Rating: 
Summary: Another Woody Allen Masterpiece!
Review: A poignant glimpse at the fantasies of everyday people in the depression relating to the glitz of Tinsel Town. In 1930 New Jersey, a forlorn woman toughs out the depression with a dead-end job and a philandering, dead-beat husband who beats her and takes her for granted. Like so many in blue-collar America, the only solace she can find is in the hey-day productions of RKO with the like of Fred and Ginger and the offbeat serio-comic fluff such as presented in their latest feature, ";The Purple Rose Of Cairo";. After walking out on her husband and losing her job she retreats into the bowels of the 'Jewel' theatre watching a full days showing of ";Rose"; when the romantic lead incredibly starts a dialogue with her and boldly goes where no character has gone before. Who has been a fan of the movies and not wished to be part of the many stories unfolding on the silver screen? Allen skillfully brings this premise to bear in a touching and romantic fantasy so unlike his other efforts. The Author has never found the merit in him that so many critics have, but with this film; he mercifully stays out of it and relies on his pen to trigger the necessary drama without overdoing his trademark wit. A first.
Rating:
Summary: I love talking to you
Review: "How many times is a man so taken with a woman that he walks off the screen to get her?" I had to laugh the day I watched this movie. I realized my bed is covered in purple roses. At least, that is the pattern. Who knows, maybe I will run off to Hollywood soon. I think for my whole life I've always had a fictional character living in my mind, that perfect man who is poetic, has a sexy voice and is wildly witty. Cecilia (Mia Farrow) seems to be dreaming of the same man because had I been in this movie we could have fought over explorer Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels). He is adorable, dreamy and romantic. His innocence, optimism and sense of wonderment is completely cute. He is present, intelligent, passionate, takes life with a dose of humor and is willing to fight for what he wants. He also loves talking to Cecilia and she can barely stop herself from fainting in his presence. She is overwhelmed when she realizes her fantasy exists. Ok, so he is fictional and as Cecilia would say: "He's fictional, but you can't have everything." Cecilia is trapped washing dishes in a diner, while she would rather be dreaming. She is beautiful, open to possibilities, willing to trust a man who shows her loving direction and has a healthy radiance. When she is not working or dealing with her verbally abusive husband (Danny Aiello), she spends all her free time escaping vicariously into the characters lives at the Jewel Movie Theater. Her life is filled with hardship, while the characters onscreen live in luxury. Her husband is verbally abusive and even hits her when she gets out of line. She dreams of being with a romantic character and the thought that she will actually talk to a real-life movie star seems to be her wildest fantasy. Cecilia is a good example of a woman with low self-esteem who is very intimidated by her husband. One day while watching "The Purple Rose of Cairo," one of the characters notices she has been watching his movie over and over again. He is so impressed, he decides to step right out of the movie and meet her. It is the stuff of fantasy! Not only does he want to marry her almost the minute he sees her, he defends her and romances her beyond anything she could ever imagine. She is literally transfixed by his idealistic, poetic nature. That is until the real-life actor Gil Shepherd appears. There has never been a movie that so captivated me and amused me to the core. I loved the original ideas, fantasy characters, the movie characters talking to the audience and the comedic timing is beyond perfect. Some scenes are so completely eccentric, the hilarity factor bubbles over like champagne. I was still laughing at the same jokes while watching this movie the seventh time in two days! One is left wondering: "Are there any other guys like Tom out there?" I think there might be one left, somewhere on the earth. This movie is hilarious, short, sweet, innocent and maybe even a little sad. We are never sure if Cecilia continues to think of her inner world as a fantasy mansion or if she starts to see the sunsets in her real world and finds the real man of her dreams. As David Deida would say: "We must see that we are afraid of the thing we most desire, and so we live a mediocre life, never bringing to consummation the primary impulse of our heart." A movie to make you think about how you are living your life and what you would change in your life if you could "really" escape into the fantasy of your dreams. You are left thinking that perhaps you could dream a fantasy into life. ~The Rebecca Review.com
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite Woody Allen films, by far!
Review: "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is one of those rare films whose concept is intriguing as the end product. "Rose" is witty, thoughtful, masterfully directed and acted, and, for once, we get a chance to enjoy Woody Allen's great talent as a skillful director, without his setting foot on the screen (not even in a cameo--like Alfred Hitchcock did in all of his films).
Cecilia (Mia Farrow), is a waitress at a diner, during a time in the 1920s when the Great Depression has set in, times are tough, jobs are scarce and the people are looking for an escape. What better way to seek a diversion than in a movie theatre, where one can live a life of romance, comedy, drama and adventure, vicariously through the larger-than-life actors on the projecting screen?
