While fans may still have to wait some time for archival Prince material to emerge from that fabled vault, there will be at least one release ready for the holidays: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced The Prince Movie Collection, featuring all three of his feature films on Blu-ray with newly remastered picture, due out this fall.
Of course, Purple Rain needs nearly no introduction: the stylized, vaguely autobiographical feature starred Prince as "The Kid" alongside his band, The Revolution; a potential protégée (Apollonio Kotero); and a bitter rival (the comically villainous Morris Day and his band, The Time, another Prince production). All of them attempt to navigate the local Minneapolis music scene (real-life club First Avenue is its own star), while The Kid battles the demons of his dysfunctional family.
The film may have been a little campy, but the Purple Rain soundtrack, featuring chart-toppers "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" plus hits "I Would Die 4 U" and the glorious title track, is arguably the greatest first dive into the crystal-clear pool that is Prince's discography. This release, which features a brand-new 1080p HD remaster of the film and a 5.1 surround mix, also includes the same bonus features from the 20th anniversary deluxe DVD release from 2004:
- Audio commentary from director Albert Magnoli, producer Robert Cavallo and director of photography Donald E. Thorin
- Three original documentaries: First Avenue: The Road to Pop Royalty; Purple Rain Backstage Pass: Behind the Scenes, and Riffs, Ruffles and a Revolution: The Impact and Influence of Purple Rain, all of which feature new interviews with the production team and members of The Revolution
- Footage from the original film premiere, shot by MTV
- Eight music videos: Prince and The Revolution's "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy," "Purple Rain," a live cut of "I Would Die 4 U/Baby I'm a Star" and "Take Me with U"; plus Apollonia 6's "Sex Shooter" and The Time's "Jungle Love" and "The Bird"
- The original theatrical trailer
The box also includes the premiere Blu-ray releases of Under the Cherry Moon, Prince's 1986 black-and-white farce; and 1990's Graffiti Bridge, a spiritual quasi-sequel to Purple Rainfeaturing Prince and Morris revisiting their feud in a stylized if disjointed musical film. Both films also feature brand new 1080p HD masters, but the only features appear to be the original theatrical trailers, a vaguely disappointing revelation as previous DVD releases also included hard-to-find music videos.
The Prince Movie Collection will be available for the fans in your life on October 4. Each new transfer will be available on its own on the same street date (housed in purple variants of the standard Blu-ray case).
The Prince Movie Collection Amazon U.S.
Purple Rain Amazon U.S.
Under the Cherry Moon Amazon U.S.
Graffiti Bridge Amazon U.S.
Too bad Warner's couldn't include Prince's great concert film "Sign 'O' The Times" in order to make this a complete collection of Prince's films. "Sign" is so long overdue for a Blu-Ray (or DVD) release.
Sign isn't owned by Warners. It has had a number of releases on DVD and Blu.
True, "Sign 'O' The Times" isn't owned by Warner Bros. but it still would've been great if they could license the film to include it on this set. And while "Sign" has been released on DVD/Blu-Ray in Japan, it is expensive so I'm holding out for a USA reissue (hopefully with extra songs).
I have Sign on blu. It's available from Japan. Multi-region.
How's the quality of the Japan "Sign" DVD?