Listen to the City
{{Infobox film
| name = Listen to the City
| image =
| caption =
| director = Ron Mann
| producer = Ron Mann
| based_on =
| screenplay = Bill Schroder
Ron Mann
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- P.J. Soles
- Michael Glassbourg
- Sandy Horne
- Jim Carroll
}}
| music = Gordon Deppe
| cinematography = Rene Ohashi
| editing = Elaine Foreman
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1984}}
| runtime = 78 minutes
| country = Canada
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Listen to the City is a 1984 Canadian drama film directed by Ron Mann.{{Cite web|title=Canadian Film Encyclopedia - Ron Mann|url=https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/ron-mann|access-date=2021-05-26|website=cfe.tiff.net}}{{Cite web|title=2009 Focus On Ron Mann - Hot Docs|url=https://www.hotdocs.ca/archive/2009-focus-on-ron-mann|access-date=2021-05-26|website=www.hotdocs.ca}} Normally a documentary filmmaker, this is Mann's only fictional feature. 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.{{Citation|title=Listen to the City (1984) - Rotten Tomatoes|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/listen_to_the_city_2012|language=en|access-date=2021-05-26}}
Plot
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
- 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
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.{{sfn|Posner|1993|p=124}}
Soundtrack
{{Infobox album
| name = Listen to the City
| type = soundtrack
| artist = Gordon Deppe; Spoons
| cover = ListenToTheCity.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1984
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Film score|new wave|synth-pop}}
| length = {{duration|m=29|s=45}}
| label = Ready
| producer = {{hlist|Gordon Deppe|Nile Rodgers}}
| chronology = Spoons
| prev_title = Talkback
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = Bridges Over Borders
| next_year = 1986
}}
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.{{Cite web|title=Gordon Deppe – Listen To The City (Original Soundtrack By Gordon Deppe Of Spoons)|url=https://redrumrecords.ca/products/gordon-deppe-listen-to-the-city-original-soundtrack-by-gordon-deppe-of-spoons|access-date=2021-05-26|website=Redrum Records|language=en}} Rob Preuss, also of Spoons, assists on these two tracks.
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|date=May 2021}}
=Track listing=
{{track listing
| extra_column = Performer(s)
| title1 = Theme for a City (Opening Credits)
| writer1 = Deppe
| extra1 = Gordon Deppe
| length1 = 2:46
| title2 = Something Not Quite Right
| writer2 = Deppe
| extra2 = Gordon Deppe
| length2 = 4:00
| title3 = Sundown
| writer3 = {{hlist|Deppe|Horne}}
| extra3 = {{hlist|Gordon Deppe|Sandy Horne}}
| length3 = 4:29
| title4 = Then as Now
| writer4 = Deppe
| extra4 = Gordon Deppe
| length4 = 1:16
| title5 = A New World
| writer5 = Deppe
| extra5 = Gordon Deppe
| length5 = 1:30
| title6 = Take Me Walking
| writer6 = {{hlist|Deppe|Horne}}
| extra6 = {{hlist|Gordon Deppe|Sandy Horne}}
| length6 = 3:44
| title7 = Walk into the Wind
| writer7 = Deppe
| extra7 = Gordon Deppe
| length7 = 2:08
| title8 = Until Tomorrow (Closing Credits)
| writer8 = Deppe
| extra8 = Gordon Deppe
| length8 = 2:07
| title9 = Romantic Traffic
| writer9 = {{hlist|Deppe|Preuss}}
| extra9 = Spoons
| length9 = 3:34
| title10 = Tell No Lies
| writer10 = Deppe
| extra10 = Spoons
| length10 = 4:11
| total_length = 29:45
}}
=Personnel=
==Tracks 1-8==
- 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===
- Produced by Gordon Deppe
- Engineered by Rick Lightheart and Brian Hewson
- Recorded and mixed at Sound Path Studios, Oakville, Ontario
==Tracks 9-10==
- Gordon Deppe — vocals, guitar
- Sandy Horne — bass, vocals
- Rob Preuss — electronic keyboards and piano
- Derrick Ross — drums
===Production personnel, tracks 9-10===
- Nile Rodgers — producer
- Jason Corsaro — engineer
- Recorded at the Power Station, New York City
Release
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.{{sfn|Posner|1993|p=124; 131}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Works cited
- {{cite book|last=Posner |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Posner (journalist) |title=Canadian Dreams: The Making and Marketing of Independent Films |publisher=Canadian Independent Film Caucus |date=1993 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadiandreamsma0000posn |isbn=1550541145}}