--- title: "The Purple Rose of Cairo: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-purple-rose-of-cairo/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-purple-rose-of-cairo" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 8 reviews: 7 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics like this one, and several place it among Woody Allen’s best. The praise gathers around Mia Farrow, whose Depression-era waitress is called joyful, glowing and impeccable in turn, and around Allen’s script, which most find witty and unusually warm for him. The premise of a film character stepping off the screen is taken as more than a gag: reviewers credit it with saying something about why people go to the pictures, and with doing so without cynicism. The spread is narrow at the top and then falls away. Empire finds it fond but slight. Variety is the one outright dissent, arguing that the treatment is too frivolous for a serious theme, that the ending lacks dramatic weight and that the characters around Farrow stay thin. Nobody disputes Farrow herself; even the harshest notice calls her excellent. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 March 1985. The film is audacious and witty, using the premise to explore reality versus fantasy in a clever way. Ebert praises the intelligent wit, charm of the leads, and how Allen makes viewers laugh and think deeply about why people go to the movies. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-purple-rose-of-cairo-1985) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 January 2015. The review praises the film as one of Woody Allen’s most charming and uncynical works from his mature period, highlighting its simple whimsy and Mia Farrow’s joyful performance as a Depression-era waitress who finds escape in the movies. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-purple-rose-of-cairo/) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 March 1985. The film is pure enchantment, a sweet, lyrically funny and multilayered work that ranks among Allen's best. Canby highlights the logical extension of fantasy into reality and the glowing performance by Mia Farrow. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/01/movies/screen-woody-allen-s-new-comedy-purple-rose-of-cairo.html) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 August 2012. The critic praises Woody Allen's deft script for exploring the bizarre relationship between a downtrodden housewife and a film character who steps off the screen, along with the reactions of the other characters left behind. Farrow and Daniels are commended for their work with fantastic emotions, and Allen's direction is noted for its care, wit and warmth that make the film genuinely moving. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-purple-rose-of-cairo) ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 June 2006. The critic sees the film as a fond if slight bittersweet love letter to movie fans and the escapism of the Depression era. Mia Farrow is singled out as impeccable in portraying a crushed spirit reliant on fantasy. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/purple-rose-cairo-review/) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 March 1985. Kael reviews the film as part of her Current Cinema column alongside another title. She examines Allen's playful take on characters stepping out of a movie screen and its implications for fantasy and reality. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1985/03/25/charmer) ## Variety — Variety Staff Rating **. 31 December 1984. The tale offers a light, almost frivolous treatment of a serious theme about life not matching Hollywood fantasies, resulting in a tragedy that lacks sufficient dramatic weight. Farrow is excellent, but the characters remain thin. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1984/film/reviews/the-purple-rose-of-cairo-1200426410/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2015. The critic calls the film one of Woody Allen's very best and a uniquely satisfying departure from his usual style. He singles out its brilliant use of magical realism to explore the line between fiction and reality, especially the contrast with the Great Depression setting and the lead performance by Mia Farrow. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-purple-rose-of-cairo-a-masterpiece-of-fantasy-and-reality/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-purple-rose-of-cairo.md