Just two years after starring in the blockbuster musical drama Purple Rain, which picked up the Oscar for Best Original Score, Prince made his directorial debut and starred in the 1986 film Under the Cherry Moon. Though the movie and its accompanying soundtrack didn’t get the same box office praise as its predecessor, Prince went back to the studio to wrap up his first album since disbanding the Revolution.
Released in 1987, Sign o’ the Times climbed the charts internationally, prompting Prince to take another seat in the director’s chair, along with scoring and starring in the album’s accompanying musical film. The film didn’t receive the reception Prince hoped for during its initial theatrical run, yet it found a whole new audience the following year when it was released on VHS. Now considered to be one of the best musical films, Sign o’ the Times blended scripted vignettes into a full-on live performance. Originally meant to feature live footage from Prince’s European shows for this tour in the Netherlands and Belgium, a majority of the film was later reshot at Prince’s Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis.
Just months after Purple Rain got a similar one-night-only screening treatment in Dolby Cinemas back in March nearly 40 years after its initial release in theaters, a newly restored Sign o’ the Times is getting a one-week global run beginning August 29 in IMAX, in cooperation with Mercury Studios, FilmRise, and Paisley Park Enterprises. If there’s one aspect of the film the IMAX version illuminates, it’s the musicianship that surrounded Prince at the time, including the band-only take on Charlie Parker’s “Now's the Time,” including guitarist Mico Weaver, bassist Levi Seacer Jr., keyboardist Dr. Fink, and a horn section made up of Atlanta Bliss and Eric Leeds.
And then there’s the higher showcase of Prince’s women. Throughout the 13-song set, which is mostly tied to Sign o’ the Times with the exception of a “Little Red Corvette” interlude on piano before segueing into “Housequake,” Prince’s allegiance to his female backing musicians is remarkably highlighted in this re-release. Having previously worked with vocalist Gayle Chapman in the late ’70s, Jill Jones and Vanity 6 during the early 1980s, and the Revolution-era keyboardist Lisa Coleman and guitarist Wendy Melvoin later that decade, the film shines a brighter spotlight on keyboardist and backing vocalist Boni Boyer, who illuminates her solo during “Forever in My Life,” and dancer Cat Glover working full-speed while gyrating, singing, and acting through the entire runtime. Midway through the film, drummer Sheila E. temporarily shuts the show down with the enormity of her talent playing an explosive near-four-minute solo. At one point, she tosses her sticks and nearly punching down the toms by hand before returning to her seated position. She later hands off the drums to Prince during her syncopated rap solo on “It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night.”
With its flashing neon signs surrounding the stage, Prince’s near-matching getups, and a pre-cellphone-age sea of lighters during the sultry turn of “Slow Love,” the true sign of the times (the late-’80s) are magnified throughout the film. Enhanced audio and visuals, powered by the IMAX proprietary Digital Media Remastering, highlight the immensity of the songs, from the music video treatment of “U Got the Look” featuring Sheena Easton on through the grand close of “The Cross.”
It's safe to say the rebirth of the film on the big screen in higher definition would’ve been Prince-approved. When the Purple One partnered with the music streaming platform Tidal in 2015 a year before his death, he praised its premium sound. “We take the time to make music,” he said with regard to the partnership. “It’s actual people playing. You can hear all the humanity in it. This is a top-of-the-line, sonically exquisite piece of work. You hear all of the effort.”
It’s plain to see, whether viewing Sign o’ the Times in IMAX for the first time or for the hundredth time since its initial theatrical release, it is now as it was always meant to be seen. And for those who never had the privilege of witnessing Prince live, this is a must-see.
