Purple Rain

The Kid is a Minneapolis musician whose band, the Revolution, is building a following in the local club scene. At home he faces a violent, unhappy family life and his own temper, which he tries not to turn into the same cruelty he sees in his father. He becomes involved with Apollonia, a singer he wants for his own group, while Morris, who fronts a rival funk band, works to take both his audience and her attention. Music is the space where the Kid can say what he otherwise cannot.

Albert Magnoli directed the film and wrote the screenplay with William Blinn; Robert Cavallo, Steven Fargnoli and Joseph Ruffalo produced it. Prince plays the Kid, with Apollonia Kotero as Apollonia, Morris Day as his rival, Jerome Benton, Olga Karlatos and Clarence Williams III. Released in July 1984, the film cost about 7 million dollars and took roughly 68 million dollars worldwide, a large return on its budget.

Audience response is moderate rather than enthusiastic: on IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from around 26,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.7 out of 10 from a much smaller base of 436 votes. A film critics' rating of 6.6 out of 10 from 61 reviews places critical opinion close to the audience averages.