Besides the racial discrimination that she endured while touring in the 1930s South, the story emphasizes the drug addiction that does our heroine in. Or almost.Īfter her initial discovery, we see the grueling work that it took for Billie to reach the top or almost. With help from the piano player, Piano Man(Richard Pryor), Billie Holiday makes her debut. She cannot dance, but Jerry is impressed with her singing. Again working in a house of prostituton, Eleanora walks across the street to try and break in to show business at the Dean and Dean night club owned by Jerry Dean (Sid Melton). A skinny, poor waif, Eleanora-Billie listens to records too much, and after the rape goes to New York to see her mother Sadie. The 1930s story begins in Baltimore with our teenage heroine working in a house of prostitution and getting raped while her aunt-custodian was away with her family. One of my all-time favorite singers Diana Ross was a Best Actress contender in 1972 for her amazing performance in this musical biography of the enigmatic Billie Holiday. Now perceived as ahead of it's time, "Lady Sings The Blues" chronicles the icon Billie Holiday and offers tour de force performances by a great cast! They tell her tragic story with dignity and brilliance! Thank god Barry Gordy had the resources to get this movie to the big screen! For me this is a must have DVD.Ī Breath Taking Performance by an Established Diana Ross Holiday and beautifully sung by Diana Ross. The film is accompanied by a fabulous sound track of jazz classics, made famous by Ms. They discuss the importance of Barry Gordy's vision and determination to make a quality historically relevent drama, at a time when "Blaxplotation" films were the norm. The special features interview section of this DVD is a real treat! Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, and Suzanne De Passe (along with others), talk candidly about the making of this film and reveal very interesting facts about the process. Richard Pryor gave a brilliant dramatic performance as "Piano man", and proved he too had incredible range as an artist, in this touching role as Billie's good friend. Ross took the essence of her charactor and made it her own.The film also helped establish Billy Dee Williams as a sexy leading man. Diana Ross, (who had never acted before and had no formal training), gave a performance that got her an oscar nomination (which she truely deserved)! Instead of imitating the legendary Billie Holiday, Ms. This classic movie has finally come to DVD and it's really worth the wait! The film itself is amazing, and it's a great addition to anyone's DVD collection.
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