Customer Reviews

SIGN O THE TIMES

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It appears the DVD version of this spectacular concert is a bootleg manufactured in Brazil.
It does not appear to be official at all. Nothing stating any affiliation with Prince or Warner Bros. appears on the packaging aside from the name 'Prince.'
The quality of the packaging is poor with a photograph from the 'Purple Rain' era on the cover and no inserts at all.
'Extras' include 'fotos'(pictures of Prince mostly taken from 'sign...' or post name change. Pictures that are frequently seen. Nothing that you can't find in a quick online search.), 'biografia'(What appears to be a biography of Prince...in Spanish!), and 'discografia'(All the album covers through 'The Rainbow Children' and the release year of each album...I didn't take the time to check the accuracy.)..
After waiting months to receive this, I was extremely disappointed and I would recommend getting the VHS version if you are considering this.
It is a legendary performance that needs to be seen, but if you must have a DVD version, you could probably make one of your own from the VHS version that would surpass this one as far as quality goes.

Let's get one thing straight: Prince's Sign O' The Times (1987) is a masterpiece, and that goes for the album as well as this movie... That's why it hurts me, as a Prince-fan, that this fine work of art got a REALLY lousy transfer to DVD... It already begins with the box: spelling errors, and pictures from other eras than Sign O' The Times. Ok, for some people it might nog be a big deal to have a 1984 Purple Rain-picture on a box of a 1987-film, but hey: why didn't they just use the sleeve of the VHS-tape? Oh well, what's really important is ofcourse the disc itself. The picture is very dark and the sound is very flat, even near mono if you ask me. The subtitling is so poor that it almost becomes amusing: full of errors!

A masterpiece like Sign O' The Times deserved a better treatment than this; this DVD looks like a cheap bootleg. In fact: it probably is, because nowhere on box or disc can I find logos and catalogue-numbers of record-company Warner and movie-company MCA (which is the company that released Sign O' The Times, if memory serves me right).

People please: stay away from this DVD and wait for a proper, official release in the future (I hope that's not whishful thinking). Or try to get the Laserdisc-version, that was released sometime in the 90's, that one was pretty acceptable...

This is a Brazilian DVD that is a lame copy of the original film on VHS tape. This is not an official release. Scenes are missing, the picture quality is dark and it's not even in stereo. You're better off buying the VHS tape - at least that's the real deal and better quality. That said, this movie rocks! Just don't buy this DVD...

There is a reason why there isn't an image available for the DVD release of Prince's Sign O' The Times. This is such a poor product that it would be wise not to show a preview because people wouldn't waste their hopes and money. What this is is a bootleg of some sort with horrendous sound and picture. The cover uses a Purple Rain-era image of Prince and my word, the majority of the information on the packaging is in Spanish. That wouldn't be so bad if I knew how to speak and read Spanish, but I don't and I didn't anticipate having to do so to fully enjoy this. I am returning this DVD with a warning sign: STAY AWAY!!

I have read several reviews that talk about just how poor the quality is of this dvd and how bad the packaging is. To clear up a few misunderstandings, number one: This is not a bootleg. This DVD is an import from Brazil. In Brazil, they have different copyright laws and the packaging is the sole responsibility of the manufacturer (which I don't believe is Wanner Bros. or MCA). If you're a well seasoned Prince fan, then I'm sure you've seen countless promotional posters for concerts in years such as 1995, with 1985 pictures on them. This is very common outside of the United States. As far as owning this DVD as a "Must Have," buy it at your own risk; but don't blame Amazon. Amazon is actually doing die hard fans a favor by making this DVD available. Left in the hands of Wanner Brothers, we probably wont see another Prince DVD until long after he's gone.

Let me start off by saying that I gave this disk 2 stars because it is Prince. beyond that, i highly recommend that you pass this one up.After waiting since early February, I finally got it today(April 10th). I expected problems when all the packaging was in spanish with a different cover picture. i put it into my player, and that's where the real dissapointment came in. The picture is awful. The sound is awful. the so-called dolby digital sound came mostly from my center channel speaker. I had to actually walk over to my other speakers to see if anything at all was coming out of them(very little). The quality of the sound is also awful(muffled). I pulled out my old VHS copy that i was hoping to retire, and it is far superior even after 15 or mor years of heavy use. Do not buy this disk unless you are just looking for disappointment.

Prince was recovering from the critically panned "Under the Cherry Moon" when he recorded, arguably his greatest record ever, "Sign O' The Times" and released the concert movie of the same title. I don't know what the man did with this record and the film but he hit the target everytime. From "Housequake" to "If I Was Your Girlfriend" every song performed live became an experience and made me a Prince fan in the process. This film is least talked about and the folks at Universal or WB should consider releasing this on DVD. Prince's "Sign O' The Times" is a hidden gem in Prince's illustrious career.

As a Prince fan, this is for me, the highpoint of this man's career. The artistry, musical complexities, and storytelling of his music reach its highest point with this video. It doesn't hurt that he is performing music from his best album and is working with his tightest musical unit. If you are a preacher of the Prince faith like am, this is a perfect vehicle to show the amazing talent of this man to ANY music fan. The footage is well shot and does justice to the energy and fever of these live performances. Each song has its own different feel and look yet never feels disjointed with the other pieces. Another amazing feature of this film is that the music is reworked and rearranged from the actual studio recording and, like a fellow reviewer mentioned, I enjoy the sound of the concert arrangements more than the studio recordings. (I in fact have made an audio recording of the video, but don't tell Prince he might not like it). Shot for shot and note for note this is a masterful look at an artist at his highest level of musical and artistic genius.

I wont spend too much time on a review of this dvd version. I will say that if you have this on vhs, stick with it and wait. This import edition is far inferior to the vhs in both video and audio quality. If you must have this on dvd, then buy at your own risk. I'll just watch my vhs version until Warner wakes up

I excitedly ordered this from the UK because I have longed for this to come out on DVD for years. Frankly, you'd be far better off ordering the existing VHS edition from the US, which i already have. This DVD was not recorded in the US (I think Brazil) and whoever has committed it to DVD has basically just lifted the VHS tape onto a disc. The sound and visual quality is therefore even poorer than the VHS edition and to say I am very disappointed is an extreme understatement. I will be sending my copy back tomorrow and I can't believe that an organisation of such usual high quality as Amazon is stocking this without explanatory notes. When is someone finally going to recognise that this film deserves proper re-mastering treatment and re-release? It is, after all, Prince's finest hour and the best live performance film I have ever seen. Very upset indeed.