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Musical Film 'The Color Purple' Dances from Trauma to Triumph

Cast members, Director Blitz Bazawule and Alicia Keys attend a premiere for the film "The Color Purple" in Los Angeles, California, US, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
Cast members, Director Blitz Bazawule and Alicia Keys attend a premiere for the film "The Color Purple" in Los Angeles, California, US, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
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Musical Film 'The Color Purple' Dances from Trauma to Triumph

Cast members, Director Blitz Bazawule and Alicia Keys attend a premiere for the film "The Color Purple" in Los Angeles, California, US, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
Cast members, Director Blitz Bazawule and Alicia Keys attend a premiere for the film "The Color Purple" in Los Angeles, California, US, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

Following the fame of previous versions, Ghanaian filmmaker Blitz Bazawule was not sure the 2023 musical film adaptation of “The Color Purple” was a movie that he could make.
“It’s been a brilliant Pulitzer Prize winning book by Alice Walker, it’s been a multi-nominated film by Steven Spielberg, and of course, a Tony award-winning Broadway play,” he said.
“So, when you step into something like that, it’s very clear the bar’s incredibly high,” he added.
Despite his early concerns, after re-reading Walker’s novel, Bazawule was confident he could add something new to the story.
Following in Spielberg's footsteps, who directed the 1985 film, Bazawule's iteration of “The Color Purple” is the first that is based on the Broadway show, Reuters said.
Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, who starred in the original film as Sofia, and Quincy Jones, returned to serve as producers with a screenplay by Marcus Gardley.
The first film starred Whoopi Goldberg, who won a Golden Globe for her performance as Celie. This time around, the film stars TV show American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino, who was also Celie in the Broadway musical adaptation of the book.
The Grammy-winning music artist received her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress on Dec. 11.
Starring as Celie, Fantasia is joined by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as young Celie, Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Danielle Brooks as Sofia, “Rustin” actor Colman Domingo as Albert “Mister” Johnson and Corey Hawkins as Harpo Johnson.
The period-drama musical dances into US theaters on Dec. 25.
"The Color Purple" follows the story of two Black American teenage sisters, Celie and Nettie, in the American South during the early 1900s.
Celie embarks on a journey to find her freedom after she and Nettie are separated by the men in their lives and must overcome years of abuse.
Domingo and many of his castmates find that the stories of Black women and their families navigating and overcoming complex dynamics are at the core of the film.
"I think we’re dealing with a family here. That’s actually what 'The Color Purple' is about. It’s about these women making changes through adversity and the men who inflict a lot of harm," Domingo said.
Echoing his thoughts on the Warner Bros. movie, Henson said that in addition to unpacking trauma, it is important for the film to explore Black joy.
“Our power lies in our joy. That's why it's imperative that we tap into it, and that's innately what we do,” she added.
With that said, Bazawule does not want audiences to think that the movie is only applicable to the Black community.
“Yes, her journey was specific to the American South in the early 1900s but there are several Celies around us. Sometimes we ourselves are Celies,” he said.

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‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Up in Smoke’ among Movies Entering the National Film Registry

This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
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‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Up in Smoke’ among Movies Entering the National Film Registry

This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)

Nobody puts baby in a corner, but they're putting her in the National Film Registry.

“Dirty Dancing,” along with another 1980s culture-changer, “Beverly Hills Cop,” are entering the Library of Congress' registry, part of an annual group of 25 announced Wednesday that spans 115 years of filmmaking.

“Dirty Dancing” from 1987 used the physicality and chemistry of Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle and Jennifer Grey as Frances “Baby” Houseman to charm generations of moviegoers, while also taking on issues like abortion, classism and antisemitism. In the climactic moment, Swayze defiantly declares, “Nobody puts baby in a corner” before taking Grey to dance to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”

1984's “Beverly Hills Cop,” the first Eddie Murphy film in the registry, arguably made him the world's biggest movie star at the time and made action comedies a blockbuster staple for a decade.

Since 1988, the Librarian of Congress has annually selected movies for preservation that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The current picks bring the registry to 900 films. Turner Classic Movies will host a TV special on Wednesday, screening a selection of the class of 2024.

The oldest film is from 1895 and brought its own form of dirty dancing: “Annabelle Serpentine Dance” is a minute-long short of a shimmying Annabelle Moore that was decried by many as a public indecency for the suggestiveness of her moves. The newest is David Fincher's “The Social Network" from 2010.

A look at some of the films entering the registry “Pride of the Yankees” (1942): The film became the model for the modern sports tear-jerker, with Gary Cooper playing Lou Gehrig and delivering the classic real-life line: “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”

“The Miracle Worker” (1962): Anne Bancroft won an Oscar for best actress for playing title character Anne Sullivan and 16-year-old Patty Duke won best supporting actress for playing her deaf and blind protege Helen Keller in director Arthur Penn's film.

“Up in Smoke” (1978): The first feature to star the duo of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong established a template for the stoner genre and brought weed culture to the mainstream. Marin, who also appears in the inductee “Spy Kids” from 2001, is one of many Latinos with prominent roles in this year's crop of films.

“Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan” (1982): The second movie in the “Star Trek” franchise featured one of filmdom's great villains in Ricardo Montalban's Khan, and showed that the world of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock could bring vital thrills to the cinema.

“Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt” (1989): The Oscar-winning documentary on the NAMES Project Aids Memorial Quilt was a landmark telling of the devastation wrought by the disease.

“My Own Private Idaho” (1991): Director Gus Van Sant's film featured perhaps the greatest performance of River Phoenix, a year before the actor's death at age 23.

“American Me” (1992): Edward James Olmos starred and made his film directorial debut in this tale of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles and the brutal prison experience of its main character.

“No Country for Old Men” (2007): Joel and Ethan Coen broke through at the Oscars with their adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, winning best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay, while Javier Bardem won best supporting actor for playing a relentless killer with an unforgettable haircut.