'The Color Purple' returning to LI movie screens for one day only

In honor of Black History Month — and to mark the film's 35th anniversary — Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" will return to theaters on Feb. 23 

The dramatization of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which featured the screen debuts of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, will play at 1 and 5 p.m. at Regal Deer Park 16 & IMAX, Regal Westbury 12 and AMC Stony Brook 17. Tickets for the movie, another entry in the TCM Big Screen Classic series, are $16 and can be purchased at fathomevents.com.

Spielberg's drama racked up 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture, director, best actress (Goldberg) and supporting actress (Winfrey and Margaret Avery). It has the dubious distinction of being tied with 1977's "The Turning Point" for receiving the most Oscar nominations without a win.

The movie did mark a radical departure for Spielberg, who was then known for directing blockbusters like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "E.T." In the 2007 Turner Classic Movies documentary "Spielberg on Spielberg," the director cited "The Color Purple" as his first "serious" film. Without it, he added, he probably would never have gotten to make "Schindler's List" or "Saving Private Ryan," both of which earned him Oscars.