Albert Magnoli gives Prince room to perform and makes that reason enough to watch Purple Rain. We rate his handling of the music; his writing asks us to forgive too much between songs.
Fi1m perspective
In Purple Rain (1984), Albert Magnoli gives Prince’s stage performances enough time to build their own excitement. Cinematographer Donald E. Thorin makes the concert lighting vivid without letting it overwhelm the performer. Magnoli and fellow editor Ken Robinson keep these sequences fluid, allowing us to follow the playing rather than lose it among the cuts. We were caught up in the music because the film gave us time to watch Prince perform. That is reason enough to recommend it, with a clear warning about the drama between songs.
His interest in musicians was there in the short Jazz (1979), which he wrote, directed and edited. He then edited James Foley’s Reckless (1984) before making his feature directing debut with Purple Rain. Shooting the latter in Minneapolis, he worked with non-actor musicians and brought in coaches to help them. That willingness to work with what a performer already offers is useful, but the uneven acting suggests there are limits to what coaching can solve.
The larger problem is the screenplay Magnoli wrote with William Blinn, which asks Prince’s presence to do too much of the work. The Kid receives sympathy that the writing does little to earn, while the surrounding characters get too little attention. The characters express strong feelings without behaving convincingly enough to make us share them. Magnoli understands why an audience has come, but seems less certain how to sustain its interest once the playing stops.
The sports drama American Anthem (1986) followed, drawing criticism for formulaic storytelling and uneven tone. Magnoli returned to Prince to contribute uncredited additional footage to Sign o’ the Times (1987), then joined Tango & Cash (1989) as replacement director for its final weeks. Street Knight (1993) continued the move into action. It is a career whose defining achievement remains the way he films a musician at work. Start with Purple Rain, provided an evening with Prince is already an attractive proposition.
Biography
Albert Magnoli is an American film director, screenwriter and editor. He graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television in 1981.
Magnoli is best known for Purple Rain (1984), on which he served as director, co-writer and editor. He had previously edited Reckless (1984). His other feature films include American Anthem (1986), Street Knight (1993) and an uncredited contribution to Tango & Cash (1989). He also directed the television film Born to Run (1993) and several music videos.
Purple Rain was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2019. Magnoli briefly managed the musician Prince in 1989.
