Purple Haze (1982) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

1982 · 97 mins · English

Directed by

David Burton Morris

Starring

Joel Thingvall, Chuck McQuary, Peter Nelson, Heidi Helmer, Susanna Lack, Bernard Baldan

It’s the summer of 1968, and Matt Caulfield is forced to confront adulthood quickly. After his friends hear President Lyndon Johnson announce he won’t seek re‑election, they celebrate by smoking marijuana. A nearby student, annoyed by their noise, is pelted with junk food when he asks them to quiet down and calls the police. Within minutes Matt and his roommates are arrested and expelled from campus. He returns home to a fraught family environment and soon finds himself drafted and shipped off to Vietnam.