When Prince cancelled the  American leg of his Sign O The  Times" tour after taking Europe by Storm, critics deemed the decision a big mistake (so did concertoromoters, who stood to profit). They announced that a band as mighty as the one Prince now has should be allowed to be seen and heard by Prince's followers. The critics were right. However, what they didn't know was that Prince felt exactly the same way. Only he didn't intend on dragging an entourage across the US  right after a gruelling stint in Europe " The overseas date were successful in many ways" said a Prince associate. " They gave Prince the chance to work out the band without having a microscope on them, the way the American Press does. Plus, Prince hadn't been to many of those countries and playing them helped boost record sales. But as successful as the tour was, it was tough, We had to cancel some dates at the last minute and that didn't sit to well with some fans or promoters. It was incredibly successful, but in other ways it was a mess."  Thank God then that Prince had the idea to film the concerts, The results, the Sign O' the Times film vividly captures Prince in one of the best performing phases of his career. Sign O The Times, which features Prince in his second directorial role after Under The Cherry Moon, is basically a Prince concert from beginning to end. Aside from the direction and music, what separates this from the bestselling" Purple Rain" concert video are the brief acting segments edited into the film. Prince's direction is imaginative, and if it seems like he knows what he's doing this time around after the dismal....... Moon, perhaps it is because he does - the  stage is his thing. But how did Prince direct the film if he was one of the film's main characters? "Easy" said the associate. " Just give the cameramen directions as to what you want before hand.",Accor4ng to Sheila., the film is special because it’s real. "We weren't just hamming it up for the camera," she said.' "We were too busy making the music. The cameras were both onstage and off, using strong lens. We were .told to just ignore the cameras and that’s what we did. The film features Prince and company performing most of the material from the two-record set, Sign 0 The Times, and the film’s riveting versions of the material end up a double-edged sword: while the film exposes those selections, in many cases, the film’s versions are much more powerful than those on the album. Nevertheless, unless you’re lucky enough to have gotten hold of tickets for front-row seat at a Prince concert, Sign 0 The Times is the best way to see him. The camera doesn’t seem, to miss a thing and the sound is great. Musically, the show effectively runs the gamu from Jazz and rock to funk, and on occasion, Prince’s electrifying moves rival those of Michael Jackson. In theatres across the country, it isn’t uncommon to hear women screaming excitedly at some of the erotic out-fits Prince has squeezed his fit body into. Other times, they’re simply responding to the music. In the meantime, according to another source close to Prince, his current film is just part of a bigger plan for 1988. "He wants the film to kind. Of tide him over until he finishes his next album which will probably come out in the summer of ’88. He has plans for another' movie too, but I’m not sure what it will be about." Others in the Prince camp also say he wants to get a little closer to the day-today operations of his Warner Brothers-distributed label, Paisley Park. As it stands the alternative label hasn’t been that successful outside of releases on Prince, Sheila E. and some public interest from the two Madhouse records. "Some people have suggested that he hire people to watch things," said the source, "but that’s Prince for you; tell him everyone is going right and he turns left."