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Reply #30 posted 01/02/18 3:04pm

antonb

i was surprised by the lack of drug talk, but it was a nice tribute, and the best thing was the private footage of him performing. That was the prince that we knew and loved.

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Reply #31 posted 01/02/18 3:06pm

Haystack

That was superb!

Great live footage, very respectful, no embarrassing or offensive 'reconstruction' scenes and so nice to see so many friends and colleagues genuinely moved when recounting stories about those last few weeks.

I hope all fans get to see this.
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Reply #32 posted 01/02/18 3:10pm

FlexiTime

Initially I didn’t have high hopes for this. I thought I wouldn’t learn anything new but I’m glad to say I was wrong.

It’s not the super duper film documentary befitting his life but for what it was it was good. I found it really heartfelt, there were appearances in his last year I admit I hadn’t come across before. His appearance at the Ray Charles tribute night must have passed me by.

Having Van Jones and Andy Allo gave it a sense of credibility too. This wasnt just random talking heads. For just an hour long programme (less actually with ads) they actually made every minute count. I felt so sad at the end but at the same time it was a reminder I needed that we were so fortunate to have lived in his lifetime.
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Reply #33 posted 01/02/18 3:11pm

rogifan

Glad to hear it’s better than I expected it to be. Maybe someone will get it up on YouTube long enough to snatch it before it gets taken down.
Paisley Park is in your heart
#PrinceForever 💜
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Reply #34 posted 01/02/18 3:11pm

darkroman

Truly awesome!

I liked the matter-of-fact approach. No emotion, just facts.

It was interesting to see Prince's last band performance was with a Ray Charles tribute band! The footage was incredible!

There were so many incredible clips shown. Just too many to mention.

I felt for Andy Allo. She came across beautiful and sincere.

Yet again I'm feeling it wasn't his time. He had at least another 30 years! I wish he'd looked after his health.


neutral

[Edited 1/2/18 15:19pm]

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Reply #35 posted 01/02/18 3:15pm

Silvertongue7

I shall watch it as soon as I get back home on Saturday. I’m glad it was ok. That thing they did on channel 5 last year was unwatchable!
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Reply #36 posted 01/02/18 3:18pm

rogifan

darkroman said:

Truly awesome!

I liked the matter-of-fact approach. No emotion, just facts.

It was interesting to see Prince's last band performance was with a Ray Charles tribute band! The footage was incredible!

There were so many incredible clips shown. Just too many to mention.

Yet again I'm feeling it wasn't his time. He had at least another 30 years! I wish he'd looked after his health.


neutral


And supposedly that was the first time Prince had ever been inside the Chanhassen Dinner Theater.
Paisley Park is in your heart
#PrinceForever 💜
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Reply #37 posted 01/02/18 3:18pm

petalthecat

avatar

I enjoyed it, was very respectful and some cool footage. Some nice anecdotes too, interesting to hear Andy Allo claim she was the one who pushed him to do the P&M tour.

There's always a rainbow 🌈 , at the end of every rain ☔️
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Reply #38 posted 01/02/18 3:19pm

Robbajobba

avatar

Well that was heart-breaking. Aside from anything else, gave me a new appreciation for what he could achieve in a single year (the Baltimore benefit and single, the White House gig, two album releases, rehearsing a new band, playing the Sydney Opera House solo, starting his memoirs etc etc... just incredible). Just being led through his final 12 months, and watching that footage, he really didn't look like a man who had any intention of slowing down.

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Reply #39 posted 01/02/18 3:20pm

Strawberrylova
123

petalthecat said:

I enjoyed it, was very respectful and some cool footage. Some nice anecdotes too, interesting to hear Andy Allo claim she was the one who pushed him to do the P&M tour.


So did she say they were an item?
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Reply #40 posted 01/02/18 3:23pm

rogifan

Someone on social media said there was a quote in program that “his hip was killing him”. sad
Paisley Park is in your heart
#PrinceForever 💜
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Reply #41 posted 01/02/18 3:24pm

Dibblekins

OK, it's just finished...
.
I think, to be honest, the overall feeling with which I am left after watching is one of frustration...I suppose the documentary accurately reflects the current state of people's minds, at least those of us 'on the outside' - more questions, more left unsaid, than was actually revealed.
.
The word, 'addiction' was mentioned once, right at the start, by the female narrator...Van Jones spoke about his 'hip (was) killing him' but, really, very very scant attention was paid to the circumstances that led up to Prince's death. What was made clear was that this man was an enigma, and his 'last days were murky', but that he wasn't taking opiates 'recreationally' as 'he visited the pharmacy 4 times to buy painkillers for his hip'. There was no intimation of there being an underlying (terminal) illness - but, then, there hasn't been all along so no surprises there. Personally, I still feel that there is a lot more to come out - this part of the documentary seemed vague - probably deliberately, as the producers had made clear that the focus was to be on his public actions over the preceding 12 months.

