"Actor: Jerome Jones"

• Purple Rain | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.19   |  Saving you £11.80 (164.12%)   |  RRP £18.99

  While "rock musical" remains a phrase used by sadistic parents to give their offspring nightmares the genre does occasionally throw up the odd gem, Purple Rain being perhaps the shiniest example. Given the theatricality of Prince's stage shows, it was only a matter of time before the diminutive pop potentate found himself a big-screen vehicle but few could have predicted that Purple Rain would become nothing less than a cultural phenomenon. The story, co-written by one-time Starsky & Hutch scripter William Blinn, may be a somewhat hackneyed tale with His Purpleness overcoming a troubled background and musical rival Morris Day to achieve his dreams of rock stardom. However, the cast, which also includes Prince protegée Appollonia, rises above the clichés to hand in a set of performances which, while never likely to trouble the Oscars, prove that all concerned can at least play a rough approximation of themselves with minimal difficulty. What really helped push the film's box-office receipts through the roof, however, was its soundtrack featuring a clutch of hit singles--notably "When Doves Cry"--and which cemented our pint-sized hero's position as one of the globe's premiere performing artists. Sadly, subsequent attempts to re-bottle this particular brand of lightning with Under a Cherry Moon and Graffiti Moon would prove substantially less successful but Purple Rain still looks--and, more importantly sounds--rarely less than funktastic. --Clark Collis

• Graffiti Bridge | DVD | (18/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Bonus features are minimal but apt: a surprisingly good movie trailer and a quartet of relevant music videos, three drawn from the film and one, "Question of U," a characteristically electric concert clip. --Michael Mikesell

• You Got Served | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £4.94   |  Saving you £15.05 (304.66%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Spectacular street dancing flick about two crews battling it out for money and respect.

• Purple Rain | Blu Ray | (13/02/2017) from £10.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  While "rock musical" remains a phrase used by sadistic parents to give their offspring nightmares the genre does occasionally throw up the odd gem, Purple Rain being perhaps the shiniest example. Given the theatricality of Prince's stage shows, it was only a matter of time before the diminutive pop potentate found himself a big-screen vehicle but few could have predicted that Purple Rain would become nothing less than a cultural phenomenon. The story, co-written by one-time Starsky & Hutch scripter William Blinn, may be a somewhat hackneyed tale with His Purpleness overcoming a troubled background and musical rival Morris Day to achieve his dreams of rock stardom. However, the cast, which also includes Prince protegée Appollonia, rises above the clichés to hand in a set of performances which, while never likely to trouble the Oscars, prove that all concerned can at least play a rough approximation of themselves with minimal difficulty. What really helped push the film's box-office receipts through the roof, however, was its soundtrack featuring a clutch of hit singles--notably "When Doves Cry"--and which cemented our pint-sized hero's position as one of the globe's premiere performing artists. Sadly, subsequent attempts to re-bottle this particular brand of lightning with Under a Cherry Moon and Graffiti Moon would prove substantially less successful but Purple Rain still looks--and, more importantly sounds--rarely less than funktastic. --Clark Collis

• Purple Rain (Two Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (18/10/2004) from £14.20   |  Saving you £-0.21 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  While "rock musical" remains a phrase used by sadistic parents to give their offspring nightmares the genre does occasionally throw up the odd gem, Purple Rain being perhaps the shiniest example. Given the theatricality of Prince's stage shows, it was only a matter of time before the diminutive pop potentate found himself a big-screen vehicle but few could have predicted that Purple Rain would become nothing less than a cultural phenomenon. The story, co-written by one-time Starsky & Hutch scripter William Blinn, may be a somewhat hackneyed tale with His Purpleness overcoming a troubled background and musical rival Morris Day to achieve his dreams of rock stardom. However, the cast, which also includes Prince protegée Appollonia, rises above the clichés to hand in a set of performances which, while never likely to trouble the Oscars, prove that all concerned can at least play a rough approximation of themselves with minimal difficulty. What really helped push the film's box-office receipts through the roof, however, was its soundtrack featuring a clutch of hit singles--notably "When Doves Cry"--and which cemented our pint-sized hero's position as one of the globe's premiere performing artists. Sadly, subsequent attempts to re-bottle this particular brand of lightning with Under a Cherry Moon and Graffiti Moon would prove substantially less successful but Purple Rain still looks--and, more importantly sounds--rarely less than funktastic. --Clark Collis

• Graffiti Bridge | Blu Ray | (13/02/2017) from £10.30   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Bonus features are minimal but apt: a surprisingly good movie trailer and a quartet of relevant music videos, three drawn from the film and one, "Question of U," a characteristically electric concert clip. --Michael Mikesell

• You Got Served | UMD | (01/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  You Got Served has one simple priority, and if you're into the latest hip-hop dance moves, you'll get served an enjoyable 93-minute diversion. For anyone else, however, all bets are off, since this wretchedly plotted film was written by director Christopher B. Stokes as a crassly commercial vehicle for B2K, the teen group that Stokes managed while making cheap movies like this one. There's a tissue-thin romantic subplot, but mostly it's about the MTV-styled showdown between B2K (as Orange County white boys) and their black LA competitors, including members of the hip-hop group IMx. Their aggressive moves are undeniably impressive (in other words, don't try this at home unless you know a good chiropractor), but Stokes would've been better off making a straight documentary. --Jeff Shannon