Lady Sings The Blues

Good movie, not for kids. Good music

Great product

Lady Sings the Blues is a deeply moving portrayal of Billie Holiday’s tumultuous life and career, offering a blend of jazz, romance, and tragedy. Diana Ross delivers a stunning debut performance, capturing Holiday’s brilliance and struggles with emotional depth. Pros: ✅ Diana Ross’ Transformative Performance: Her portrayal of Billie Holiday is captivating, raw, and emotionally powerful. ✅ Memorable Soundtrack: Featuring Holiday’s timeless jazz classics, creating an immersive musical experience. ✅ Stylish Cinematography: The film’s period aesthetics authentically bring the era’s glamour and hardship to life. ✅ Strong Supporting Cast: Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor add depth and warmth to Holiday’s turbulent journey. Cons: ⚠ Condensed Storytelling: The film simplifies certain aspects of Holiday’s life and career, leaving out historical nuances. ⚠ Intense Emotional Themes: The film explores drug addiction and racism, making it a heavy watch for some audiences. ⚠ Dramatic Liberties: Some events are romanticized or altered, shaping the narrative for cinematic effect. For fans of music biopics and jazz history, Lady Sings the Blues remains a compelling and emotional tribute to one of the greatest voices in American music.

When Berry Gordy announced that Diana Ross was to play Billie Holiday in a biopic, jazz "purists" were outraged. They blasted that the "plastic princess of pop" couldn't possibly play Lady Day for the following reasons: 1 There was no physical resemblance between Lady Day and Diana - Billie wasn't a slim woman. 2 Diana's musical heritage haled from a different era to Holiday's. 3 At the age of 28, Diana simply hadn't been on the planet long enough to even dream of portraying one of the greatest jazz singers who ever lived. How dare she! So, it was clear from the outset that Diana had a lot to prove, and that there were critics who were itching to see her and Motown fall flat on their faces. When Lady Sings the Blues premiered in the US, Diana proved the critics wrong. I must say, that I was around 12 or 13 (in the early 80s) when I watched this movie for the first time on British TV. At that time, I had no idea who Billie Holiday was. I was bowled over by Diana's electric performance, and this prompted me to buy Holiday's music and learn more about her turbulent life. The film is loosely based on Holiday's autobiography. Holiday's three husbands were whittled down to just one - Louis MacKay, played brilliantly by Diana's co-star, Billie Dee Williams. The first scene of Holiday being thrown into a padded cell like a piece of meat - and then going completely crazy before being restrained in a straight jacket- sets the tone for the movie. Billie's mind then travels back in time to her teenage years, when she worked in a brothel in Baltimore. Billie's love affair with music ignites when she's sent to Harlem by her mother to meet a "Sister Edson from church". What her mother didn't know was that Sister Edson ran a brothel of her own. Billie wanders around the neighbourhood where she slips into a nightclub. To her, it was the most amazing place she'd ever been to. It's here that she sets eyes on Louis MacKay for the first time, and falls in love with him. The movie's a roller coaster ride through Billie's jazz and blues career, her drug addiction, arrests, and it climaxes with the majestic, emotional finale. Diana's acting performance was superb - she threw herself into the role, and it was clear that she was touched by Billie's life. There are certain scenes where Diana simply screams `gimme an Oscar!' especially when Billie withdraws in her padded cell, with her doctor and Louis doing everything they can to help her - it's a touching and desperately sad scene. There are other scenes: the one where she and Louis have a fight over her bag of heroine is ferocious. ...Gripping stuff! Diana's interpretations of Holiday's songs were outstanding. She didn't attempt to impersonate Holiday, yet she managed to capture the emotion and mood of each song with great effect. Her razor sharp phrasing and crystal clear diction were stunning - even to the point of being eerie. Just listen to "Strange Fruit" (not the most comfortable song to listen to). The music score, written by Michael Legrand, and conducted by Gil Askey, is beautiful, sweeping and moving. Credit must also go to the support cast. Billie Dee Williams and Diana have great on-screen chemistry. They teamed up again for "Mahogany" and "Red Hot Rhythm & Blues". Richard Prior was hilarious as the Piano Man, and he provided a bit of light relief. James Callahan deserves a mention too, as the caring Reg. Billie's mother, Mama Holiday, is played sympathetically by Virginia Capers. While this movie is not a totally authentic account of Billie Holiday's life, I feel that Diana captures the essence of her legend. At the end of the movie, I sensed that Holiday was beautiful, talented, vulnerable and complex. Most of all, she was a human being who battled with the many demons in her life. In the end, that battle proved too much for her. Lady Sings the Blues was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including "Best Actress" for Ross. She didn't win, but I don't think it mattered - the film speaks for itself, and being nominated - in the leading female category - was a great achievement. All was not lost, however as Ross picked up a Golden Globe for her performance, plus a host of other awards. It's a shame that Diana didn't get the guidance of a strong film director after Lady Sings the Blues. However, Diana's outstanding performance in "Out of Darkness" restored her reputation as talented actress, and proved that with the right material, she could rise to the challenge. I have no hesitation of recommending this movie. A note for UK viewers: you'll need a VHS with NTSC playback to watch this movie.

