The Purple Rose of Cairo

Woody Allen blurs the the boundaries between the real and unreal in this unique comic fantasy. The scene is a small town in the mid-1930s. Trapped in a dead-end job and an abusive marriage, Cecelia (Mia Farrow) regularly seeks refuge in the local movie house. She becomes so enraptured by the latest ...more

In the Woody Allen canon, The Purple Rose of Cairo marked perhaps the pinnacle of his Mia Farrow era. This is a charming story about an abused, mousy woman (Farrow) who escapes from her alcoholic husband (Danny Aiello) by going to the movies and catching the attention of an on-screen film hero (played with wonderful knowingness by the under-appreciated Jeff Daniels). Allen reversed the effect of Buster Keaton's projectionist's entering a film in Sherlock Jr. by having Daniels's character come ...more