.
So - those 12 months - some very nice, clear concert footage of him playing and singing - some of which I hadn't seen in such clarity before. Prince came across as a remarkably intelligent, sensitive man - so it did him justice in that respect. It also brought home just how BUSY this man was in those 12 months. The memoir was mentioned, along with the rumoured 50 pages, but the narrator went on to say that nothing more is known about its being published.
.
There were also very fleeting interviews with a few of his friends (Andy Allo - minimal contribition to the documentary, and although she was described as a former girlfriend, there was nothing she said to suggest that, although she did say that it was she who had persuaded him to do solo shows). CeeLo and Van Jones were the main contributors, along with a few fans, Funkenberry, a few of his former collaborators (female singers), Adrian Crutchfield...In essence, their comments were highly respectful and emotional but nothing new was revealed.
.

In short, this was a nicely produced snapshot of P's last 12 months but I guess my verdict would be that it was tantalising rather than revealing. SO much more needs to be shown, and I long for a really long, in-depth film (or series of films) which explores the man, the mystery - and provides some proper answers to, well, everything...Having said that, this documentary was highly respectful and perhaps could be said to represent Prince as he was to so many of us: 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma', albeit one who is (was) hugely talented, hard-working, dedicated, inspirational - a legend.

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Reply #42 posted 01/02/18 3:26pm

Dibblekins

Also, I got my brother-in-law to record it. If he can get it up on YT, I'll let you know.

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Reply #43 posted 01/02/18 3:27pm

EmmaMcG

It was OK. I wouldn't say it was as good as some people are making out. I suppose, considering the disaster it could have been, it was pretty good. Thankfully, they didn't push the drug addiction angle and they featured people who knew him like Andy Allo and George Clinton. No mention of the unreleased albums he was supposed to be working on at the time though. Seemed a bit rushed towards the end. It kind of just ended abruptly. It's like "April 21st, he died, the end". Plus, they a lot of the footage they showed was different performances of Nothing Compares 2 U. I think I counted 5 separate clips.

So, not great and definitely not something to go out of your way to watch. But it wasn't necessarily bad either so at least there's that.
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Reply #44 posted 01/02/18 3:28pm

pinkcashmere23

I'm in the States and was able to watch it on a livestream site called tvcatchup.com that streams Channel 4 programming.Only caught the last 20 minutes but it looked very good from what I saw.Hopefully they will air it again soon.

[Edited 1/2/18 15:38pm]

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Reply #45 posted 01/02/18 3:30pm

paradise000

avatar

rogifan said:

Someone on social media said there was a quote in program that “his hip was killing him”. sad

Correct, it was Van Jones who mentioned that

'cause you got to know...how I feel about you babe
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Reply #46 posted 01/02/18 3:34pm

ian

It was all stretched pretty thin, but worth a watch. The whole thing was constructed around footage gleaned from social media, and a handful of interviews.

GC seemed to be dressed head to toe in tinfoil smile

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Reply #47 posted 01/02/18 3:38pm

Robbajobba

avatar

Dibblekins said:

OK, it's just finished...
.
I think, to be honest, the overall feeling with which I am left after watching is one of frustration...I suppose the documentary accurately reflects the current state of people's minds, at least those of us 'on the outside' - more questions, more left unsaid, than was actually revealed.
.
The word, 'addiction' was mentioned once, right at the start, by the female narrator...Van Jones spoke about his 'hip (was) killing him' but, really, very very scant attention was paid to the circumstances that led up to Prince's death. What was made clear was that this man was an enigma, and his 'last days were murky', but that he wasn't taking opiates 'recreationally' as 'he visited the pharmacy 4 times to buy painkillers for his hip'. There was no intimation of there being an underlying (terminal) illness - but, then, there hasn't been all along so no surprises there. Personally, I still feel that there is a lot more to come out - this part of the documentary seemed vague - probably deliberately, as the producers had made clear that the focus was to be on his public actions over the preceding 12 months.

