Purple Reign on the Big Screen: A Lost Prince Concert Hits Theaters (Entertainment)
Prince fans, mark your calendars. A concert film shot about 20 years ago, during his run at the 3121 club inside the Rio in Las Vegas, is finally heading to theaters. “Prince 3121: Las Vegas Live” got its first trailer this week and will screen next month at more than 500 theaters across the country.
The film runs roughly two and a half hours and, according to Variety, mixes the big hits with deep cuts, covers and stretched-out jams, which is exactly what people who saw him live always talk about. Where theaters have the gear, it’ll be shown in 4K with Dolby Atmos sound. Iconic Events Releasing is handling the release, and its co-founder Steven Menkin calls it a never-before-seen concert film, saying there’s something special about watching Prince on a big screen.
There’s music to go with it. An expanded edition of the “3121” album lands December 11 on digital and in vinyl and CD sets bundled with a Blu-ray. Before that, a live album drops for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event on November 27, including a triple LP pressed on crystal blue vinyl. Collectors are going to have a busy month.
Prince died in 2016, and his vault has been slowly opening ever since. Every release brings up the same debate: is this honoring his legacy, or squeezing it for cash when he was famously protective of how his work came out? This one at least seems built for the experience he cared about most: the live show
