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She's finally met the man of her dreams. He's not real, but you can't have everything.
Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.
CinemaSerf
May 30, 2025 · via TMDB
Initially, this reminded me a little of the scenario for “King Kong” as the impressionable young “Cecilia” (Mia Farrow) manages, not unreasonably it has to be said, to get fired from her waitressing job in 1930s New York. Despondent, she heads to the cinema to see the “The Purple Rose of Cairo” only for it’s star “Tom” (Jeff Daniels) to quite literally leap off the screen at her and soon her world is in turmoil. It’s not just her, neither. The studio is complaining that he is doing exactly the same in cinemas all over the shop. That gives “Cecilia” quite a quandary as she knows this man of her dreams cannot be real, whilst the rest of the nation wants to know what happens at the end of the movie - and without it’s star, well we can never find out! What is “Tom” going to decide, too? He is quite taken by his time amongst us non-celluloid types, but… I am not really much of a fan of Daniels, but he works well here as this comedy works on quite a few different levels. On one, it’s an out and out romantic comedy but on others it looks at the effects of the aftermath of the Great Depression, the crucial role of cinema in the lives of so many people and at just how repetitious and dreary life can be as that big screen allures! Meantime, “Tom” is given a rather too realistic glimpse of life on the other side of the reel as he encounters some of the less savoury characters from the time. It’s monochrome photography, Dick Hyman’s quirky score and a charming chemistry between an on form, flighty, Farrow and Daniels all contributes to another piece of gentle nostalgia from a Woody Allen who is very much at the top of his game and from a Stuart Wurtzel whose production design is engaging and sympathetic to the era and to the gently poignant and often quite witty dialogue. I wonder if anyone might make a real archaeological movie called “The Purple Rose of Cairo”?
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Mia Farrow
Cecilia
Jeff Daniels
Tom Baxter / Gil Shepherd
Danny Aiello
Monk
Dianne Wiest
Emma
Milo O'Shea
Father Donnelly
Van Johnson
Larry
Deborah Rush
Rita
Zoe Caldwell
The Countess
Irving Metzman
Theater Manager
John Wood
Jason
John Rothman
Mr. Hirsch's Lawyer
Edward Herrmann
Henry
Michael Tucker
Gil's Agent
Camille Saviola
Olga
Peter McRobbie
The Communist
Juliana Donald
Usherette
Paul Herman
Penny Pitcher
Peter Castellotti
Penny Pitcher
Mimi Weddell
Ticket Buyer
Karen Akers
Kitty Haynes
Helen Hanft
Movie Audience
George Martin
Movie Audience
Robert Trebor
Reporter
Benjamin Rayson
Movie Goer
Tom Kubiak
Policeman #2
Raymond Serra
Hollywood Executive
Peter Von Berg
Drugstore Customer
Glenne Headly
Hooker
Lela Ivey
Hooker
Drinda Lalumia
Hooker
James Prendergast
Waiter (uncredited)
Gordon Willis
Director of Photography
Brian Hamill
Still Photographer
Isis Mussenden
Costume Assistant
Jeffrey Kurland
Costume Design
Fred Astaire
Thanks
Woody Allen
Director
Thomas A. Reilly
First Assistant Director
Todd M. Thaler
Additional Casting
Juliet Taylor
Casting
Ellen Lewis
Casting Assistant
Charles H. Joffe
Executive Producer
Jack Rollins
Executive Producer
Robert Greenhut
Producer
Dick Hyman
Original Music Composer
Woody Allen
Writer
Conversation with the Beast
Cinema Paradiso
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Michèle Bernier - Le Démon de midi
The Black Bag
Paper Moon
Annie Hall
Entergalactic
The Hustler
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hannah and Her Sisters
Hat Check Girl
My Dinner with Andre
Kal Ho Naa Ho
Handbook of Movie Theaters' History
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Carol
Zelig
Karniggels
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Legends of the Fall
Berlin am Meer
Babylon
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Speedy
Men in Black
A Star Is Born
The Women
Ariel
Léolo
The Trouble with Harry
True Dreams
Too Much Harmony
The Docks of New York
Serendipity
Enchanted
Closer
13 Going on 30
Frankie and Johnny
An American Tail
Sleepless in Seattle
Unfaithful
Yes Man
Guys and Dolls
Working Girl
The Legend of Bagger Vance
Sex and the City
Le Pion
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
In My Dreams
Five Times Two
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
He Was a Quiet Man
Men in Black II
Sleeping with Other People
The House of Mirth
Blondie of the Follies
How to Be Single
Never a Dull Moment
Christmas, Again
Just Friends
Learning to Drive
Nine 1/2 Weeks
End of Days
Raising Helen
New York Minute
Top Five
There's No Business Like Show Business
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
Undertaking Betty
Around the World in 80 Days
Prime
Villa Touma
The Legend of Paul and Paula
The Laws of Thermodynamics
Don't Tell Her It's Me
Mickey Blue Eyes
P.S.
The Red Cockatoo
Fast and Loose
The Devil Is Driving
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Peacock Alley
Three Crazy Jerks
A Four Letter Word
Hercules in New York
The Enchanted Cottage
Guy Bedos - Rideau!
10 Days (for now)
La berlue
Mama, I'm in Love with Pamela Anderson
Midnight in Paris
The Good Witch's Garden
Notting Hill
Little Manhattan
Whatever Works
Hello, Dolly!
Just Like Heaven
Avanti!
Date with an Angel
Teacher's Pet
13 Going on 30
You've Got Mail
Secret Summer
The Wrong Paris
Time Freak
The Heavenly Kid
When We First Met
Little Miss Marker
That Touch of Mink
Everyone Says I Love You
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Kate & Leopold
The Woman in Red
Relationship Goals
Yoh! Bestie
Isn't It Romantic
Only the Lonely
The Lonely Guy
Love Jacked
Love, Weddings & Other Disasters
At Midnight
She's Funny That Way
Crossing Delancey
Speechless
When in Rome
Good Advice
Kiss Me Goodbye
The Right Kind of Wrong
Two of a Kind
Jan 26, 1985
US Film Festival
Feb 27, 1985
Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 1, 1985
Apr 19, 1985
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The Reckoning
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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2008 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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