Adapted from Alice Walker Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, THE COLOR PURPLE (1985) had a contractual stipulation by the author that she would serve as a project consultant and that the film’s production team – aside from the cast – would be African American, female or “people of the Third World.” Named among cinema’s most inspiring stories, the film was produced by AFI Honorary Degree recipient Quincy Jones – who personally selected AFI Life Achievement Award honoree Steven Spielberg to direct the material – as well as current AFI Board of Trustees Chair Kathleen Kennedy. Jones also provided the film’s soundtrack, one of the few Spielberg productions not scored by the director’s longtime collaborator, John Williams.
Visit the AFI Catalog to learn more about THE COLOR PURPLE.
