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The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Starring: Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels Director: Woody Allen Rating: PG
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| Storyline: |
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In The Purple Rose of Cairo a character from the silver screen walks into the life of a bored depression-era housewife.
"One of the best movies about movies ever made" (Time Magazine), Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo slips through the looking glass of cinematic convention to create a magical, "intoxicating" (Cosmopolitan) comic fable about life, love, illusion and hope. Starring Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello and Dianne Wiest, this Academy AwardŽ-nominated film showcases Allen "at his most imaginative and compassionate, capturing the magic of the cinema" (Screen International) in all of its bittersweet glory!
Lonely Depression-era waitress Cecilia (Farrow) is hopelessly addicted to Hollywood movies. Spellbound by her new favorite, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Cecilia is astonished when the leading man (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.
The film that Woody Allen has said is his favorite of all that he's made, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO unites the competing tendencies in his work towards realism (be it comic, as in ANNIE HALL, or dramatic, as in INTERIORS) and comedic fantasy (such as SLEEPER or BANANAS). Cecilia (Mia Farrow) lives in New Jersey during the Great Depression, which appropriately describes her mood: she works a dead-end job as a waitress that supports her and her abusive, deadbeat husband Monk (Danny Aiello). Her only release is at the cinema, where she repeatedly goes to see a trite romantic adventure called "The Purple Rose of Cairo." But when Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), the lead character of the film, steps off the screen and falls in love with her, Cecilia has to deal with the disjoint between her own life and the glamorous world on the screen. Although the film begins realistically--there is close attention paid to period setting and costuming--the conceit of a film character emerging from the screen is one Allen would rarely use except in his outright comedies. However, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO blends dramatic and fish-out-of-water comedic situations to explore the disparity between the real world and fantasy. What is really at issue in the film is the positive psychological effects of the fantasies of the traditional film world. The film is the product of a true film lover, and stands as Allen's defense of the entertainments often derided by critics and other filmmakers of his stature. He received an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay. |
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| Cast & Crew: |
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Starring:
Mia Farrow | Jeff Daniels | Danny Aiello | Irving Metzman | Stephanie Farrow | David Kieserman | Elaine Grollman | Victoria Zussin | ...more
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Directed By:
Woody Allen
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| Technical Information: |
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Genre:
Comedy, Drama, Romantic
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DVD Release Date:
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Format: Region 1
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Rating:
PG
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Year:
1985
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Regional Coding:
R1:
Will only play on North American Region 1 or multi-region DVD players.
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Number of Discs:
1
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Subtitles:
English, French, Spanish
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Screen Ratio:
Anamorphic (16:9), Widescreen Edition - 1.85:1
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| Sound System: | |
English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) | |
Running Time:
82 minutes
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Studio:
MGM/UA
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UPC/Barcode Number:
027616860477
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Closed-Captioned: Yes
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Color: Yes
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| DVD Features: |
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- Collectible Booklet
- Original Theatrical Trailer
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