.
So - those 12 months - some very nice, clear concert footage of him playing and singing - some of which I hadn't seen in such clarity before. Prince came across as a remarkably intelligent, sensitive man - so it did him justice in that respect. It also brought home just how BUSY this man was in those 12 months. The memoir was mentioned, along with the rumoured 50 pages, but the narrator went on to say that nothing more is known about its being published.
.
There were also very fleeting interviews with a few of his friends (Andy Allo - minimal contribition to the documentary, and although she was described as a former girlfriend, there was nothing she said to suggest that, although she did say that it was she who had persuaded him to do solo shows). CeeLo and Van Jones were the main contributors, along with a few fans, Funkenberry, a few of his former collaborators (female singers), Adrian Crutchfield...In essence, their comments were highly respectful and emotional but nothing new was revealed.
.

In short, this was a nicely produced snapshot of P's last 12 months but I guess my verdict would be that it was tantalising rather than revealing. SO much more needs to be shown, and I long for a really long, in-depth film (or series of films) which explores the man, the mystery - and provides some proper answers to, well, everything...Having said that, this documentary was highly respectful and perhaps could be said to represent Prince as he was to so many of us: 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma', albeit one who is (was) hugely talented, hard-working, dedicated, inspirational - a legend.

I assumed that the lack of focus on Prince's health was that they coudn't find anyone to talk about it, or shed any new light on what happened. Though it also struck me that some of the voiceover wording was very cautious surrounding health issues.

.

Yeah, it wasn't an amazing doc in terms of insight - and Zawe Ashton's voiceover sounded like she'd rather be doing literally anything else - but I thought there was some great footage in there, and it was nice to be reminded in a matter-of-fact way of quite how incredible he was.

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Reply #48 posted 01/02/18 3:44pm

OperatingTheta
n

Respectful and well conveyed.
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Reply #49 posted 01/02/18 4:21pm

morningsong

Thanks you all.

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Reply #50 posted 01/02/18 4:27pm

TypoQueen

It was Respectful.
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Reply #51 posted 01/02/18 6:22pm

benjaminira

avatar

Happy New Years everyone! I live in San Diego, and have read about it coming out and after reading all your posts (listening to "The Rainbow Children cd- "She Loves Me 4 Me" in big tears) I'm so excited to see this! Is it online anywhere yet?

If it breaks when it bends, U better not put it in!
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Reply #52 posted 01/02/18 6:30pm

laurarichardso
n

Dibblekins said:

OK, it's just finished...
.
I think, to be honest, the overall feeling with which I am left after watching is one of frustration...I suppose the documentary accurately reflects the current state of people's minds, at least those of us 'on the outside' - more questions, more left unsaid, than was actually revealed.
.
The word, 'addiction' was mentioned once, right at the start, by the female narrator...Van Jones spoke about his 'hip (was) killing him' but, really, very very scant attention was paid to the circumstances that led up to Prince's death. What was made clear was that this man was an enigma, and his 'last days were murky', but that he wasn't taking opiates 'recreationally' as 'he visited the pharmacy 4 times to buy painkillers for his hip'. There was no intimation of there being an underlying (terminal) illness - but, then, there hasn't been all along so no surprises there. Personally, I still feel that there is a lot more to come out - this part of the documentary seemed vague - probably deliberately, as the producers had made clear that the focus was to be on his public actions over the preceding 12 months.

.
So - those 12 months - some very nice, clear concert footage of him playing and singing - some of which I hadn't seen in such clarity before. Prince came across as a remarkably intelligent, sensitive man - so it did him justice in that respect. It also brought home just how BUSY this man was in those 12 months. The memoir was mentioned, along with the rumoured 50 pages, but the narrator went on to say that nothing more is known about its being published.
.
There were also very fleeting interviews with a few of his friends (Andy Allo - minimal contribition to the documentary, and although she was described as a former girlfriend, there was nothing she said to suggest that, although she did say that it was she who had persuaded him to do solo shows). CeeLo and Van Jones were the main contributors, along with a few fans, Funkenberry, a few of his former collaborators (female singers), Adrian Crutchfield...In essence, their comments were highly respectful and emotional but nothing new was revealed.
.

