Wikipedia

Listen to the City

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]

Listen to the City
Directed byRon Mann
Screenplay byBill Schroder
Ron Mann
Produced byRon Mann
Starring
CinematographyRene Ohashi
Edited byElaine Foreman
Music byGordon Deppe
Release date
  • 1984 (1984)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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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

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Production

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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

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Listen to the City
 
Soundtrack album by
Gordon Deppe; Spoons
Released1984
Genre
Length29:45
LabelReady
Producer
Spoons chronology
Talkback
(1983) 		Listen to the City
(1984) 		Bridges Over Borders
(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.[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

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No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Theme for a City (Opening Credits)"DeppeGordon Deppe2:46
2."Something Not Quite Right"DeppeGordon Deppe4:00
3."Sundown"
  • Deppe
  • Horne
  • Gordon Deppe
  • Sandy Horne
4:29
4."Then as Now"DeppeGordon Deppe1:16
5."A New World"DeppeGordon Deppe1:30
6."Take Me Walking"
  • Deppe
  • Horne
  • Gordon Deppe
  • Sandy Horne
3:44
7."Walk into the Wind"DeppeGordon Deppe2:08
8."Until Tomorrow (Closing Credits)"DeppeGordon Deppe2:07
9."Romantic Traffic"
  • Deppe
  • Preuss
Spoons3:34
10."Tell No Lies"DeppeSpoons4:11
Total length:29:45

Personnel

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Tracks 1-8

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  • 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
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  • Produced by Gordon Deppe
  • Engineered by Rick Lightheart and Brian Hewson
  • Recorded and mixed at Sound Path Studios, Oakville, Ontario

Tracks 9-10

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  • Gordon Deppe — vocals, guitar
  • Sandy Horne — bass, vocals
  • Rob Preuss — electronic keyboards and piano
  • Derrick Ross — drums
Production personnel, tracks 9-10
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Release

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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

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  1. ^ a b "Canadian Film Encyclopedia - Ron Mann". cfe.tiff.net. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  2. ^ "2009 Focus On Ron Mann - Hot Docs". www.hotdocs.ca. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  3. ^ Listen to the City (1984) - Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved 2021-05-26
  4. ^ Posner 1993, p. 124.
  5. ^ a b "Gordon Deppe – Listen To The City (Original Soundtrack By Gordon Deppe Of Spoons)". Redrum Records. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  6. ^ Posner 1993, p. 124; 131.

Works cited

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