Prince plays Christopher Tracy, a gigolo con-man who - with his friend Tricky (Jerome Benton) - earns a living out of conning rich women out of their money. When he discovers that a wealthy heiress, Mary Sharon (Kristin Scott-Thomas in her screen debut) is about to inherit a 50 million dollar trust fund on her 21st birthday, his intention is to woo her, marry her and gain all the riches that go with the union. However, as he begins his ruse, he starts to fall in love with her. Now he must convince her that his intentions are true, while battling his Tricky's own similar intentions towards Mary, as well as Mary's domineering father (Steven Berkoff in yet another role well beneath his talents).

In some ways, Under the Cherry Moon is everything that Purple Rain should have been. Where Purple Rain was dramatic and serious, cut together with a killer soundtrack, Under the Cherry Moon is a lighthearted comedy, more in the tradition of the screwball comedies of the 1930s. This is emphasised by the 1930s feel to the set and costume designs. However, the thing that ultimately made Purple Rain work was the music, and this is suspiciously absent from Under the Cherry Moon. It is nearly 40 minutes before Prince 'performs' a song, and even that is cut short by Steven Berkoff in party-pooper mode. There are sporadic Prince songs throughout the soundtrack - including the now-classic "Kiss" played prominently over a romantic scene towards the end of the film - but for the most part, the soundtrack is fairly thin on Prince tunes, which is an almost fatal flaw. After all, when you go to see a Prince film, you expect to see what he does best.

However, going against the expected is perhaps where this film succeeds the most.  It would have been very easy to make a sequel to Purple Rain, which Prince did do a few years later with Graffiti Bridge, but instead he opted for a completely different type of film. It would have been even easier to build a movie around a soundtrack designed to sell a million copies, but Prince avoids this as well. Instead, we have a film that looks, feels and sounds incredibly different to Purple Rain in every respect. The considerable talents of Michael Ballhaus - who has shot films for Martin Scorsese on a number of occasions, as well as Francis Ford Coppola - were employed to shoot this film. Shooting in colour, and printing in black and white, Ballhaus and director Prince have created a beautiful looking picture, which manages to capture the look and feel of the 1930s, while simultaneously being very much a product of the 1980s. On this point Prince must be congratulated.

Unfortunately, despite the originality in the look and tone of the film, there are certain obstacles that Prince just can't overcome. Prince is actually a pretty decent actor, but his ability to carry an entire film is limited, especially when he is not doing the one thing that he does best. As with Purple Rain, the storyline is often confused and disjointed, and really does just come off as a vanity project for Prince. The story never goes quite where we expect it to, and this too is a plus for the film. However, it ultimately relies on the audience wanting to just look at Prince for 90 minutes, and while this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is pushing the appeal of Prince about as far as it can go. Under the Cherry Moon provides a few laughs - both of the intentional and unintentional variety, and has at least one good song on the soundtrack ("Kiss") - but ultimately, one's enjoyment of this film is going to rely heavily on just how much you like Prince.

Although this didn't get granted the full-blown digital restoration that Purple Rain was given for its 20th anniversary, it still looks pretty good. Presented in its original 1.85:1, Under the Cherry Moon was originally shot in colour, and then drained of it in post-production. So what we see on screen is a black and white picture. This creates a unique look and feel to the film, which lifts this above the average vanity project. The image does look soft as a result, and there are also traces of grain and other film artefacts to be seen.

However, other than a few minor quibbles, this is actually a pretty good picture for a catalog title. Films of a similar standing and age have been let go, but Warner have given us a fairly decent looking film here. While not quite up to the standard of Purple Rain, this is a solid transfer, which although isn't as crisp as it probably should be, is still a beautiful black and white image that truly evokes a sense of time and place.

Naturally, the rear speakers and subwoofer don't get used at all, and the sound is heard through the front and centre speakers. For the most part, dialogue is loud and clear, although there is the occasional dip in sound, which may have been a problem with the source. I suspect that there hasn't been as much effort on this soundtrack as there was on the Purple Rain soundtrack, and once again, it really doesn't matter. Unlike that previous film, this film is much more interesting to look at than it is to listen to.

This isn't a terribly consistent track, but it does provide where it counts. While I could nitpick, this is a perfectly acceptable soundtrack for a catalog title such as this, and really doesn't detract too much from the enjoyment - or lack thereof - of the main feature.

First up, we have the theatrical trailer to the film, which is a short piece set to the song "Kiss". It is always nice to see a trailer included on a DVD, as these are being increasingly forgotten, even on so-called 'special editions'. 

The main supplement comes in the form of four music videos in the Under the Cherry Moon: The Videos section. These are: "Girls & Boys", "Mountains", "Kiss" and "Anotherloverholenyohead". These are a great inclusion for fans, although "Kiss" is the only 'proper' music video. "Girls & Boys" is an extended version of film scene in which it is performed, and "Mountains" is the same footage of the band that plays over the closing credit of the film (albeit, we get to see this sequence in colour in the music video). "Anotherloverholenyohead" is live concert footage, and it is always nice to see The Purple One in action onstage.

A disappointing set of extras after the wonderful Purple Rain Special Edition, but this was more than expected really.

It isn't for all tastes, but it is still a bit of fun. Recommended for fans, mildly recommended for everyone else.