Experiencing Purple Rain for the first time
Two pieces appeared on this site over the past 12 days which are central to what is going on with today’s post: one piece was about going to the movies and the other was about Prince. Going to the movies, while fun, is not what it used to be and some of the reasons why are highlighted in the piece. As it pertains to Prince, the theme was Prince being appreciated from afar, realizing the talent and gift he shared with the people, and realizing that joining the party late was one of the biggest regrets topping the personal list of regrets.
One thing that never took place, until last Saturday night, was seeing Purple Rain. Sure, there were opportunities to watch the movie in the past, but those opportunities mostly consisted of the movie coming on television. When a movie is scaled down for television consumption, the drawback is usually an abbreviated, bastardized and compromised version of the authentically-told film that was in theatres or elsewhere that is not constrained by being on TV. As much as there was a desire to watch the movie, watching it on TV wasn’t going to work. Luckily, movie theatres around the country realize the magnitude of the loss of Prince and brought it back to the big screen. A local theatre in Dallas with some history of its own advertised a 9 P.M. showing for Purple Rain a week in advance, and plans were set in motion to make sure to be there.
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