European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 2, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Movies 2 whoops Goldberg left and Margaret Avery in the color purple Spielberg paints mixed picture with color purple by Dolores Barclay associated press Celie a Young timid woman is raped by her father and gives birth to two children then is handed Over to a brutish Man in  to Sutler years of indignities and cruelty. The Odyssey of Celie from whimpering Pup to Strong entered woman is the essence of Alice Walker s pulitzer prize winning novel the Rotor purple. It has been beautifully translated to the screen in a richly textured movie by Stephen Spielberg that opened in Heaters across the United slates recently.,u filming Walker s Plain yet Complex Book the exposition unfolds through Celie s lec in Hon to cod and to her sister Nettie and the dialect u Rural Georgia involved an approach atypical of Hollywood. Spielberg who made his career on formula fantasies chose to direct. Superstars were bypassed for the major roles. In Hollywood s other excursions we Thuer works the heavy guns were often called the Good far h tarred Paul Muni and Luise Ramer Cone with the wind had Clark Cable Olivia do  ind Leslie Howard Caine Mutiny kid Humphrey Bogan and in Johnson and to us a mocked starred Gregory Peck. For William Kennedy s  won be fiction prize last year the author said such  As Lack Nicholson and Gene Hackman Are being mentioned for Hector Babenco s my version to cast Celie As an adult producers Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall Quincy Lones and Spielberg went outside the usual stable of bankable Hollywood Talent and chose comic whoops Goldberg who had never made a movie. In a strange move Dereta Jackson who looks and sounds nothing like Goldberg plays Celie As a teen Ager. Oprah Winfrey the Host of a popular to talk show in Chicago makes her film debut As the proud no nonsense Sofia. Her performance As a Mother who stands up to a while bigot Only to be whipped into servitude should win an Academy award nomination for supporting actress. For Shug Avery the worldly tart with a heart of Gold who is mistress of Celie s husband superstar singers were considered Diana Ross Tina Turner Patti Labelle. However the part of the Lusty blues. Singer with the whiskey laced voice went to Margaret a cry who had parts in which Way i up and magnum Force. All three stars of the film had read Walker s strongly feminist work when it appeared and wanted to be in any movie made from ii. I sat Down and wrote to Alice Walker with a resume and All my reviews and references lolling her that i would go anywhere to audition says Goldberg. She was launched on Broadway last season by director Mike Nichols in a highly acclaimed one woman show that illuminated her abilities As a caricaturist and her potential for acting. Despite a few instances of cliched directing by Spielberg and Over mugging for the camera Goldberg lends a humanity and Icet innocence to Celie. In one scene with Harp Willard pug the son of Celie s husband or. Danny Glove the Young Man laments that he does t know How to control his new wife the proud Sofia. Celic says with All sincerity beat  it was after All what Celie has known of marriage. The Story unfolds in Rural Georgia from 1906 to the 1940s. Cyclic and her sister Akosua  have an inseparable love. Nellie is pretty Celie is homely. They arc separated when Celic goes 10 live with or. When Nettie visits and spurns his sexual advances or. Physically thro Neier out. Over tin1 decades Nettie lives in Africa As a missionary constantly writing to Celic who never gets the letters because or. Hides them. Celie endures never really respecting herself As a Strong woman until Shug teaches her True pation. Their relationship is toned Down in the movie to a momentary and almost Chaste kissing episode. Celie blossoms and leaves mr., who languishes without her. By the conclusion of the movie Spielberg has swapped much of the Power and  Walker s Book to play for tears. When he first read the Book the filmmaker said he could t put in Down. I got angry i laughed then i cried he says. And As Celie s Story came pouring out into the sunlight i Felt everything at  the novel which also won the american Book award was adapted to the screen by dutch screenwriter Mcnno to Yecs. January 2, 1986 i gripes Maaz be 77