In 1985, Spielberg released The Color Purple, an adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, about a generation of empowered African-American women during depression-era America. Starring Whoopi Goldberg and future talk-show superstar Oprah Winfrey, the film was a box office smash and critics hailed Spielberg's successful foray into the dramatic genre. Roger Ebert <answer>proclaimed it the best film of the year and later entered it into his Great Films archive</answer>. The film received eleven Academy Award nominations, including two for Goldberg and Winfrey. However, much to the surprise of many, Spielberg did not get a Best Director nomination.
What did Ebert think of 'The Color Purple'?
proclaimed it the best film of the year and later entered it into his Great Films archive