Cecilia's all-consuming passion for films is her one refuge from the grim life she has built with her abusive, philandering husband (Danny Aiello). One of her favorite films, by far, is "The Purple Rose of Cairo." When she likes a film she will see it over and over again, almost nightly. Furthermore, when she isn't in the movie theatre watching the film she knows almost line-for-line, she discusses the plot and the smoldering actors with her co-workers. Cecilia may have stepped away from the fantasy of the silver screen, once the picture has ended, but it lives on in her heart long afterwards.
One night, when she goes to "The Purple Rose of Cairo" for the upteenth time, the adventuresome and brawny Tom Baxter, the romantic lead (Jeff Daniels), sees the starstruck Cecilia sitting alone in the theatre, and literally steps off of the screen to be with this mysterious and beautiful woman whose life revolves around films and melding life on screen with life in the day-to-day world. This has never happened before, and Tom causes quite a stir in the film world, as well as up on screen, because the characters literally cannot leave the scene they were acting in until he returns. Also, the actor who portrays Tom Baxter is stunned and concerned that his clone, or, rather, his character has taken on a life of his own in the 3-D world!
This film truly has staying power from beginning to end. It is packed with witty dialogue, clever insight and plenty of warm, over the top humor that is, oftentimes, uproariously funny. You can tell that Woody Allen wrote and directed this film as a tribute to the films that inspired him--perhaps, to become the great director and screenwriter that he is today. "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is truly an underrated masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Why we love the movies
Review: Cecilia goes to the movies night after night, to escape her dreary life, and sees The Purple Rose of Cairo over and over. Each time, we pick up little scenes from the movie that is unfolding within the movie. Imagine the surprise, when a scene we've watched before isn't quite right. The Tom Baxter character seems distracted. Is it possible he just glanced out into the audience? This is exactly what Tom Baxter does, as he's noticed Ceclia watching the movie night after night. We watch as he starts speaking to her as she sits in her theater seat and eventually he jumps down off of the screen to the surprise of the audience and the cast of the Purple Rose of Cairo. The comedy is great, as the movie cast can't proceed without Tom. They start to bicker amongst themselves and even take out their frustration on the audience..."You think you've got problems? We've got problems of our own!" Tom and Ceclia begin an offscreen adventure that makes clever use of the fact that Tom isn't actually a real person. There are plenty of gags and some great lines, particularly when Cecila proclaims that she's finally met the perfect man, "although he is fictional." This is one of my favorite Allen films that doesn't actually star Allen. I'm happy that this movie, along with Hannah and Her Sisters, Broadway Danny Rose and Play it again Sam, have finally been released on DVD. This is a typical no-frills MGM release, with the movie in widescreen format, the theatrical trailer, and optional subtitles.
Rating:
Summary: Can a young woman find happiness with a movie character?
Review: During the Great Depression Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is trapped in a dreary life with a soulless husband (Danny Aiello), so she escapes to the movies. There she becomes hook on "The Purple Rose of Cairo," which she watches so many times that Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), the dashing archaeologist of the film becomes so distracted he decides to leave the film and walks off the screen into Cecilia's life. Suddenly Cecilia is happy, even if Tom is just a fictional character. Meanwhile, Hollywood is in an uproar as other Tom Baxters are threatening to walk out of the picture as well, leaving it to actor Gil Shepherd to try and reign in the character he created. Some critics dismissed this Woody Allen film as a flip on Buster Keaton's silent classic "Sherlock Jr.," a surreal fantasy about a film projectionist and amateur detective who climbs into a movie. But so what if the idea is not new? The chief charm here is what Allen does with the idea. The romantic triangle between Cecilia, Tom and Gil is pleasant enough, but for me what is hysterical is what is going on back at the theater with the characters in the movie who are waiting to find out what happens. Henry (Edward Herrmann) is worried they will turn off the projector and make everything dark, while Jason (John Wood) insists the movie is really about him so they do not need Tom to come back. Rita (Deborah Rush) points out she is rich and does not have to put up with this nonsense while the maid, Delilah (Annie Joe Edwards) objects to people being in the wrong reel. Of course the time comes for Cecilia to go through the looking glass to join Larry (Van Johnson) and the Countess (Zoe Caldwell) at the swank nightclub, where Kitty Haynes (Karen Akers) is quite upset to find Tom with another woman. The idea that movies are truly "screen plays" that the actors play out several times a day is carried off marvelously. Meanwhile, the audiences are staying at the theater to see what happens next. The non-movie is as interesting as the real thing. Mia Farrow actually has the Woody Allen part in this Woody Allen movie in which Woody Allen does not appear. The accent is a bit much (not as grating as her comic turn in "Radio Days"), but Cecilia is clearly a sweet soul and there is something about the way the light of the movies plays with her eyes that captures her happiness at finding the escape. Of course, reality, not to mention the Hollywood studio system, are out for money and not happiness, so that there cannot be a storybook ending. "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is more than a one-joke film, although certainly it is more streamlined that your average Allen film. Besides, despite the enticing impulse to do so, I do not see this as an indictment of Hollywood or the para-social interaction of real audiences with fictional characters. This is a charming little fantasy with enough of an element of reality to keep the dream from staying alive.
