| Listen to the City | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ron Mann |
| Screenplay by | Bill Schroder Ron Mann |
| Produced by | Ron Mann |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Rene Ohashi |
| Edited by | Elaine Foreman |
| Music by | Gordon Deppe |
Release date | 1984 |
Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Listen to the City is a 1984 Canadian drama film directed by Ron Mann.[1][2] Normally a documentary filmmaker, this is Mann's only fictional feature.[1] The film stars P.J. Soles, Jim Carroll, Sandy Horne, and Michael Glassbourg. Featured in small or cameo roles are such notable Canadian counter-culture figures as poets Barrie Phillip Nichol and Barry Callaghan, politician Jack Layton, playwright Sky Gilbert, and radio broadcasters Pete Griffin and Geets Romo.[3]
Plot[edit]
Hupar (Jim Carroll) wakes up from a 20-year coma. Disoriented, he soon meets Arete (Sandy Horne), a young poet, and Sophia (P.J. Soles), a TV newswoman. Together, the three team up to expose corporate crime in a crumbling cityscape of the very near future.
Cast[edit]
- P. J. Soles as Sophia
- Michael Glassbourg as Goodman
- Sandy Horne as Arete
- Jim Carroll as Hupar
- Barry Callaghan as Father
- Sky Gilbert as Shadow
- Pete Griffen as Mayor
- Geets Romo as Mayor’s assistant
- Peter Wintonick as Peter
- Bill Lord as Preston Sturrock
- Gigi Guthrie as Christie Hines
- Mary Hawkins as White
- Réal Andrews as Green
- Gary Augustynek as Black
- Jack Layton as patient
- Barrie Phillip Nichol as labour department head
Production[edit]
Bill Schroder and Ron Mann wrote the script in six days and filmed it in twelve days. The film cost $150,000. Scenes with Martin Sheen were shot, but he was edited out of the film.[4]
Soundtrack[edit]
| Listen to the City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by Gordon Deppe; Spoons | ||||
| Released | 1984 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 29:45 | |||
| Label | Ready | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Spoons chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Listen to the City soundtrack album consists of the primarily instrumental score for the film, and was written, produced and performed by Gordon Deppe of the band Spoons. On two tracks, Deppe is joined by Sandy Horne as co-performer and co-composer; Horne co-starred in the film and was also a member of Spoons.[5] Rob Preuss, also of Spoons, assists on these two tracks.[5]
The album's final two tracks are actually performed by (and credited to) the Spoons as a whole. These songs, "Tell No Lies" and "Romantic Traffic", were both issued as singles in Canada; both charted and are among the band's most well-known hits in that country.[citation needed]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Theme for a City (Opening Credits)" | Deppe | Gordon Deppe | 2:46 |
| 2. | "Something Not Quite Right" | Deppe | Gordon Deppe | 4:00 |
| 3. | "Sundown" |
|
| 4:29 |
| 4. | "Then as Now" | Deppe | Gordon Deppe | 1:16 |
| 5. | "A New World" | Deppe | Gordon Deppe | 1:30 |
| 6. | "Take Me Walking" |
|
| 3:44 |
| 7. | "Walk into the Wind" | Deppe | Gordon Deppe | 2:08 |
| 8. | "Until Tomorrow (Closing Credits)" | Deppe | Gordon Deppe | 2:07 |
| 9. | "Romantic Traffic" |
| Spoons | 3:34 |
| 10. | "Tell No Lies" | Deppe | Spoons | 4:11 |
| Total length: | 29:45 | |||
Personnel[edit]
Tracks 1-8[edit]
- Gordon Deppe — all instruments, except
- Sandy Horne — vocals, bass guitar on 3 and 6
- Rob Preuss — keyboards and rhythm machine on 3 and 6
Production personnel, tracks 1-8[edit]
- Produced by Gordon Deppe
- Engineered by Rick Lightheart and Brian Hewson
- Recorded and mixed at Sound Path Studios, Oakville, Ontario
Tracks 9-10[edit]
- Gordon Deppe — vocals, guitar
- Sandy Horne — bass, vocals
- Rob Preuss — electronic keyboards and piano
- Derrick Ross — drums
Production personnel, tracks 9-10[edit]
- Nile Rodgers — producer
- Jason Corsaro — engineer
- Recorded at the Power Station, New York City
Release[edit]
Spectrafilm, the film's distribution company, went out of business before its release. Listen to the City did not receive a theatrical release and Mann had $70,000 in debt due to its financial failure.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Canadian Film Encyclopedia - Ron Mann". cfe.tiff.net. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ "2009 Focus On Ron Mann - Hot Docs". www.hotdocs.ca. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ Listen to the City (1984) - Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved 2021-05-26
- ^ Posner 1993, p. 124.
- ^ a b "Gordon Deppe – Listen To The City (Original Soundtrack By Gordon Deppe Of Spoons)". Redrum Records. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ Posner 1993, p. 124; 131.
Works cited[edit]
- Posner, Michael (1993). Canadian Dreams: The Making and Marketing of Independent Films. Canadian Independent Film Caucus. ISBN 1550541145.
