Sign o' the Times (film)

Sign o' the Times (styled Sign "☮" the Times) is a 1987 American concert film written and directed by Prince.[3]

Sign o' the Times
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Robert Cavallo
  • Joseph Ruffalo
  • Steven Fargnoli
Written byPrince
StarringPrince
Music byPrince
CinematographyPeter Sinclair
Edited bySteve Percell
Production
companies
  • Paisley Park Films
  • Purple Films
Distributed byCineplex-Odeon Films
Release date
  • October 29, 1987 (1987-10-29) (Detroit)
  • November 20, 1987 (1987-11-20)
Running time
84 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3 million[2]

In 1987, to capitalize on his growing success in Europe, Prince toured extensively to promote the album of the same name and sales increased accordingly. However, the United States remained resistant to his latest album, and sales began to drop; it was at this point that Prince decided to film a live concert promoting the new material, for eventual distribution to theaters in America.

It featured the band that accompanied Prince on his 1987 Sign o' the Times Tour: dancer Cat Glover, keyboardist Boni Boyer, bassist Levi Seacer Jr., guitarist Miko Weaver, drummer Sheila E., keyboardist Doctor Fink, and the horn section of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss; Wally Safford and Greg Brooks (of The Bodyguards from the Revolution era) reprised their roles as dancers, vocalists, and comic foils. The film sees the group perform live on stage; although "U Got the Look", featuring Sheena Easton, is represented by its promotional music video.

Background
See also: Sign o' the Times Tour

The film was originally intended to consist of live material filmed in the Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands on June 26–28 and in the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium on June 29. However, the footage from these concerts was deemed unsatisfactory, partly due to the film being grainy and unusable, but also because Prince was not satisfied with the sound. Sound engineer Michiel Hoogenboezem stated in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that the recording itself was good.[4] Consequently, the live performance was reshot at Prince's Paisley Park Studios (where the between-song segues were also filmed). According to saxophonist Eric Leeds, around 80% of the final film was drawn from the Paisley Park reshoot.[5]

Most of the songs are linked by a themed narrative and many film critics were quick to praise Prince as being a better actor live than in the previous year's unsuccessful romantic comedy Under the Cherry Moon. In total, 13 songs appear on the video - 11 from Sign o' the Times and two others - a brief piano version of "Little Red Corvette" and a cover version of Charlie Parker's "Now's the Time" (performed without Prince and showcasing each member of the band). Initially, there had been plans to include the full concert which featured many other non-Sign o' the Times songs (including "Kiss", "1999", "Purple Rain", "When Doves Cry", "Girls & Boys", and "Let's Go Crazy") but these songs were eventually dropped.

In the musical coda for "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man", the horn section, Eric Leeds, and trumpeter Atlanta Bliss lifts a section from "Rockhard In a Funky Place", a Camille track, also on the Crystal Ball track listing, but lost when the 3-LP set was trimmed down. It would later be heard on The Black Album.

Music
Main article: Sign o' the Times
Set list
  1. "Sign o' the Times"
  2. "Play in the Sunshine"
  3. "Little Red Corvette"/"Housequake"
  4. "Slow Love"
  5. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
  6. "Hot Thing"
  7. "Now's the Time" (Charlie Parker cover by the band excluding Prince)
  8. Drum solo by Sheila E.
  9. "U Got the Look"
  10. "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
  11. "Forever in My Life"/"It"
  12. "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night"
  13. "The Cross"

Release and reception

Sign o' the Times premiered in Detroit on October 29, 1987, and was released nationwide in 234 key locations on November 20. Despite critical praise for Prince as a live performer, the film did not perform very well commercially and quickly slipped out of theaters; the sales of the album were not really boosted by the film and it quickly slid out of view in the United States. Nonetheless, when the film was released on VHS the following year, it became extremely popular and received positive reviews, particularly in the United Kingdom. Q magazine gave it four stars, whilst SKY Magazine suggested that it "was the greatest concert movie ever made". The film holds an 86% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on fourteen critical reviews, with an average rating of 6/10.[6]

Home media

The film was released in early 2005 on DVD in Canada by Alliance Atlantis, although the cut songs still failed to appear with the rest of the footage. The Blu-ray version was released in Australia by Via Vision Entertainment and Madman Entertainment on May 9, 2012. The film has yet to be released on DVD and/or Blu-ray in the United States and has been out of print in the US since 1991. In 2017, Showtime acquired the rights and began airing the film on their premium cable channel.[7] It can also be found for purchase on YouTube.

Notes
  1. "Sign o' the Times (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 15, 1988. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  2. Sign O' the Times (1987) at Box Office Mojo
  3. Maslin, Janet (November 20, 1987). "Film: Prince in 'Sign o' the Times'". The New York Times.
  4. "Prince klinkt even virtuoos, maar wel wat sterieler". De Volkskrant. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  5. Hahn, A: "Possessed: The Rise & Fall Of Prince", Billboard, 2003.
  6. "Sign o' the Times (1987)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  7. "Rare Prince Concert Film 'Sign o' the Times' to Air on Showtime". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
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