What’s the best Woody Allen movie? What’s a great movie about why people watch movies?
“The Purple Rose of Cairo” answers both questions. Starring Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, and Danny Aiello, the movie is a fantasy-romance that takes place in New Jersey during the Great Depression. It features a frequent moviegoer named Cecilia (played by Farrow) who’s a hardluck, impoverished woman. One day she goes to the movies and … surprise, a movie character walks out of the screen and into her life.
I have seen this movie many times, and it never gets old. It’s a quick-witted, yet melancholic look at the reasons why people watch movies, videos, and TV. And it really deals well with how movies influence you, the movie-watcher.