The Purple Rose of Cairo

When I go to a movie, I want to be entertained....I really do not want to see real life situations of depression, abuse or stress, unless it has a "Happy Ending" . I want all movies to have happy endings....always. I'm one of those that will read the last chapter of a book to make sure the ending is happy. As drosse67 from Virginia said: "A movie I like to recommend to people who really dislike Woody Allen" Well, I am one of those that really dislike Woody Allen. So I decided to take the challenge. Since I love fantasy type movies, this one led me down the proverbial primrose path. As the movie neared the end, I could visualize the many different endings that this fantasy could have. How wonderful to have this poor abused women live happily ever after. After all, we all know that all good fantasies have a happy endings, right??. Well, true to form for Woody Allen and his depressing attitude toward life, he couldn't leave this one alone either. The ending left me flat and disappointed. So many possibilities, only Woody Allen would choose this one. The ending takes a good 7 out of 10 movie and brings it down to 3 out of 10.....Turn it off before it ends and imagine a good ending.

First, when you can't even fill 90 minutes of screen time with your writing, especially in a "dramedy" like this, you don't have a substantive story. Sure, it's cute and whimsical, but it makes light of legitimate social problems during the Great Depression—and that's not funny at all. Second, pretty much every character in this film is a caricature, leaving it with no originality whatsoever. But that's sort of a hallmark of the writer, isn't it? Mia Farrow is wasted in this movie, as are several other fine actors. Perhaps the only saving grace of this film is that the director decided not to act in it. The other point comes from enjoyable set, costume and production design. Don't watch this movie; you'll want the 84 minutes of your life back almost immediately.

Mia Farrow is the wife of an unemployed bully and womanizer Danny Aiello. She works in a diner, and when she tries to forget her lousy life in the Depression she turns to the movies. Currently she is seeing a "B" feature again and again called THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, about a bunch of bored socialites (Edward Herrmann, John Woods, Zoe Caldwell, Van Johnson) who go to Egypt for a change. They meet an archaeologist played by Jeff Daniels, who is trying to find a mythical flower (the one of the film title) that will lead to a true love. We see Farrow go again and again to the film until Daniel starts noticing her and asks if she really likes the film that much. This unsettles Farrow who leaves the theater. But she returns and she sees that Daniel is interested in her. Interested enough to leave the film, much to the consternation of Herrmann and the other characters in the film because they are trained by the fact that they were shot in a way by the film company and edited to follow the same pattern forever. So the characters are at a loss at how to continue. Also they can't leave the film (as Daniel did). Allan is one of the few directors brave enough to look at philosophical situations in his film. Here it is the odd rules governing reality and falsity. The world of the movie is as rigid as that of the real world, despite the cinematic Daniel's discovery of color and real space in the outside world. The real world requires real training (not the idiotic false title the cinematic Daniels has as a so-called archaeologist) and real money (Daniels has fake money on him from the movie set). But the characters in the film are losing their mind for being unable to go ahead with the plot without Daniels. That is some of them are: the actress playing the African-American maid in the movie becomes more real in her not acting like a female stereotype (she takes off her shoes and plots down on a couch, to the dismay of the others). The revolt sensed by Daniels stepping out of the screen spreads consternation in other worlds: the theater management and the movie company see it as a threat of left wingers trying to undermine the American film industry. Indeed, we hear that other copies of the film have incidents elsewhere in the country. The film company sends the real Daniel to the site where his character came to life, and soon it is Daniel v. Daniel wooing Farrow. Who will she choose - and will she choose wisely, between a naive fictional character who adores her and a man of flesh and blood and potential, who is ambitious and devious? But what is wisdom in such a choice? THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO is one of those films that makes one look twice at reality in the world we inhabit, and the world that we seek to enter through our imaginations. It is an exceptionally clever film, and a very funny one. Certainly one of Allan's top five movies.

