its more traditional narrative would continue. It's still emotionally engaging at key points and the core drama remains effectively conveyed, but the end product is as uneven as those disparate parts might suggest. Warner Bros.' 4K UHD presentation is similarly uneven, with a smooth 2160p / HDR10 transfer that's surprisingly less colorful than its Blu-ray counterpart, although the Dolby Atmos audio is great and its extras are worth a once-over.