Purple Rain appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Shot on a low budget, Rain showed some rough edges but mainly came across well.
Sharpness was perfectly fine. Given many difficult lighting conditions, parts of the film lacked terrific delineation, but that was inevitable. The majority of the image seemed solid, though, with appropriate definition.
No problems with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to appear, which left this as a clean presentation.
With a pretty wide palette – albeit one that inevitably embraced purple – the colors seemed fairly good. Low-budget 80s films didn’t excel in this regard, so don’t expect the movie’s hues to dazzle, but they showed more than acceptable range and vivacity. HDR added range and punch to the hues.
Another film stock-related area, black levels worked reasonably well. Shadows fared the same – the many low-light sequences didn’t boast great delineation, but they gave us fair clarity.
Whites and contrast got a good boost from HDR. Though the movie remained a product of its era, the 4K UHD made it look about as good as I could expect.
On the other hand, I anticipated a lot more from the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, and the mix lived up to those hopes. Not surprisingly, music dominated the soundfield. The audio emphasized the forward channels, where the songs and score presented very fine stereo imaging.
Other effects spread out the image acceptably well, though they didn’t play a substantial role in the proceedings. Nonetheless, they gave the mix a good feel of atmosphere.
Surrounds played a pretty active role, especially in the way music blossomed to the rear speakers. Some effects used the back channels well, too, such as with the Kid’s motorcycle.
The quality of the audio also appeared good for a 40-year-old movie. Dialogue occasionally sounded slightly flat – and some iffy looping became an issue - but the speech mostly came across as fairly natural and distinctive. I noticed no issues with edginess or intelligibility.
As already mentioned, effects didn’t have much to do in Rain, but they were reasonably accurate and clear. These elements occasionally added good life, such as with the rumble of the Kid’s motorcycle.
Of course, I expected the most from the music, and it delivered, as both score and songs sounded quite good. I’ve listened to the Purple Rain album eight jillion times over the years, and I felt the disc replicated that material accurately.
The mix presented the music with bright highs and positive low-end. I found little about which to complain from the quality of the music on the disc, and that factor led me to give the audio of Rain a “B+”.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the 2016 remastered Blu-ray? I assumed it’d come with the same audio, but instead, the 4K opted for a more active remix. This made it more engaging and involving than the prior 5.1 track.
The 4K’s visuals came with the expected improvements in terms of delineation, colors and blacks. We definitely got a nice upgrade in terms of both picture and sound here.
Note that Rain initially came out on Blu-ray in 2007. Unfortunately, I never saw that disc, so I can’t compare it to the 4K.
The 4K UHD replicates some of the 2016 disc’s extras, and it opens with an audio commentary from director Albert Magnoli, producer Robert Cavallo, and cinematographer Donald E. Thorin. All three sit together for this running, screen-specific discussion.
The participants mostly stay with technical issues. We hear a lot about locations and sets as well as the cold weather conditions in which they shot. We also learn about deleted shots, editing, and visual design.
They chat a little about working with Prince but don’t provide much insight there. You definitely shouldn’t expect that they dish dirt about him.
More than a few instances of dead air as well as the mostly dry content make this commentary drag at times. I don’t think it’s a bad discussion, but it lacks much zest and doesn’t give us a great feel for the production.
After this we get the 12-minute, 22-second First Avenue: The Road to Pop Royalty. It provides info from producers/former members of the Time Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, First Avenue manager Steve McClellan, Revolution members Dr. Fink, Bobby Z, Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman, Suicide Commandos member Chris Osgood, Suburbs member Chan Poling, First Avenue DJ Mike Bosley, Prince’s former tour manager Alan Leeds, radio DJ Walter “Q Bear” Banks, club promoter “Cowboy”, author/journalist Neal Karlen, and Jim Walsh of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
“Road” goes through the club’s history as well as its layout, its attached club Seventh Street Entry and acts who played both, the diversity of the audience and acts, Prince’s appearances at the club, and the place’s representation in the film and the way the flick affected it.
It’s too bad we don’t get footage of Prince there, but otherwise this provides a good look at the subject. We receive a nice feel for the location and its facets in this tight little piece.
The set ends with eight music videos. We find clips for Prince’s “When Doves Cry”, “Let’s Go Crazy”, “Purple Rain”, “I Would Die 4 U/Baby, I’m a Star”, and “Take Me With U”. We also get pieces for the Time’s “Jungle Love” and “The Bird” as well as Apollonia Six’s “Sex Shooter”.
Truthfully, only two of these count as true music videos: “When Doves Cry” and “Sex Shooter”. The former tosses in some film clips but mostly consists of footage - lip-synch and otherwise - shot specifically for the video.
The latter tries to tell a story in which Apollonia tells off Prince and moves on, but it mainly shows lip-synch shots of Apollonia 6, ones not taken from the movie.
”Let’s Go Crazy”, “Purple Rain”, “Jungle Love” and “The Bird” simply provide conglomerations of film clips and aren’t very interesting. “I Would Die 4 U/Baby I’m a Star” comes from a 1985 concert in Syracuse that came out on video back in the Eighties.
At almost 18 minutes, it’s way too long and becomes pretty tedious.
“Take Me With U” is more intriguing. It’s another live performance, and I assumed it would be from the Syracuse show, but it isn’t. Whatever its origins, it’s a great addition to the set.
As noted, we lose a lot of content from the prior BD. The 4K drops a documentary called “Backstage Pass”, a featurette titled “Riffs, Ruffles and a Revolution”, footage from the “MTV Premiere Party”, and the film’s trailer.
That’s a lot of missing content, and I don’t know why the 4K drops these components. I would assume rights issues interfered, but whatever the case, their absence disappoints.
A career-making success, Purple Rain seemed great in 1984 but now comes across as dated and fairly silly. The performance scenes still rock, and a few glimmers of good moments appear due to the banter of Morris Day and Jerome Benton, but otherwise the flick’s something of an amateurish mess. The 4K UHD presents strong picture audio as well as some nice extras, albeit fewer than on prior releases. Prince fans will definitely want this one, as it represents his milestone work well, but I can’t push a recommendation to others.
To rate this film, visit the DVD review of PURPLE RAIN