Cecilia is a New Jersey waitress during the great depression. With a boring job and an abusive husband she longs to escape to the world of her favorite film `The Purple Rose of Cairo'. During a repeat viewing the main character of the film notices her and decides to come down off the screen to meet her and start an unlikely love story. However with the characters onscreen left in a void by Tom's disappearance and reports of other Toms breaking free, Tom's real life actor Gil Shepherd is called in to help reclaim his character. This is a charming little fantasy piece from Woody Allen using his other leading lady Mia Farrow. The story is excellent and a real credit to Allen's writing. The love story between Cecilia and Tom is slight but touching but my favorite pieces are the incident scenes. The surreal chaos that Tom leaves behind him is really funny as all the characters simply lose motivation and carry on on-screen (to a packed out audience, eager to see what they'll do now!). Farrow is good as the wide eyed dreamer. Daniels is great in two roles, even if his Tom is a little wet and weak. Aiello is really good in his husband role and the rest of the cast are great in support. Allen weaves a great film out of a story that needed to right touch to just keep it the right side of silly. He blends emotions well and creates a genuinely moving story that still manages to have touches of his trademark surreal humour. Overall this is a good Woody Allen film. It will appeal to fans because it is a great mix of comedy and romance. It will appeal to those that don't usually like Woody because he's not in it - thus removing his ticks etc! The only criticism is that occasionally it feels like it's moving very slow, but this is a minor problem.

There was a time when words could not be spoken out loud and black-and-white cinematography overshadowed everything colour. I speak, of course, about the silent era of filmmaking, back when a still-young Buster Keaton released the 45 minutes-long masterpiece entitled "Sherlock, Jr." Keaton's use of illusions and smart editing mesmerised the audiences, creating one of the most important short-films ever made. Woody Allen, one of the most significant filmmakers of all-time, made his own version of "Sherlock, Jr." back in 1985: The Purple Rose Of Cairo. "The Purple Rose Of Cairo" is not only a tribute given to the works of Buster Keaton but also to the art of filmmaking itself. Woody Allen is never shown on the screen in this magical piece of cinema, but we can feel his presence everywhere. It's within the story, the script or, better said, the reel. We simply know he's there, even though we can't see him. The plot is simple: an everyday woman escapes everyday problems (including a not-so-caring husband played by Danny Aiello) by going to the cinema. She already watched "The Purple Rose of Cairo" for about 4 times, but that doesn't stop her from watching it the 5th time when one of the characters (Tom Baxter, played by Jeff Daniels) is so impressed by how much she likes the movie that he jumps off the screen and runs away with her out of the cinema. Things go a little crazy of course, no story that plays with reality is simple. But what Woody Allen tries to tell us is that fantasy is just as important as reality itself, and it can help us remain sane. How many times have you said that one single book, film, or even song saved your day? That's the power fantasy has on us. "The Purple Rose Of Cairo" is probably on of the most delightful films a cinephile could ever watch. It's beautifully crafted, funny, romantic and it has a lovely cast. It's not only the "Sullivan's Travells" of the 80's and Woody Allen's "Sherlock, Jr.", it represents the reason why we watch films and when you'll get to the final scene, you'll know what I mean.

Review: I've never been a big fan of Mia Farrows acting because she just seems really gullible and ditzy in all of her roles. In this movie, her character is in a unloving relationship and she looks for escapism by going to the cinema and imagines a life with the film stars. When one of the actors walks out of the screen, into real life, which causing an uproar in the community, he turns to Mia Farrow to show him life in the real world. After falling deeply in love with her, which causes more problems in her troubled relationship, she is left with the decision to leave her husband for a life in her dream world. I think that you can tell that the storyline is completely far fetched, but it's a sweat love story without any of Woody Allens slapstick comedy. I personally found the movie boring and uninteresting, but I'm sure that there are people out there that will enjoy it. Average! Round-Up: Although this movie made a loss at the box office, it is one of Woody Allens popular films that are highly rated. I personally can't see why it's was so highly rated or were the $15 million dollar budget went, but thats just my opinion. The acting isn't totally bad from the cast, except for Mia Farrow who whines her way through the whole film. The same concept was used in the Last Action Hero, we're Annie walks out of the screen and finds it hard to adapt to the real world, but that didn't really work either. On the plus side, Woody Allen did portray the period well but thats about it. Budget: $15million Worldwide Gross: $10.6million I recommend this movie to people who are into there Woody Allen movies about a woman in a troubled relationship and searches for happiness at the cinema. 3/10

This takes place during the Depression in New Jersey. Mia Farrow plays Cecilia, a waitress in a diner married to a loutish man (Danny Aiello) who doesn't work and treats her badly. She escapes by seeing movies at a local theatre. Then suddenly at one point a character in the movie (played by Jeff Daniels) walks out of the screen, becomes "real" and proceeds to romance her. Then the actor who plays the character (Daniels again) rushes from Hollywood to Jersey to convince his character to get back into the movie. For a while this really works. Farrow and Daniels are great and his interactions with the real world are amusing. Also at 82 minutes it's nice and short. However the scenes with Aiello are very unpleasant and it has an absolutely heart-breaking ending which is beyond depressing. If the ending had been different I would have liked it a lot more but the grim ending really destroys the movie as a whole, I can only give it a 3.

