DailyView: Day 246, Movie 343

I have not done a concert movie during the DailyView yet. Check that off the genre box. Today on Peacock, I took the time to watch Prince’s Sign ‘o’ the Times concert film.

I would not say that I was a fan of Prince. I like some of his music, particularly his earlier Purple Rain material. I was not aware of much of the album Sign ‘o’ the Times, outside of the song he did with Sheena Easton so I came into this concert film without any real expectations.

I quite enjoyed it.

The film was a lot of fun. It brought a ton of energy from Prince, and he seemed to be filled with joy (something that was not necessarily something he showed a lot of in his life). The music was exciting and filled with energy. Though a lot of it sounded alike, there were some amazing musical performances. Especially Shelia E’s amazing drum solo which just demanded your attention and powered through the middle of the film.

There are only so many shots that are available in a concert movie, which is a challenge for the filmmaker. Prince, who co-directed this with Albert Magnoli, did the best you could expect, but did not bring anything really new to the genre.

Because of this, the film will rise or fall with the music and fortunately, the music is exceptional. Well played, well performed and engaging. I bopped my head throughout the film despite not knowing many of the songs being performed.

I had a lot of fun.