CRIMSON FEST - WEEK THREE
Welcome back!! It’s been a moment, as I’ve been all over the place. Even with that, I’m still following through on my own personal month-long music festival: CRIMSON FEST. Let's get back into it.
Prince Triple Feature - Purple Rain/Graffiti Bridge/Under The Cherry Moon: One of the targets I wanted to hit this month was one of the biggest movies starring a musician. I also wanted to cover the other two films he was in, ones that don’t get talked about as much. I’m of course talking about the “Purple One” again, Prince!
Starting with the 1984 classic, “Purple Rain,” directed by Albert Magnoli. I’ll start by saying that this movie doesn’t quite hold up. I don’t think that really matters, though. Everything from the wooden performances, to the corny writing, or the forced drama, and even humor that doesn’t always hit gets washed away once Prince takes over. He takes this four out of ten movie, and makes it more like a seven out of ten. His acting is honestly really solid, and all the song performances are electric. The fact that it’s the music from fucking “Purple Rain” elevates the film. I also like the interactions he has with his band, The Revolution, as well as his rivalry with Morris Day. To top it off, the movie looks really good. The scenes at night and in the club are shot and lit really well(slight tangent, you can basically see where The Weeknd got his whole aesthetic with this movie). What on paper should be a forgotten fragment of music history ends up being one of the defining films in this genre.
A few years later, Prince would not only star in two more movies, he would actually direct and write both of them. Before I get to the second film he was in, I’m going to continue with his third movie. The reason is that 1990’s “Graffiti Bridge” is actually a sequel to “Purple Rain.” While I respect Prince branching out to other parts of the film making process, he should’ve got someone else.
This sequel cost about the same as the first one, but feels cheaper in every way. All the sets are on an obvious sound stage. His band, The New Power Generation, is a downgrade from The Revolution. While there are cameos from Mavis Staples and George Clinton, they don’t really do anything. The movie spends a lot of its time with Morris Day, who comes back as the villain. They also don’t do much with him either. Prince doesn’t do a whole lot himself, and even the music can’t even save this movie. With a plot that involves a club turf war and an angel coming down to stop it, you’d think it would be a lot more interesting. It’s really the only thing I’ve watched for CF that I can say is genuinely bad.
Finishing off this uneven triple threat is the only film from Prince that was not connected to “Purple Rain.” In 1986, he released the romantic comedy musical, “Under The Cherry Moon,” which as I said earlier, was starring, directed, and written by him. Up front, this movie is pretty bad. Unlike “Graffiti Bridge,” this movie is actually really funny. Since he’s not playing his character from the other films, Prince gets to act super eccentric. I wouldn’t really say in a good way. His mannerisms add a “so bad, it’s good” quality to the movie. Something that adds to how strange this movie is how it’s a black and white period piece set in the 1940s. Except, it’s not really. There are so many times where you’ll see props that are more modern, like some of the cars or even a boombox. Some of the dialogue is strange and doesn’t really fit the time, like how Prince’s friend tells a woman, “Because it’s a full moon, and I’m a werewolf, bitch! Kiss my ass!”
I will say that with all the goofy stuff aside, the music is actually really good. The movie’s album, “Parade,” is one of his best albums. Not only does it have “Kiss,” but it has “Sometimes It Snows In April,” “New Position,” and “Anotherloverholenyohead.” The movie closes things out with one of my top favorite Prince tracks, “Mountains.” Even when the movie gets boring in slower parts, the music is always there, at least.
After a banger and two flops, “His Purple Badness” would stick to TV movies and cameos for the rest of the screen side of his career. I think it’s a good call, but like I said earlier, I respect that he tried to branch out. Even though it didn’t quite work.
Marvin Gaye - Live In Montreux: Moving on to the live concert films I watched this week. The first one I watched was Marvin Gaye performing in 1980. I honestly don't have much to say on this one. Here’s some highlights, though. The transition from “Come Get To This” into “Let’s Get It On” is killer. He accidentally breaks a chair and proceeds to use the steering wheel. At some point, he participates in both a drum solo and a keyboard solo. The ending of “Distant Lover” feels euphoric. On top of all that he does all the hits you want to hear, and the sound and video quality on the DVD are pretty solid. If you want to see what Marvin Gaye was like on the stage, this is a great way to witness that.
Rage Against The Machine - The Battle Of Mexico City: Kind of the same with what I said about the previous concert film, I don’t have much to say here. This one takes place during RATM’s tour for Evil Empire. This show is specifically in (you’ve guessed it) Mexico City. Outside of the concert footage, though, they intercut with documentary footage directed and voiced over by the band’s vocalist, Zack De La Rocha. All the documentary parts focus on the protests and riots that were going on in Mexico at the time, and I think they strike a good balance in the film. It fits with what the band was going for, and having De Le Rocha do the documentary parts make the whole package feel more authentic. With the live concert footage, it hits the spot for those who never got to see them live.
LCD Soundsystem - Shut Up And Play The Hits: Let’s do a little rewatch! One of my favorite music documentaries is “Shut Up And Play The Hits,” which is about LCD Soundsystem’s “last” show back in 2011 at MSG. While it’s kind of irrelevant now since the band reformed back in 2016, this still hits. The doc follows the formula of bouncing back and forth between the sold out show and interviews with James Murphy. All of it’s good, but what I really like is that it covers something you don’t see with stuff like this: the next day and moving on. I could easily go on all day about it(I might do a bigger thing on LCD Soundsystem at some point), but for now, I can easily recommend it whether you know the band or not.
This Is Spinal Tap: When I started planning out Crimson Fest, I picked up the Criterion of “This Is Spinal Tap.” It has been a long time coming because I had never seen it before, and I’ve always been aware of its massive pop culture influence. I had always meant to watch it, and to go through this project without watching it would feel like a missed opportunity. Something I could not predict, though, is what took place recently. I’m sure most of you reading this have heard, but on December 14th, 2025, film director and activist Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer were tragically murdered.
I’m not going to go into the details of everything around the situation here. There are people out there that are more qualified and informed on what has happened than me. But, I feel that it would be wrong if I didn’t address it at all. This section is dedicated to Rob Reiner and Michele Singer, and my heart goes out to their family.
When it comes to Rob Reiner, I’ve seen “The Princess Bride,” “Stand By Me,” and “When Harry Met Sally.” All of them are amazing. But like I said earlier, I hadn’t seen his first film: the iconic and trend setting music mockumentary, “This Is Spinal Tap.” After finally watching it, what do I think?
I’ll open by saying I like it a lot. I wish that a lot of the jokes weren't spoiled for me, though. The Stonehenge bit, turning the amps to eleven, “Shit Sandwich,” and a few others were ruined for me. Outside that, there aren’t any actual problems with the movie. It’s so much fun, and a classic for a reason. In the tight hour and thirty minute runtime, they parody every rock and roll cliche imaginable. The rise and fall, solo projects, different eras, reunion shows, and a ton more. All of it is still really good. Some of it nails it so hard, that if you’ve heard stories in any part of rock history, even after this movie, they aren’t too far off. The satire feels truly authentic to this day.
What I love is that Reiner and company never feel like they're being mean spirited. All the music feels genuine, even with the very dumb lyrics. Despite not being the brightest, all the characters mean well. While done differently than his other movies, he approaches “Spinal Tap” with sincerity and playfulness while having an edge. Just like “The Princess Bride” or “When Harry Met Sally,” it has this infectious energy that runs wild. A creative energy that will never leave or fade. It’s honestly one of the most “rock n’ roll” things I’ve watched all month. Thank you, Mr. Reiner. Thank you to those that are reading. I hope you have a good day or night, wherever you are.