Mia Farrow gives one of her best performances as Cecilia, a Depression-era waitress with her head in the clouds who gets dumped on over and over; after a miraculous situation comes her way and promises a better life, she has to choose between reality and fantasy...although some outcomes are predestined. Luminous Farrow is at her most vulnerable, and writer-director Woody Allen allows her to be funny too, yet the film is a preconceived, bittersweet whimsy about dashed dreams; it's ready-made to collapse. In the interim, we get bland Jeff Daniels in two roles (occasionally working the same scene!), a whorehouse full of romantics, a group of acidly funny movie actors on a theater screen, and Danny Aiello as Mia's abusive husband. The theme of "Cairo" concerns the blurred line between movies and reality--it's a valentine to the magic of the movies--but the central idea plays itself out too quickly, and Allen's sub-plots don't always work (you can sense that he's biding his time). Wonderful production design and music score, some marvelous sequences. *** from ****

Mia Farrow is wonderful as Cecilia, a small town waitress during the Great Depression. Married to a selfish lout named Monk (Danny Aiello), she's often in need of escape. And she finds it in the movies that she repeatedly watches. One day, to the astonishment of Cecilia and everybody in the theatre, movie character Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels) emerges from his picture and enters the real world. He's become utterly taken with her, and is sick and tired of his dull routine, uttering the same lines over and over. Life becomes even more surreal for Cecilia when Gil Shepherd (Daniels again), the actor who played Tom, comes to the town to do damage control and HE falls in love with her as well! "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is an ingenious concept film, well realized by writer / director Woody Allen. It's utterly charming, especially to any fan of the cinema. Some of the brightest moments happen when A) the other characters in the film-within-the-film become utterly lost, and just mope around, interacting with theatre patrons, and B) the golly-gee-whiz completely naive Tom is taken by prostitute Emma (Dianne Weist) to a whorehouse, where he seems to have no idea what goes on in such a place! The recreation of a Depression era town is effective, as is Woody's emulation of classic 1930s black & white Hollywood pictures. Dick Hyman does the upbeat jazz score, and the excellent cinematography is the work of masterful Gordon Willis. Mia and Jeff are just perfect, with the latter getting to do a memorable scene with the character and the actor arguing with each other. Aiello and Weist lead an excellent supporting cast consisting of talents such as Edward Herrmann, John Wood, Karen Akers, and Van Johnson, and top character actors like Irving Metzman, Milo O'Shea, Robert Trebor, John Rothman, Raymond Serra, and Michael Tucker. Glenne Headly has a bit as one of the hookers. Clever through and through in its melding of reel life and real life, with both fictional and actual people struggling to come to terms with their new surroundings. The finale, however, really does break your heart. Eight out of 10.

THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO has got to be one of the most original and inventive of all the films Woody Allen has done--and all the more enjoyable because we're not subjected to the Allen character in the film itself. Instead, we get MIA FARROW (one of her very best performances) and JEFF DANIELS in what has to be the most original role of his career, as the man who walks off the movie screen and into Farrow's humdrum life. Farrow is the Depression-era movie fan whose film idol walks right off the screen and interjects himself into her life--brightening it, at least for awhile, until the rather downbeat ending. DANNY AIELLO, as Mia's abusive husband and DIANNE WIEST have good supporting roles, but the story really depends on the wonderful chemistry between Farrow and Daniels--and they truly bring the bittersweet comedy and fantasy to credible life. Furthermore, the script is not only very clever, but the film is technically brilliant in the way it has the film within a film characters on the screen interacting with the movie audience. Summing up: Stylish mixture of comedy and fantasy, fully deserving the many nominations and awards it won that year.