David Burton Morris’s Minnesota-made cult classic Purple Haze (1983) reimagined the Vietnam War genre film to focus not on the war itself but on the lives of young men who were coming of age during that anxious time. Lying in wait for his draft notice, the film’s protagonist, Matt Caulfield, spends his time bumming around Minneapolis trying to make sense of it all. In the midst of conflict, death, instability, and the haze of a high that likely presents a better version of reality, nothing is certain.
Last screened at the Walker in 2011, Purple Haze offers the local perspective in our Summer Heat ’68 series, which seeks to present authentic filmmaker responses to that raucous moment fifty years ago. A St. Paul native, Morris launched a prolific career as a director with Purple Haze, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1983. Since then, his films have received 25 nominations, including seven Emmy nominations. Purple Haze executive producer and writer Victoria Wozniak went on to write for Patti Rocks (1988), The Adventures of Sinbad (1997), and Sweetwater (1999). She wrote and produced Ultimate Deception (1999).
In a conversation with Morris and Wozniak, we look back to the creation of Purple Haze in the early ’80s: what it was like to film in Minneapolis, the local counter-culture, and the film’s resonance in the era of Trump.
Purple Haze screens in the Walker Cinema Wednesday, August 1 and Friday, August 3, with Morris and Wozniak introducing the film both nights.
Kelsey Bosch: What in the early 1980s inspired you to create a film looking back to 1968 in Minneapolis? Was there political or cultural resonance between the early ’80s and 1968?
David Burton Morris: Young kids were worried about the US engaging in a war in El Salvador. Reagan was president after Carter, and it all seemed to be going in the opposite direction politically in the country. Conservatism was nascent and growing. We wanted to make a statement (to quote The Who): “Don’t get fooled again”—in more undeclared wars, to stop believing in our leaders, to not take what they say at face value, but to do research, to seek the truth. What also prompted us was that no one had done it before. Coming Home (1978) was a great film but dealt with the casualties of war, as did The Deerhunter (1978) . So it was natural that the first films limning that decade dealt with the Nam tragedy. The war had left a bad taste in a lot of our mouths, and a catharsis was necessary. Victoria and I wanted to make a film about what it felt like to be “18 and anxious,” to quote a phrase at the time.
The late 1960s was also an exciting time to be of age, to be part of a changing world. It was a time of reevaluation. The post-war baby boomers had come of age, and the goals their parents had stressed didn’t really seem that important anymore. A cultural revolution occurred in the ’60s, reaching all levels of society; nothing was left untouched. Vietnam and The Beatles: an unlikely alliance that changed the shape of things to come.
Victoria Wozniak: As David said, there was an unrest in the country, especially with the election of Reagan and the rise of conservatism, the call for ideological purity and a growing national polarization. In 1968, the country was extremely polarized, politically and socially, and it was very personal. Households erupted in crisis between parents and children, brothers and sisters, friends. We wanted to remind people what that felt like—the confusion, the anger, the fear, the alienation—taking the risk of questioning societal norms and rules, speaking our truth to the authority figures who were demanding blind faith and loyalty as they sent us off to fight and die in a war, the purpose of which was becoming increasing clear—the greed of the industrial military complex.
Bosch: What about Minneapolis’s West Bank was inspiring to you in the telling of this story? Was it important for audiences to have a strong sense of place?
Morris: Back in 1968 the West Bank was where the “counter-culture” hung out, and we did as well. So we were only being true to the time the story takes place. The day we shot that long tracking shot on Cedar Avenue we were blown away by the number of free extras that had showed up in their ’60s wardrobe and vehicles. We expected a few dozen if we were lucky, but more than a hundred showed up.
Wozniak: We’re all familiar with the images of Haight Ashbury in San Francisco when the counter culture was in full swing in the mid-’60s, but that sense of community took a while to reach the Midwest, and here it took root on the West Bank. If you were a “hippie” it’s where you lived or hung out. I had an apartment on Seven Corners, and I felt exactly like Matt when he found it in the film—the people, the music, the culture: I wasn’t a stranger—I was home.
Bosch: Purple Haze’s protagonist, Matt Caulfield, is a reference to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. How did Salinger’s work influence the story?
Morris: It didn’t influence it at all, only borrowing the last name for Matt and the first name for his sister. In retrospect, it was a bad decision because it gave a handful of critics, most notably the New York Times, the idea that we were somehow doing an update on the Rye story, and there is absolutely no resemblance between the novel and film at all, other than the last name. Now I wish I had just called him John Doe.
Wozniak: Ditto. When I wrote the screenplay I never thought about using those names—it was David’s idea—I went along with it, reluctantly, and my concerns proved to be justified.
Morris: As always, it was my fault.
Bosch: How did you approach casting?
Morris: We didn’t have the money to use union actors, so we had to go non-SAG, which made the process more difficult because basically we were looking at unknowns. But since we were also looking for actors around the age of 20, not a lot of actors had gotten their SAG cards that early in their career. Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) came in to read for the part of Jolly Jeff, but apparently we kept him waiting too long and he left before he came in to interview. That could have been interesting if we had cast him. Peter Nelson, who got the part of Matt, actually came in as a friend of an actor who we wanted to audition, and when we saw Nelson, sort of a young Robert Redford look, we asked him also to audition. The rest is history. Chuck McQuary, who plays Jolly Jeff, was a stand-up comedian and didn’t believe we were actually making a film, and it took some time to convince him that we were on the level. We’ve stayed in touch with Nelson over the years but have no idea what Chuck is currently doing with his life.
