The Color Purple premiered in New York City on 16 December 1985 before limited release 2 days later.
Alice Walker was initially reluctant to sell the rights of her 1982 novel for film development, but only agreed after her contract stipulated that she would serve as project consultant and that 50% of the production team, aside from the cast, would be African American, female or "people of the Third World." She wrote the initial draft, but it was rejected and was replaced by Menno Meyjes (Walker retained final approval).
Quincy Jones (who produced and composed the score) approached Steven Spielberg, who believed he was wrong for the project, but agreed anyway. Walker wanted unknown actors, and her wishes were followed, with Whoopi Goldberg (who had only one film appearance), Oprah Winfrey (with no acting experience), and a number of stage actors, including Carl Anderson, Adolph Caesar, and Danny Glover.
The film was released to mostly positive reviews, but many critics believed that Spielberg was the wrong choice and that he had softened much of the material of the novel (Spielberg agreed). Other critics believe the film was "mainstream reinforcement of a deeply damaging and persistent perception" about black people in general and black men in particular.
It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Goldberg), Best Supporting Actress (Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Score. It did not receive an Oscar.