In short, this was a nicely produced snapshot of P's last 12 months but I guess my verdict would be that it was tantalising rather than revealing. SO much more needs to be shown, and I long for a really long, in-depth film (or series of films) which explores the man, the mystery - and provides some proper answers to, well, everything...Having said that, this documentary was highly respectful and perhaps could be said to represent Prince as he was to so many of us: 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma', albeit one who is (was) hugely talented, hard-working, dedicated, inspirational - a legend.

Interesting if he had been to the pharmacy to pick up legit meds four times. It would mean that he did have an Rx and quiet possibly it was under an assumed name. Remember the sources said no funny business was discovered at the Pharmacy and we have not heard of any doctors losing their licenses that Prince saw including Dr. S who said he was treating him for joint pain.

Makes the case many of us have been stating all along that he had real health issues that were getting to him not a recreational drug user. We also know from the court papers that the estate is working on a deal to release his memoirs.

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Reply #53 posted 01/02/18 6:33pm

laurarichardso
n

Interesting review

----

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2018/01/02/prince-last-year-legend-review-should-have-fascinating-documentary/

Prince: Last Year of a Legend, review: this should have been fascinating, but the document

Prince’s death in April 2016 was a shock to his fans. The artist was only 57, he’d played lots of shows in the months leading up to it, and appeared spry and happy on stage. As far as we knew, he wasn’t ill. Afterwards, it turned out that he had suffered from chronic hip pain – "all the time", according to bandmate and friend Sheila E. – which led to a dependency on painkillers and the overdose that killed him. He rarely did interviews and cameras were banned from performances, which made the prospect of a documentary about his final year intriguing.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Channel 4's Prince: Last Year of a Legendcouldn’t offer much insight into Prince’s emotional life in the final year. In the absence of a will, his estate is still being wrangled over – 700 people came forward and claimed to be his descendant a few weeks after his death – and no family or members of this band 3rdeyegirl were interviewed.

Instead, the talking heads were civil rights activist Al Sharpton, Cee-Lo, who saw him shortly before he died, broadcaster Van Jones, who described Prince as Batman to his Robin, and a few performers who’d sung or played with him, none of whom seemed to really know what was going on with Prince in his final year. In the absence of close sources, it focused on his secret political activism and shows (New Year’s Eve on Roman Abramovich’s yacht, for example). “They’re having the best moment of their lives, they’re going to talk about it forever,” was the sort of commentary. Unfortunately the only footage available was from camera phones, which, inevitably, looked and sounded poor.

The documentary threw out some pretty dubious claims. It said that the shows of the final year were the most personal performances of his career, for example, and that Prince was at the peak of his artistic powers. At times the script sounded like cobbled-together facts plucked from his encyclopedia page, or a Prince bingo drinking game. Sinead O’Connor? Check. Wrote about sex then stopped singing about sex? Check. Changed his name to a symbol? Yup. Wrote "Slave" on his face to protest his record label? Check.

It focused a lot on the past, filling the lack of available recent material with old footage of his most famous performances. Sure, the performance of Purple Rain at the Superbowl in 2007 and guitar solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction were spectacular, but it wasn’t clear why they were relevant here. At times the script was simply filler ("Still relevant after 30 years, Prince plays his rock album, uniting and inspiring his audience").

Perhaps they were trying to do too much. I’d rather have watched a film focusing on why, as George Clinton said, Purple Rain is so American, or Prince’s secret philanthropy and civil rights activism, or the Paisley Park pyjama parties. Or about the last time he played with a band, at a local Ray Charles tribute night, which was the one interesting part of the documentary. Essentially, it was Prince By Numbers; possibly diverting for someone new to him, but lacking depth and the insight promised in its title.

Related Topics

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Reply #54 posted 01/02/18 6:33pm

ISaidLifeIsJus
tAGame

avatar

[Snip - luv4u]

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Reply #55 posted 01/02/18 7:13pm

Vashtix

laurarichardson said:

Dibblekins said:

OK, it's just finished...
.
I think, to be honest, the overall feeling with which I am left after watching is one of frustration...I suppose the documentary accurately reflects the current state of people's minds, at least those of us 'on the outside' - more questions, more left unsaid, than was actually revealed.
.
The word, 'addiction' was mentioned once, right at the start, by the female narrator...Van Jones spoke about his 'hip (was) killing him' but, really, very very scant attention was paid to the circumstances that led up to Prince's death. What was made clear was that this man was an enigma, and his 'last days were murky', but that he wasn't taking opiates 'recreationally' as 'he visited the pharmacy 4 times to buy painkillers for his hip'. There was no intimation of there being an underlying (terminal) illness - but, then, there hasn't been all along so no surprises there. Personally, I still feel that there is a lot more to come out - this part of the documentary seemed vague - probably deliberately, as the producers had made clear that the focus was to be on his public actions over the preceding 12 months.