As you know already, this movie is about the legendary Jazz/ blues singer Billie Hilliday. She has the most saddest, mellow voice in jazz history. Also she is the first jazz artist who sang at the Carnaggie hall as a none classic artist. By the time in early 20th century, it was not easy to live as an Afro- American lady in America. They should work hard, they should suffer from biased treatment from White people. sometimes they cannot even use the same toilet with the white people or same seat with the white people at the restaurant. She was working at the restaurant when she heard the jazz music bar and approached the owner to have a dance test and luckily had a singing test where she had her first singing job. Then the owner was totally obssesed by her voice. Her voice was a pure magic. You will listen to her real voice, not Diana Ross's voice from the link bellow. You will love her as I do. She was lucky enought to meet this lovely man who is not only rich but also really had a warm heart who truely loved her. But the thing is it took so long for them to finally get together. She was so just busy having tour after tour after being hired by that bar. Being so tired, she began to do shots and she became edicted. That was the hardest time in her life which finally ruined her life and also made her lived only for 44 years. A woman like her deserved to live like 90 years like Frank Sinatra or something. But her life was so short. I had a huge doubt about Diana Ross with knowing that she is a singer and all. I know that most of the Afro-Americans have that natural talent of acting and singing at the same time, but this is Diana we are talking about. A singer who sang only all her life. But I was kind of wrong. She did her job well. Although her voice was not 100% matched with Billie herself, it was really closed. And her look was really matched well with Bille. The flower on her hair, the har dressed, the clothes, the face look and all. The moment she was hospitalized in a cell was rather painful to look when she was totally edicted. She overcame just because of her loving man. She was that much lucky and I was so happy about it. But when he came back to NY. she did drugs again. And as far as I know, it was the drugs that finally ruined her to death. Many Afro-American entertainers died because of drugs. Even nowerdays. Like Whitney Huston, Michael Jackson, Prince. It is so sad that they could have performed much longer if they are still alive. MICHEL LEGRAND'S unbelievable music score is again making this movie an instant classic and I think he is a real genious. Whenever his music is on the backgroung, I feel like I am about to cry or something. I have 5 of Billie's CDs and some of them are rare ones. Whever I feel like I cannot take the life anymore, she came to me and sings to me. She is saying life is not so bad. It is still worth living you know. Listen to my voice. It is sad but don't cry. Because you are not the only one who is suffering from your life. We are together here.

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I heartily endorse everything that the previous reviewer has written. It's funny how some movies that were not popular on release become cult classics, yet others like this one, that were huge hits and received critical acclaim and awards, fade into obscurity. As a biopic it was wildly inaccurate, but most Hollywood biopics were inaccurate. The real story of Billie Holliday would not have played in 1972! 'Lady Sings The Blues' is still a great movie, and captures Billie's spirit in some ways. The disc comes with a lot of extras. There are over half an hour of deleted scenes. Having watched the movie so often, I know exactly where they slot in, and it is good to see them after all this time. There is also an all too short interview with Diana Ross from just a few years ago, talking about the film, and a short feature where people discuss the importance of the film. There is a director's commentary with the two directors, one was Berry Gordy. The picture quality is excellent, but the disc really is really region 1. For a dedicated Ross fan, it is worth investing in a multi-region DVD player, just to see those deleted scenes.

幼少期、ビデオで間違って録画され、途中から観た事があるだけなので、全編鑑賞したいと買いました。そして、ビリーホリディが歌う、狂った果実より、ダイアナロスが歌った、狂った果実が好きなんだとも思いました。演技が素晴らしいです。我が家のプレーヤーでは再生出来なかったので、パソコンで鑑賞しました。

Für alle die Diana Ross nur als Sängerin und Supreme kennen, weil 'Miss Ross' eine erst klasse Schauspielerin auch ist! Von diesen film sieht mann ein schmerzhaftes Leben von Billie Holliday und die unglaublich und überraschend Talent von Diana Ross.

Sometimes a little sad but fabulous acting on Diana Ross' part. Definitely worth watching! Can't believe what this lady actually went thru. So very sad about her struggle with drugs and being black in those days seemed almost to be a crime! Billy Dee Williams was great as the man who loved her no matter what.