Wozniak: My recollection was that we really just wanted to find the best actors we could find who got the material and were willing to sign on to a low-budget feature shooting in the Midwest. I think we did well.
Bosch: What strikes you about Purple Haze today, more than 35 years after its release?
Morris: That is was 35 years ago, which means I am getting quite along in years. I’m also gratified that people still love the film. I think all the great music plays a large part in audiences still digging the film. When it premiered in France we found several young kids in the audience with tape recorders, taping the soundtrack. We also had an album lined up with 10 tracks but Columbia, in all of their inspired wisdom, wasn’t interested. When they initially released the film, the posters and print ads didn’t even mention all the music for a myriad of great ’60s bands we had in the film. In retrospect we should have gone with a small distributor rather than one of the majors in the hopes that they would have known how to market the film better, pushing the soundtrack.
Wozniak: That it still resonates with an audience—the music certainly sets the tone for the times and because so much of it is still popular and familiar to younger generations I think the story gives them context for why and for whom this music was written—I’m also amazed that so many people who saw it all those years ago still remember how much it affected them—many say we told their story, others have searched us out for a DVD so they can see it again and show it to their own children. It’s humbling to realize that something you wrote and brought to the screen has had such a profound and lasting effect on people.
Bosch: Do you see relevance in looking back 50 years to 1968?
Morris: Unfortunately, I see a lot of similarities between ’68 and now. We were in Vietnam and had an administration that was detested by the counter-culture. “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?” The country was polarized as it is today with the Trump administration. You had your “straights” and your “hippies.” Today we have the pro-Trumps and the anti-Trumps. But unlike today, young kids had a feeling of optimism, a feeling they could change things for the better. That doesn’t exist today and those that are against the present administration sit around in a stew of disbelief and depression. Yes, some are getting activated for the midterms, but it’s not enough, yet. Millions need to take to the streets. The “movement” then, despite its faults, did help to end the war. If we still had a draft today, I am almost certain the US wouldn’t be in Afghanistan some 17 years later or even invaded Iraq. The two wars, three if you count Syria, don’t affect young kids today unless a relative is serving. I’m worried that they don’t even keep up with current events, plugged into their iPhones and tablets and ear buds. And it’s up to that generation to get motivated, as my generation did, to affect change if they disagree with the way our country is currently headed.
Wozniak: I truly believe that taking to the streets in protest, striking at universities, and the horror of the
Bosch: Purple Haze is unique in its perspective of the Vietnam War era, telling the story of a young man and his experience in the States, why did you choose this perspective and how was this received at the time of the film’s release?
Morris: The film was generally received very well, especially by the public. It won the Grand Prize at Sundance, and now that it is no longer available on cable television (the rights reverted back to us) we constantly get emails from people wanting to know how they could see it again, if it’s available on DVD, etc. The film premiered in the US at the Chicago International Film Festival, and going in we had no idea how it would be received. At the conclusion of the screening we knew we had a Grand Slam, being swarmed by the audience afterwards.
Wozniak: Purple Haze is very up close and personal—it’s about the war we were having at home to stop the Vietnam War, to speak truth to power, to question authority, to find courage, to follow your own path. As David said, the Chicago screening was overwhelmingly positive, and winning at Sundance was thrilling—the good reviews and the excitement surrounding the film put us on the front page of Variety and squarely in the sights of the Hollywood establishment. It started careers that lasted for over thirty years.
Bosch: What was the film community or scene like in the early ’80s in Minneapolis? Was there a lot of support back for young filmmakers?
Morris: There really was not much. Film in The Cities was around, but there really wasn’t any support system until we helped create IFP North after we had made Patti Rocks here in town. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I still don’t think the U of M has much of a film department. When I was there for a year, they really had nothing, and I transferred to UCLA. But shooting Purple Haze back then the community was great in that the entire process was rather novel to people, as not that many films had been produced here yet. There was that scene in the movie where we rolled the police car and we had no problem getting the city of St. Paul to close the road for us to do the stunt. I also don’t remember having to pay much, if anything, for any of our locations.
Wozniak: Film in the Cities was the only organization that supported and encouraged filmmakers at that time, and they helped with local casting and finding our local crew. We imported all the above-the-line cast and crew from LA, New York, and England. That said, shooting a feature film in the Twin Cities was so uncommon and surprising it piqued people’s interest and curiosity, so when asked for the use of a location or sports car or helicopter they said yes without knowing what they really might be getting into. It was a terrific experience with lots of support and encouragement from everyone.
Bosch: Where is Matt Caulfield today?
Morris: The actor is an exec at Sony Pictures. The character is living in Montreal and worked as a Free Press journalist, married to a nurse. They are both retired. His parents came to visit him in the late ’70s when their first child was born, but he has yet to return to the USA. With the way things are going lately, why should he?
Wozniak: I disagree. Matt did settle in Montreal, finished getting his degree in political science and journalism while working for the Free Press under the pseudonym Jeff Jolly, where he won several awards for his biting sarcasm and insightful irreverence for the American military-industrial complex. In 1977 Jimmy Carter granted unconditional pardons to everyone who fled the country to evade the draft, and Matt returned to the US with his wife and twin daughters. After working for several national publications, he became a pioneer in online journalism and recently retired as the editor-in-chief of Politico.
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