.
So - those 12 months - some very nice, clear concert footage of him playing and singing - some of which I hadn't seen in such clarity before. Prince came across as a remarkably intelligent, sensitive man - so it did him justice in that respect. It also brought home just how BUSY this man was in those 12 months. The memoir was mentioned, along with the rumoured 50 pages, but the narrator went on to say that nothing more is known about its being published.
.
There were also very fleeting interviews with a few of his friends (Andy Allo - minimal contribition to the documentary, and although she was described as a former girlfriend, there was nothing she said to suggest that, although she did say that it was she who had persuaded him to do solo shows). CeeLo and Van Jones were the main contributors, along with a few fans, Funkenberry, a few of his former collaborators (female singers), Adrian Crutchfield...In essence, their comments were highly respectful and emotional but nothing new was revealed.
.

In short, this was a nicely produced snapshot of P's last 12 months but I guess my verdict would be that it was tantalising rather than revealing. SO much more needs to be shown, and I long for a really long, in-depth film (or series of films) which explores the man, the mystery - and provides some proper answers to, well, everything...Having said that, this documentary was highly respectful and perhaps could be said to represent Prince as he was to so many of us: 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma', albeit one who is (was) hugely talented, hard-working, dedicated, inspirational - a legend.

Interesting if he had been to the pharmacy to pick up legit meds four times. It would mean that he did have an Rx and quiet possibly it was under an assumed name. Remember the sources said no funny business was discovered at the Pharmacy and we have not heard of any doctors losing their licenses that Prince saw including Dr. S who said he was treating him for joint pain.

Makes the case many of us have been stating all along that he had real health issues that were getting to him not a recreational drug user. We also know from the court papers that the estate is working on a deal to release his memoirs.

I want his memoirs.

I have issues with these documentaries- none of these people were with him in 2016 when he needed them around. Al Sharpton, George Clinton, Andy A., Van Jones . . . I appreciate the sentiment but it is the same thing we always get- same peeps- except diff female in the doc. essetially same info as we had before.

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Reply #56 posted 01/02/18 7:20pm

KoolEaze

avatar

It was ok for what it is and done very respectfully but it was more for the casual fan than the average Prince.org member .

" I´d rather be a stank ass hoe because I´m not stupid. Oh my goodness! I got more drugs! I´m always funny dude...I´m hilarious! Are we gonna smoke?"
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Reply #57 posted 01/02/18 7:53pm

rogifan

This tweet was mentioned in the program. I’m assuming Stella meant Let’s Go Crazy? lol

7QuM0.jpg
Paisley Park is in your heart
#PrinceForever 💜
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Reply #58 posted 01/02/18 8:49pm

purplerabbitho
le

It was too short and did not have enough interviews and they were too short. (andy almost seemed fake in the interview, but I imagine she would have sounded more sincere with a larger bit of footage.) It had some good grainy footage but didn't make its point that P was on the top of his game still in a convincing way. He was obviously still a good performer and it was nice to see stuff about Baltimore...but too much Purple Rain focus and very little discussion of his later music. I think had they devoted another hour to this time and shown footage of him doing award ceremonies and shown more of his twitter and instagram stuff, , it might have been better. I got a sense of sadness but he was kind of a distant figure literally...like hard to see.

[Edited 1/2/18 20:55pm]

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Reply #59 posted 01/02/18 9:06pm

ISaidLifeIsJus
tAGame

avatar

purplerabbithole said:

It was too short and did not have enough interviews and they were too short. (andy almost seemed fake in the interview, but I imagine she would have sounded more sincere with a larger bit of footage.) It had some good grainy footage but didn't make its point that P was on the top of his game still in a convincing way. He was obviously still a good performer and it was nice to see stuff about Baltimore...but too much Purple Rain focus and very little discussion of his later music. I think had they devoted another hour to this time and shown footage of him doing award ceremonies and shown more of his twitter and instagram stuff, , it might have been better. I got a sense of sadness but he was kind of a distant figure literally...like hard to see.

huh?

stoned

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