Revisiting Prince’s Movies On The 5th Anniversary Of His Death

When Prince died on April 21, 2016 at the age of 57, the victim of an accidental fentanyl overdose, the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer was already living as a legend, and had been doing so for most of the past three decades, so his untimely passing cast a pall over his established bona fides as an icon, star, and ever-restless creative entity. On this fifth anniversary of Prince’s death, we’re taking a look at the Purple One’s onscreen appearances, from that timeless classic Purple Rain, to a few perhaps less-than-classic moments that nevertheless represented the work of an artist who was never, ever satisfied.

PURPLE RAIN (1984)

DIRECTOR: Albert Magnoli
CAST: Prince, Morris Day
RATING: R

A landmark moment for Prince’s career, a landmark music film, a landmark Minneapolis film — alright, a landmark to the entire decade of the 1980s — Purple Rain marks the key moment when Prince became The Purple One, when his inherent charisma, sensuality, creativity, elite musical acumen and sheer force of creative will delivered a fully-formed rock star directly to the public’s consciousness. Anchored by those iconic tracks from the 13x Platinum-selling soundtrack — “Let’s Go Crazy,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “Take Me With You,” and the epic, stirring title track, which is like a rock opera in and of itself — Purple Rain ended up clearing over $70 million on its meager $7 million dollar budget, and also snagged an Oscar for Best Original Song Score.

At its core, Purple Rain concerns The Kid (Prince), a talented singer and songwriter who’s on the run from an abusive homelife. His rival is Morris Day and his group The Time, and the affections and aspirations of Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero) are caught in the middle. There is lots of smokey lighting, and brooding while motorcycle riding, and frilly cravats. You can revisit Dave Chappelle’s “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories” sketch for the most enduring riff on the powerful vibes of Prince put out with this, his most lasting cinematic achievement.

Where to stream Purple Rain

UNDER THE CHERRY MOON (1986)

DIRECTOR: Prince
CAST: Prince, Jerome Benton, Kristin Scott Thomas
RATING: PG-13

Under the Cherry Moon was a film ensconced in the MTV firmament. It was 1986, and Prince, riding high on the musical and cinematic success of Purple Rain, chose this kooky con artists-and-damsels tale as his follow-up. Original director Mary Lambert was known for helming music videos (MTV staples like Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and Janet Jackson’s “Control”). But Lambert walked off the project, and suddenly Prince was in the director’s chair. A lot of good it did him — Cherry Moon tied with Howard the Duck for the most Razzy nominations that year. (Notably, it does feature Kristin Scott Thomas in her movie debut.)

The film premiered at an MTV-sponsored event, and was heavily promoted on the network; after all, Prince was a huge part of its early success. But that promotional weight likely soured viewers on Under the Cherry Moon, because it decidedly was not some kind of Purple Rain sequel. Just like the melodic scope of its soundtrack, the Platinum album Parade, Prince was never an artist willing to settle on a single look, sound, or feeling.

Where to stream Under The Cherry Moon

SIGN O’ THE TIMES (1987)

DIRECTOR: Prince, Albert Magnoli (uncredited)
CAST: Prince
RATING: PG-13

1987’s Sign o’ the Times began life as a straightforward concert film that would show off the highlights of Prince’s European tour in Spring and Summer of that year, his first performances without the recently disbanded Revolution. But when the Purple One deemed the audio and video from those concerts unusable, the music sequences were instead filmed at Prince’s Paisley Park headquarters, and interspersed with skits and dialogue. (Come for the robotic, skeletal funk of the title track; stay for Sheila E.’s drum solo and the music video for the Sign single “U Got the Look,” featuring Sheena Easton.) Tasked with following up the flop Under the Cherry Moon, Sign o’ the Times didn’t make much of a splash in theaters. But it became a kind of accompanying visual document to Prince’s ambitious, Platinum-selling album of the same name, a record that’s been hailed as one of the prolific songwriter, performer, and producer’s finest achievements.

Where to stream Sign O’ The Times

GRAFFITI BRIDGE (1991)

DIRECTOR: Prince
CAST: Prince, Morris Day
RATING: PG-13

In 1991, Prince reflected on the watery reception to his film Graffiti Bridge. “(It was) one of the purest, most spiritual, uplifting things I’ve ever done,” he told USA Today. “It was non-violent, positive and had no blatant sex scenes. Maybe it will take people 30 years to get it. They trashed The Wizard of Oz at first, too.” And well, three decades on from its 1990 release, Graffiti Bridge is remembered mostly as a spirited, if hokey, addendum to Purple Rain. Prince returns as The Kid, now the owner of a club called Glam Slam, and his rival Morris Day has returned, too. There are appearances by George Clinton and Mavis Staples, the arrival of an angel on earth figures heavily into the plot, and there’s also a battle of the bands. Prince wrote and directed Graffiti Bridge; besides being its star; he garnered another round of Razzy nominations for the effort, but the soundtrack was better received, and has since been certified Gold.

Where to stream Graffiti Bridge

BONUS: You can’t go wrong with Prince’s legendary Super Bowl Halftime Show, either! Highlights below, but the full show is here.