The Purple Rose of Cairo

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The Purple Rose of Cairo

PG,

1985,

1h 22m,

Comedy/

Drama

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Watchlist

93%

40 Reviews

Tomatometer

88%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

40 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Unhappily married Depression-era waitress Cecilia (Mia Farrow) earns the money while her inattentive husband, Monk (Danny Aiello), blows their meager income on getting drunk and gambling. To assuage her loneliness, Cecilia escapes to the picture show and becomes transfixed with the movie The Purple Rose of Cairo, and especially with its lead character, archeologist Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels). When Tom literally steps off of the screen and into her life, both realities are thrown into chaos.

Critics Consensus

Lighthearted and sweet, The Purple Rose of Cairo stands as one of Woody Allen's more inventive -- and enchantingly whimsical -- pictures.

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Terrence Rafferty

Sight & Sound

Mar 24, 2020

Everything in this movie makes heavenly sense.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jun 21, 2018

4/4

Delightful from beginning to end, not only because of the clarity and charm with which Daniels and Farrow explore the problems of their characters, but also because the movie is so intelligent.

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

May 20, 2003

It's a sweet, lyrically funny, multi- layered work that again demonstrates that Woody Allen is our premier film maker who, standing something over 5 feet tall in his sneakers, towers above all others.

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Sean Burns

Crooked Marquee

Jun 3, 2024

One of the director’s breeziest, most consistently delightful efforts. Until the final scenes sneak up on you.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Feb 15, 2023

4/4

When discussing Woody Allen classics, titles like Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters are frequently cited (and rightly so), but where’s the love for The Purple Rose of Cairo, a movie that even Woody himself considers among his top two or three?

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Penny Holme

Starburst

Jul 22, 2022

This succinct film is completely delightful, a marvelous homage to the spirit of the cinematic Thirties.

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Harry S

Feb 22, 2019

What a great film. The interplay of reality and fantasy,.and great performances by Mia Farrow and Jeff Daniels (times two) make this a great film. One of my favorite Woody Allen pictures.

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Hagrid S

Feb 15, 2019

Thirty to forty years after its release, this film is extraordinary on so many levels. Dialogue on Ceciliaâ(TM)s porch with Gil is Indescribably perfect. Bravo!

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Feb 2, 2019

The best fantasy comedy romance movie ever made!

Luke M

Feb 23, 2018

1001 movies to see before you die.

Kylo G

Jan 13, 2018

Mia Farrow is such a sweet heart and such a lovely face to look at. I can relate to Cecilia a lot. The way she daydreams about movies and a better life. The way her fascination for movies takes a hold of her. What a terrible piece of shit husband she has. She deserves way better. Such intersting and original ideas like the actors in a movie being able to escape the movie screen, literally. And how the actors on screen can communicate in real time through the screen with the people watching the movie. It's intersting to watch how Cecilia's life becomes all of a sudden this great adventure. That tap dancing waiter bit was hilarious. Kind of ends on a sad note. I really thought Gil Shepard was going to appear out of nowhere and whisk her away, but nope. I have a pretty dark theory about what to Cecilia. I think Cecilia imagined the whole thing all up. I think she had some sort of psychotic or schizophrenic episode where she conjured up everything that happened between her and Gil and Baxter and none of that really happened. Overall, really whimsical and almost daydream-like. I liked it.

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Ron S

Sep 20, 2017

Worst film ever There I've said it

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Woody Allen

Director

Mia Farrow

Cecilia

Jeff Daniels

Tom Baxter

Danny Aiello

Monk

Dianne Wiest

Emma

Van Johnson

Larry

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Synopsis

Unhappily married Depression-era waitress Cecilia (Mia Farrow) earns the money while her inattentive husband, Monk (Danny Aiello), blows their meager income on getting drunk and gambling. To assuage her loneliness, Cecilia escapes to the picture show and becomes transfixed with the movie The Purple Rose of Cairo, and especially with its lead character, archeologist Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels). When Tom literally steps off of the screen and into her life, both realities are thrown into chaos.

Director: Woody Allen
Producer: Robert Greenhut
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Orion Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 1, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 25, 2012
Runtime: 1h 22m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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