The Color Purple (1985)

Whoopi Goldberg: Celie Johnson

Photos 

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Quotes 

• Celie : [on leaving the farm in Shug's car, shouting to Albert]  I'm poor, black, I may even be ugly, but dear God, I'm here. I'm here!

• Celie : The jail you planned for me is the one you're gonna rot in.

• Shug : More than anything God love admiration.

  Celie : You saying God is vain?

  Shug : Nah, nah. Not vain. Just wantin' to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field and you don't notice it.

  Celie : You saying it just wanna be loved like it say in the Bible?

  Shug : Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance, and holla just wanting to be loved. Look at them trees. Notice how the trees do everything people do to get attention - except walk?

  [they laugh] 

  Shug : Oh Miss Celie, I feels like singing!

• Celie : Shug like honey - and now, I's just like a bee. I's follow her everywhere, want to go where she go. What life like for her? And why she sometime get so sad? So sad, just like me.

• Celie : [lunging towards Albert with a knife]  I curse you. Until you do right by me everything you think about is gonna crumble!

  Sofia : Don't do it Mrs. Celie. Don't trade places with what I been through.

  Shug : Come on, Celie, let's go to the car.

  Sofia : He ain't worth it, he ain't worth it.

  Albert : Who you think you is? You can curse nobody. Look at you. Your black, you're poor, you're ugly, you're a woman, you're nothing at all!

  Celie : Until you do right by me, everything you even think about gonna fail!

  Grady : It's been a pleasure meeting all of you. Good-bye.

• Celie : The more things change, the more they stay the same.

• Celie : [to Shug]  He beat me when you ain't here.

  Shug : Who do? Albert?

  Celie : Mister.

  Shug : Why he do that?

  Celie : He beat me for not being you.

• Celie : [to Albert]  Till you do right by me, everything you even think about gonna' fail.

• Celie : He just climb on top of me and do his business.

  Shug : "Do his business"? You sound like he going to the toilet on you.

  Celie : That's what it feel like.

  Shug : Why then, Miss Celie... that means you still a virgin!

• Shug : [after telling Albert that she and her husband are leaving]  Celie is coming with us.

  Albert : What?

  Shug : Celie is coming with us to Memphis.

  Albert : Over my dead body.

  Shug : You satisfied? That what you want?

  Albert : [to Celie]  NOW What's wrong with you?

  Celie : You a low down dirty dog, that's what's wrong. Time for me to get away from you, and enter into Creation. And your dead body'd be just the welcome mat I need.

• Celie : [Celie confronts Albert]  Nettie and my kids be comin' home soon, and when they get here we gonna' set around and whip your ass.

• Shug : That means you still a virgin.

  Celie : Yeah, because don't nobody love me.

  Shug : I love you.

• Celie : [to herself, after Shug shouts Albert's first name when she throws the burned food out of the bedroom]  Albert?

• Celie : Most time I pretend I ain't even there. He don't know the difference.

• Celie : I got children. My children, they're living in Africa. Africa. Learning different languages. Fresh air and plenty of exercise. And they're gonna turn out a heap better than these FOOLS you never tried to raise.

  Harpo : Now hold on here!

  Celie : No hold on here, Harpo. If you hadn't tried to rule over Sofia, white folks never would have gotten her.

  Harpo : That's a lie! Now that's a lie!

  Celie : It's the truth isn't it? Y'all was rotten kids. You was. You was rotten kids. Made my life here hell. Course your daddy ain't nothing but some dead... HORSESHIT.

• Shug : Do you mind if Albert sleep with me?

  Celie : Do you like sleeping with him?

• Celie : She said she write, but she never write. She said only death could keep her from me. Maybe she dead.

• Celie : Folks don't like nobody being too proud or too free.

• Celie : You ought to wait for Mister.

  Shug : If I was to wait for Albert, I'd wait till Christmas.

• Old Mr. : You can't talk to my boy that way.

  Celie : Your boy. If he hadn't been your boy, he might have been a halfway decent man.

• Celie : He coming back soon.

  Shug : You crazy? He in the jook joint.

• Celie : Everything you done to me, is already done to you.

• Celie : The more things change, the more they stay the same. Me and Shug, I smile. But us still longing.