Rent The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

3.9 of 5 from 159 ratings
1h 18min
Rent The Purple Rose of Cairo Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
Lonely Depression-era waitress Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is hopelessly addicted to Hollywood movies. Spellbound by her new favorite, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Cecilia is astonished when the leading man (Jeff Daniels) suddenly walks off the screen to meet her. Wooed by his charm, Cecilia finds herself falling for him - until she meets the real actor who plays him. Romanced by both a fictional character and a famous star, Cecilia struggles to locate the shifting line between fantasy and reality, only to discover that sometimes it's just a heartbeat away.
Actors:
, , , , , , , , , , Joseph G. Graham, , , , , , , , , Mary Hedahl
Directors:
Producers:
Robert Greenhut
Writers:
Woody Allen
Others:
R, Greenberg Associates
Studio:
MGM
Genres:
Classics, Comedy, Romance
Collections:
10 Films to Watch if You Like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 10 Films to Watch if You Like: Day For Night, A Brief History of Archaeology on Screen: Part 1, A History of Cinemas in Films, A History of Films about Film: Part 1, Fred and Ginger: Duets and Solos, New waves of Polish Cinema, Romantic Film Pairings for Valentine's Day, A Brief History of Film..., What to Watch Next If You Liked Nomadland
Awards:

1986 BAFTA Best Original Screen Play

1986 BAFTA Best Film

BBFC:
Release Date:
11/03/2002
Run Time:
78 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, French Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, German Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
Danish, Dutch, English Hard of Hearing, French, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Theatrical Trailer
BBFC:
Release Date:
09/01/2017
Run Time:
84 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0, English LPCM Mono
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour and B & W
BLU-RAY Regions:
B

More like The Purple Rose of Cairo

Reviews (2) of The Purple Rose of Cairo

Purple rose of cairo - The Purple Rose of Cairo review by VK

Spoiler Alert
24/08/2016

Wonderful film. Woody Allen is the best of the best filmmakers. The film is funny but not clownish and not a 4 letter word or violent action in sight. Just great.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Heartbreaker. - The Purple Rose of Cairo review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
16/02/2021

A cute fantasy set in the depression of the 1930s in which Mia Farrow (Cecilia) is so starved of love that she dreams, or wills, a poet-explorer played by Jeff Daniels off the cinema screen and into her arms. As he is a celluloid character written for an escapist comedy, Daniel's clean cut adventurer is an idealised personality who must learn to live in the real world where stage money is not accepted and those provocatively dressed women are sex workers. So he can fall in love with Cecilia.

Then, in an echo of Buster Keaton's 1924 classic, Sherlock Jr, Mia ultimately enters  the screen herself, and experiences the glamour of the golden age of cinema. It is a brilliant technical feat  from cinematographer Gordon Willis, in which characters enter/leave the screen to/from the auditorium, from black and white to colour. The sets and  period detail are also exceptional.

 Behind the comic and romantic premise, this is a deeply affecting work of illusion in which cinema becomes the drug that palliates the horror that is reality. If the film doesn't quite work it is because the misogynistic, violent and impoverished world that Mia inhabits is so appalling (mainly thanks to a most effective performance from Danny Aiello as her abusive husband) that it is difficult to reconcile that unease with such a sentimental diversion.

The last scene in which Cecilia has been let down again so badly that she struggles to slowly lose herself back into the screen again, in a long close up while Fred and Ginger dance in Top Hat to Cheek to Cheek, is a heartbreaker.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

Unlimited films sent to your door, starting at £15.99 a month.