Rating:
Summary: Can a young woman find happiness with a movie character?
Review: During the Great Depression Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is trapped in a dreary life with a soulless husband (Danny Aiello), so she escapes to the movies. There she becomes hook on "The Purple Rose of Cairo," which she watches so many times that Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), the dashing archaeologist of the film becomes so distracted he decides to leave the film and walks off the screen into Cecilia's life. Suddenly Cecilia is happy, even if Tom is just a fictional character. Meanwhile, Hollywood is in an uproar as other Tom Baxters are threatening to walk out of the picture as well, leaving it to actor Gil Shepherd to try and reign in the character he created. Some critics dismissed this Woody Allen film as a flip on Buster Keaton's silent classic "Sherlock Jr.," a surreal fantasy about a film projectionist and amateur detective who climbs into a movie. But so what if the idea is not new? The chief charm here is what Allen does with the idea. The romantic triangle between Cecilia, Tom and Gil is pleasant enough, but for me what is hysterical is what is going on back at the theater with the characters in the movie who are waiting to find out what happens. Henry (Edward Herrmann) is worried they will turn off the projector and make everything dark, while Jason (John Wood) insists the movie is really about him so they do not need Tom to come back. Rita (Deborah Rush) points out she is rich and does not have to put up with this nonsense while the maid, Delilah (Annie Joe Edwards) objects to people being in the wrong reel. Of course the time comes for Cecilia to go through the looking glass to join Larry (Van Johnson) and the Countess (Zoe Caldwell) at the swank nightclub, where Kitty Haynes (Karen Akers) is quite upset to find Tom with another woman. The idea that movies are truly "screen plays" that the actors play out several times a day is carried off marvelously. Meanwhile, the audiences are staying at the theater to see what happens next. The non-movie is as interesting as the real thing. Mia Farrow actually has the Woody Allen part in this Woody Allen movie in which Woody Allen does not appear. The accent is a bit much (not as grating as her comic turn in "Radio Days"), but Cecilia is clearly a sweet soul and there is something about the way the light of the movies plays with her eyes that captures her happiness at finding the escape. Of course, reality, not to mention the Hollywood studio system, are out for money and not happiness, so that there cannot be a storybook ending. "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is more than a one-joke film, although certainly it is more streamlined that your average Allen film. Besides, despite the enticing impulse to do so, I do not see this as an indictment of Hollywood or the para-social interaction of real audiences with fictional characters. This is a charming little fantasy with enough of an element of reality to keep the dream from staying alive.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of Mr. Allen
Review: Every element from humor to heartbreak make this ingenious film one of the best ever. Mia Farrow gives us both giddy childishness and unspeakable sadness in what is surely one of her best performances. I am not an Allen fan per se and was surprised at the emotional impact this had on me when it was released back in the 80's. I must have seen it 5 or 6 times and was grateful that Allen sat this one out in terms of acting.
The cast is superb and it emphasizes just how the cinema has long been the escape from a world that can be unbearably cruel.
Rating:
Summary: What an original film!
Review: I hadn't seen this movie since 1985 when it first came out and was excited to find it on DVD and it was a great as I remembered! This is an original fantasy that is a lot of fun. Mia Farrow is charming as Cecilia, a woman in the depression era who is addicted to movies. Jeff Daniels plays the character from the movie "The Purple Rose of Cairo" whom she fantasizes about. The fun begins when Jeff Daniels character walks off the screen and into Cecilia's life.....but reality soon sets in when the REAL actor gets wind that his character has walked off the screen.....the movie is simply wonderful and forgoes the typical happy ending....favoring REALITY over fantasy. Watch it you won't be disappointed. Even if you don't care for Woody Allen movies, I know you'll love this one!
Rating:
Summary: It Was Pretty Good!
Review: I'm not a Woody Allen fan but I did like this movie, I liked the premise and I liked the acting of Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels and Danny Aiello and I thought the fantasy of a movie character stepping out of the screen and interacting with the real world was pretty charming and I have to say that as amusing as this movie is there are also scenes that are actually pretty sad. Like I said I'm not a Woody Allen fan but I do have to reccomend this movie!
Rating:
Summary: A Miniature Masterpiece
Review: If Woody Allen thinks this is his finest film, I'm not surprised. It's flawless. Brilliantly written, brilliantly acted, superbly plotted. Faultless. Daniels and Farrow are perfectly stunning in their parts. Whatever happended to Jeff Daniels? Why is this the only film I've seen him in? He plays this part with the lightest of touches: it's like whipped cream. Farrow is incredible, retaining always the slight reserve of suspicion that things can't be quite what they seem, which just about makes the ending bearable. The real mastery of the writing and direction is that what threatens to be a one-joke plot never topples over and falls flat. The juggling keeps the balls in the air with such delicate skill that the only possible reaction is one of pure admiration.
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