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Why Prince’s ‘Sign O’ the Times’ Concert Film in IMAX Is Essential Viewing

Prince stands as one of the most brilliant musical talents of the late 20th century, yet he often challenged his own audience. After "Purple Rain" catapulted him to global superstardom, he began to deliberately subvert expectations, alienating many newer fans with increasingly unconventional music and public behavior. Although he continued producing major hits through the late 1980s, by the mid-1990s his output had grown so idiosyncratic that only his most dedicated followers remained. Prince, born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis, was a prodigious multi-instrumentalist who wrote his first song at age seven and signed his first record deal at 19. In later years, Prince shifted the narrative through prescient ideas—such as online music sales, subscription models, and bundled album-ticket packages—that emphasized artist ownership. However, his execution was often perplexing. Writing “Slave” on his cheek and adopting an unpronounceable symbol in the 1990s were radical protests against industry exploitation, but they lacked the clarity of Taylor Swift’s modern, methodical campaign for masters ownership. As music historian Dr. Lena Shaw notes, “Prince was a visionary, but his methods were so personal and symbolic that they often failed to translate to a broader public.” For a brief, glorious period in the mid-1980s, Prince’s pop sensibility and artistic innovation aligned perfectly. That era is immortalized in his 1987 album and tour, “Sign O’ the Times,” and its accompanying concert film, which will screen in IMAX theaters for one week starting Friday, August 29. While “Purple Rain” was his commercial zenith, this period captures a genius pushing creative boundaries with electrifying confidence. The film is widely regarded as one of the greatest concert documentaries ever made. Upon its 1988 release, critics hailed it with exuberant praise, declaring it “without a shadow of a doubt the greatest concert movie ever made” and noting that it “makes Michael Jackson look nailed to the floor.” Even though the setlist focuses almost entirely on the “Sign O’ the Times” album—omitting classics like “1999” and “Purple Rain”—the film remains essential viewing. It showcases Prince at his artistic peak, leading an exceptional band featuring Sheila E. on drums, vocalist and keyboardist Boni Boyer, a sharp horn section, and magnetic dancer Cat Glover. Prince’s performance is a masterclass in multi-tasking: he sings, dances, plays virtuosic guitar and keyboard solos, and directs the band—all while executing jaw-dropping physical feats, including a back-crabwalk across the stage and a full split. The production is visually rich, with frequent costume changes, neon lighting, and a multi-level stage adorned with peace signs, arrows, and hearts. The “Sign O’ the Times” album itself is a tour de force, blending pop, funk, rock, and gospel—all elevated in these live renditions. Tracks like “Forever in My Life” are transformed into soul-stirring gospel rave-ups, while “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” gains new life through bold horn arrangements. For decades, the film was notoriously difficult to access. Prince, fiercely protective of his art, withdrew it from circulation in the 1990s, along with many music videos, making legal viewings nearly impossible. This restoration not returns it to theaters but also offers vastly improved sound and visual quality. Although the graininess of the original 1987 footage remains—and a slight speckle appears near the end—the audio is punchier and more immersive than ever before. It’s worth noting that much of the film was reshot on a soundstage at Paisley Park—Prince's legendary Minnesota studio complex—after he expressed dissatisfaction with live footage. Brief dramatic segments involving Cat Glover’s character are interspersed throughout, and the performance of “U Got the Look” incorporates a separately filmed music video with Sheena Easton. Yet these stylistic choices hardly detract from the overall experience. For those who never saw Prince live, this film is the next best thing—an enduring document of an artist whose singular blend of musical genius and theatrical flair may never be matched.

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