The Purple Rain project was initiated by musician Prince Rogers Nelson (a.k.a. “Prince”) and his three managers, Robert Cavallo, Joseph Ruffalo, and Steven Fargnoli, as a means to showcase Prince’s talent and capitalize on the new phenomenon of music videos in the early 1980s. After the success of Prince’s fifth album, 1999 (1982), the artist planned to combine his next release with a feature film and began work on Purple Rain.
       On 28 Apr 1983, Rolling Stone announced that Prince had completed writing a treatment for an untitled motion picture. However, production notes in AMPAS library files reported that William Blinn was the first writer, adapting Prince’s lyrics into a screenplay. Approximately six months later, in Oct 1983, Prince’s current record company, Warner Bros., guaranteed a film distribution deal after reviewing a presentation of the songs and treatment, according to a 22 Aug 1984 LAT column, even though the venture presented a considerable financial liability. As noted in a 10 Aug 1984 BAM article, long-form music videos had not yet been tested in theatrical release, and recent rock concert films had been unprofitable. In addition, Prince was notoriously private and inaccessible to the press, making him unavailable for publicity campaigns and potentially disinteresting to general audiences. As such, Cavallo, Ruffalo, and Fargnoli secured the film’s $7 million budget from independent, non-music industry investors.
       James Foley was the producers’ first choice for director, but he was unavailable and recommended Albert Magnoli as a replacement. Although Magnoli had no feature film credits to his name at that time, he had directed an award-winning thesis short at the University of Southern California (USC) called Jazz, in which he followed three jazz musicians for over one year. When Magnoli declined the project, citing disinterest in Blinn’s script, Cavallo asked him for advice about the narrative, and Magnoli spontaneously concocted with the general outline for what would become Purple Rain, according to BAM. Impressed with the story, Cavallo sent Magnoli to Minneapolis, MN, where he met Prince and secured his approval. Magnoli had not listened to the Purple Rain songs and knew very little about Prince when he conceived the narrative, disproving public sentiment that the film was biographical. However, several aspects of the story reflected Prince’s personal life, including the musician “Father.” Prince’s real-life father, John L. Nelson, was a jazz musician and is credited onscreen for writing “Father’s Song.” The tune was released on the Purple Rain album as “Computer Blue,” with words and music by Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matthew Fink, and John L. Nelson.
       The role of “Apollonia” was initially written for Prince’s protégé and lover, Denise “Vanity” Matthews, for whom he wrote the 1982 hit song “Nasty Girl.” When she ended their relationship, and was considered for a role in a Martin Scorsese picture, the filmmakers had little time to find a replacement and recruited first-time actress Patricia Kotero, who changed her stage name to “Apollonia” for the movie. Vanity’s vocal group, “Vanity 6,” was renamed “Apollonia 6,” and replicated Vanity’s highly-sexualized act. According to a 2 Feb 1984 Rolling Stone brief, Prince’s stand-in, Byron Hector, was fired for complaining about Kotero’s acting skills.
       Principal photography began 1 Nov 1983 in Minneapolis, as listed in a 15 Nov 1983 HR production chart. Filming took place over seven weeks, according to production notes, with MN locations including Henderson, Eagan, and Lake Elmo. Exteriors were shot at the First Avenue and 7th Street Entry nightclubs in Minneapolis, and interiors were captured on soundstages constructed at an abandoned locomotive repair shop on the shores of Cedar Lake. The final budget was $7 million.
       Warner Bros. strategically released singles from the Purple Rain album in the months leading up to the film’s national opening on 27 Jul 1984, and the LP was available for purchase several days before the movie hit theaters. Various contemporary sources, including a 16 May 1984 Var article, noted that Warner Bros. was conducting a “synergistic” marketing campaign that incorporated its music and film properties. MTV, which was co-owned by Warner Bros. at the time, ran “promotional music videos” that included footage from the film, as well as a ten-minute short film about the movie. On 13 Jul 1984, LAT reported that the pre-released soundtrack singles were a commercial and critical success, creating mass anticipation for the film’s opening. In addition, sneak previews in Denver, CO, and San Diego, CA, garnered “the highest approval ratings in Warner Bros. history.” Although the studio initially planned a cautious “region-by-region” release pattern to test demographics, the surge of interest prompted Warner Bros. to open the film in approximately 700 theaters nationwide.
       Purple Rain made its world premiere at Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, on 26 Jul 1984, one day before its general release. According to a 13 Jul 1984 HR news item, the soundtrack had already sold nearly two million copies, and the first single, “When Doves Cry,” ranked #1 on pop, R&B, and dance music charts. Two days after the film opened, a 29 Jul 1984 HR column reported that the Purple Rain LP had just reached sales of eleven million, making it the fourth soundtrack in U.S. history to be granted Platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America. Since previous soundtracks had been compilations, Prince was the first solo artist to achieve the Platinum award. By 31 Jul 1984, the film dominated U.S. box-office returns, as noted in an LAHExam news brief published that day. Grossing $7.7 million in its first four days of release, Purple Rain surpassed Ghostbusters (1984, see entry) in ticket sales. One week later, however, Ghostbusters regained momentum, earning $300,000 more than Purple Rain’s gross of $6.2 million, according to an 8 Aug 1984 NYT report. At that time, the picture had grossed $18.8 million in ten days.
       The film was generally reviewed favorably, with the 4 Jul 1984 Var calling it “a rousing contemporary addition to the classic backstage musical genre,” and the 27 Jul 1984 LAT declaring it a success “beyond its own audacious dreams.” However, Purple Rain was also regarded as a predominately commercial enterprise, as the 14 Aug 1984 Village Voice reported it was the “most expensive video ever made,” and the 27 Jul 1984 NYT noted “it demonstrates the skills of the recording industry far more effectively than it does those of movie making.”
       On the day following Prince’s untimely death on 21 Apr 2016, the AMC theater chain announced plans to screen Purple Rain at eighty-seven locations nationwide, on 28 Apr 2016, and tributes throughout the world featured Purple Rain. According to the 22 Apr 2016 HR, the picture grossed over $80 million in its initial release.
       In 1990, Warner Bros. released Graffiti Bridge, a sequel written and directed by Prince (see entry).
       End credits state: “The producers wish to express special thanks to: The State of Minnesota; the Minnesota Motion Picture and Television Board; the 1st Avenue and 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis; the mayor, police department and people of Minneapolis” and, “May u live 2 see the dawn.”