The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

One of the sweetest smells in Woody's rosebush...

If there is one Woody Allen film that I think anyone can enjoy, it is `The Purple Rose of Cairo' (although `Hannah and Her Sisters' is quite universal too). There is something about the way that Mia Farrow's character Cecilia connects so well with the average human being, and the way that her love affair with screen character Tom Baxter feels so genuine even when it is impossible. I just can't help but feel this wonderful feeling of closure every time I watch this movie (which has only been a few times since I just recently have been turned onto Allen in general). I just feel such a raw connection to this movie, and I know that many have felt the same connection.

The film takes place in 1930's New Jersey and follows unhappily married Cecilia as she smothers her sorrows by frequenting the local movie theater to watch a film entitled `The Purple Rose of Cairo'. Cecilia's husband is abusive and unfaithful and her clumsy demeanor has just cost her her job. Feeling low and worthless she decides to watch `The Purple Rose of Cairo' once again to lift her spirits only to have her world turned upside down when one of the characters, archaeologist Tom Baxter, walks right off the screen into the theater and drags her out the back door. Tom is everything that Cecilia needs and she him, but their romance is ill fated. Hollywood is up in arms at the fact that Tom Baxter's all over the country are walking off the screen and the film is suffering since none of the other characters can function without things back to normal. Cecilia's husband begins to suspect something fishy with regards to his wife's newfound affair and the actor Gil Shepherd, who plays Tom Baxter, is desperately trying to convince his character to return to the film from which he escaped.

The film sounds like frothy fun, and it is fun, but it is also far from frothy.

`The Purple Rose of Cairo' is a very strong character study on the fact that all of us make a difference. Even a small character in a film is there for a reason and without him the rest of the world ceases to operate. It also shows the desperation in all of us to break free from the confines of expectation and just be our own person, instead of what the world has conditioned us to be. Cecilia wants to be like the characters in her favorite movies and Tom wants to be like the average Joe sitting in the seat in front of him. We all want what we can't have, but in the end have to find that balance that makes us happy.

Woody Allen is a classic director, and the more I watch of his films the more enamored I am by the creative genius that he was (and at times still is). I have never been a huge follower of directors, always being more of an actor's man than anything else, but recently I've been researching directors and their body of work and I must say that Woody Allen is one of the most impressive. A lot of people that I know are put off by Allen's style of filmmaking, but what I find most impressive about films like `The Purple Rose of Cairo', `Hannah and Her Sisters' and `Alice' is that they have so much of Allen's style while building themselves into another bracket altogether from his more famed work like `Annie Hall'. This is without doubt a Woody Allen film, but it is an Allen film that any and everyone can enjoy. September 5, 2008

Good movie, poor packaging, and no extras

The original movie is very good. Unfortunately, MGM cares so little for consumers that they didn't provide any extras and left me with tape residue that made the box too sticky to put on the shelf.
January 12, 2008

The Stuff of Dreams

No one has ever doubted Woody Allen's sentimental attachment to the power of the movies to make some strong cultural statements about its place in modern American society. This film cleverly addresses that issue by going to the source- the audience. And in this particular case a significant demographic part of that audience-young women, married or not, who peopled the theaters in the hey day of movie going before World War II.

Here Mia Farrow plays the put upon wife of a ne'er do well husband who seeks solace through getting wrapped up in celluloid. And, lo and behold, then up pops Mr. Right (Jeff Daniels) right off the screen. Unfortunately his existence is mere celluloid but in the end he may be more real than the movie industry moguls who in real life care about the bottom line more than the delivery of dreams. This theme has been done many times in many ways, including variations by Woody himself, but it is nice to see it done with a nice touch of humor, pathos and bathos and a well done performance by Farrow.
January 4, 2008

romantic!

this movie touches the heart and proves that dreams can come true. it is funny,sometimes sad but all around a good movie. it stars jeff daniels and mia farrow and they could have not picked a better couple. they have so much chemistry. i would advise any one to watch it and enjoy! September 1, 2007

Not Allen's best, but charming and entertaining

There's something appealing about those few Woody Allen films in which
he doesn't act, as they give us a chance to catch a glimpse of his
amazing talent from a different angle. The Purple Rose of Cairo is, if
I'm not mistaken, the second time in his career he'd stayed behind the
camera (the previous one was Interiors), and much like he would again
in the 90's with Everyone Says I Love You and Sweet & Lowdown, Woody
has taken the opportunity to examine film and entertainment from a
different angle, and not use the kind of sly dialog and dry humor that
usually character his starring roles.

These films, of course, don't quite have the depth of his earlier, more
personal works - namely and especially, Annie Hall and Manhattan. Nor
is it as daringly original like 1983's underrated masterpiece Zelig.
The Purple Rose of Cairo is closer to it's predecessor of the previous
year, Broadway Danny Rose, and like that film it's, on most levels,
entertainment as pure in form as Woody has ever made. Still, what both
these movies have in abundances is charm and atmosphere, and in my
opinion, Purple Rose is the better of the two. In Purple Rose Allen
revisits his great love-hate relationship with Hollywood, and he
creates a charming ode to Hollywood of the 30's while never neglecting
to point out how naive and out of context it really was. Clearly,
there's no room for a Manhattenite Woody Allen character in there - he
gracefully gives center stage to his spouse and muse Mia Farrow, who
gives one of her most powerful performances in an Allen film. She's
supported by a lovely young Jeff Daniels and a fantastic Danny Aiello,
who both highlight the huge gaps between Hollywood life, small town
life and the movies during the Great Depression.

The Purple Rose of Cairo is neither deep or particularly involving; the
characters and relationships are, for the most part, stereotypical and
symbolic and lack any real intense exploration. What Allen does succeed
in creating in it, and wonderfully so, is atmosphere, an amazing
atmosphere that manages to capture the viewers and transport them. And
so, even if it's neither extremely important nor extremely funny,
Purple Rose is grabbing and entertaining all the way through, and it
manages to blend the comedy, romance and fantasy elements into a
perfectly charming piece of cinema. Purple Rose is a pleasure,
recommended for viewing with a loved one, in a darkened living room, on
a big screen TV, with a big bowl of popcorn. August 18, 2007

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