Sign o’ the Times
Sign o’ the Times
Prince returned to the big screen after a hit debut (Oscar-winner Purple Rain) and a flop follow-up (the underrated Under the Cherry Moon) with a simpler yet no less ingenious concept: a concert film devoted to material from his newly released hit double-LP Sign o’ the Times. Reinventing the concert film itself, Prince brings together choreographed theatrical numbers, high ’80s silhouettes, and a neon-drenched stage blazing with funk, soul, and rock. Combining live footage from both Prince’s European tour and a performance at his residential Paisley Park studios, the film features a drum showcase for Sheila E., a music video interlude with Sheena Easton, and more plasma globes than you’ve seen in forty years.
DIRECTED BY: Prince. WITH: Prince, Sheila E., Cat Glover, Doctor Fink. 1987. 85 min. USA. Color. English. Rated PG-13. DCP.
Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.
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