

The Color Purple
It's about life. It's about love. It's about us.
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.
TMDB
7.7/10
2,047 votes
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Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $15M
- Box office
- $146.3M
- Language
- English
- prison
- rape
- sibling relationship
- jazz
- southern usa
- africa
- empowerment
- adoption
- abusive father
- violent husband
- jazz singer or musician
- letter
Top billed cast















Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Release dates
IndiaIN
- TheatricalU14 Dec 1986
United StatesUS
- PremiereNew York City, New York16 Dec 1985
- Theatrical (limited)PG-1318 Dec 1985
- TheatricalPG-137 Feb 1986
- TheatricalPG-13Re-release16 Jan 1987
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical1511 Jul 1986
AustraliaAU
- TheatricalPG26 Jun 1986
ArgentinaAR
- Theatrical3 Jul 1986
BrazilBR
- Theatrical1428 Mar 1986
ColombiaCO
- Theatrical21 Aug 1986
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical115 Sept 1986
FinlandFI
- TheatricalK-1619 Sept 1986
FranceFR
- PremiereCannes Film Festival1 May 1986
- TheatricalU20 Aug 1986
- TVParis Première26 Dec 2025
GermanyDE
- Theatrical12West Germany20 Aug 1986
- TheatricalEast Germany19 Aug 1988
GreeceGR
- Theatrical12 Sept 1986
Frequently asked questions
The Color Purple was released on 18 December 1985.
Audience reviews
2- G10/10
GenerationofSwine
1/12/2023
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 realize…
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
7/2/2026
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 h…
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