Sign o' the Times (film)
| Sign o' the Times | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by |
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| Produced by |
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| Written by | Prince |
| Starring | Prince |
| Music by | Prince |
| Cinematography | Peter Sinclair |
| Edited by | Steve Percell |
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Production
companies |
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| Distributed by | Cineplex-Odeon Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3 million |
Sign o' the Times (styled Sign "☮" the Times) is a 1987 American concert film written and directed by Prince.
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.
Featuring the band that accompanied Prince on his 1987 Sign o' the Times Tour, including dancer Cat Glover, keyboardist Boni Boyer, bassist Levi Seacer, Jr., guitarist Miko Weaver, drummer Sheila E. and former member of The Revolution keyboardist Dr. Fink, the film sees the group perform live on stage (although "U Got the Look" is represented by its promotional music video).
The film was originally intended to consist of live material filmed in the Ahoy in Rotterdam, The 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 some of the sound had been recorded on different channels and was virtually inaudible. 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.
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.
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