To date lady sings the blues remains her only oscar nomination. You may exchange or request a refund for your entire order, less the convenience fee, through fandango up until the posted showtime. Casting a shadow over even holidays brightest moments is the. The film, lady sings the blues, starts in new york city as billie was placed under arrest. Although lady sings the blues was not written specifically for a young adult audience, readers of this age group are drawn to the book for its subject matter and its candid approach. Billie holiday the real lady sings the blues 1963, vinyl.
She doesnt sing in her own style, and she never tries to imitate holiday, but she sings somehow in the manner of holiday. Billie holiday songs from the film lady sings the blues. But of all the pimps, players, and leeches she hooked up with, only her husband. It was probably inevitable that the movie itself would follow the triedandtrue formula. Her late childhood, stint as a prostitute, early tours, marriages and drug addiction are featured. But the movie was financed by motown, and diana ross was. When the film was first suggested in the late 1960s, abbey lincoln was the initial casting for the role of billie holiday, with diana sands as second choice. It was produced by motown productions for paramount pictures. The project was revived a few years later with diahann carroll as a suggested lead, but after discussions between jay weston and director sidney j.
Bevan dufty and his mother saw the picture at the old varsity theater in palo alto, now a borders bookstore where bevan bought the new edition of the book. Lady sing the blues shes got them bad she feels so sad and wants the world to know just what her blues are all about lady sings the blues she tells her. Lady sings the blues film by furie 1972 britannica. Furie about jazz singer billie holiday, loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from one of holidays most popular songs. All of those thoughts were wiped out of my mind within the first three or four minutes of lady sings the blues, and i was left with a feeling of complete confidence in a dramatic performance. But though ross continued to triumph as a recording and concert artist, she would never score a comparable success on film. Terms of activation by activating, you agree that you want to enable cloud technology to access your xfinity stream subscription on additional supported devices like computers and tablets, as well as the tv connected to your settop dvr via comcasts network. Billie holliday diana ross remembers her traumatic younger days in baltimore, working in a brothel and serving her aunt, in an early flashback scene from lady sings the blues, 1972 view the tcmdb entry for lady sings the blues 1972.
In nineteen fiftysix, billie holiday wrote a book about her life called lady sings the blues shirley griffith. One of the major themes has to do with the difficulties of being a black jazz artist in. Individual opinions about lady sings the blues may vary markedly, depending on a persons age, knowledge of jazz tradition and feeling for it, and how one wishes to regard the late billie holiday. In the early nineteen thirties, a music producer, john hammond, heard billie.
Lady sings the blues dvd the essence of billie holiday, one of americas most loved and memorable blues singers, is captured brilliantly in a tourdeforce d ebut perfor mance by singer diana ross. Lady sings the blues 1956 is an autobiography by jazz singer billie holiday, which was coauthored by william dufty. Lady sings the blues 1972 promotional featurette the. I found it surprising the first time i saw lady sings the blues that ross didnt even attempt to imitate holiday. Watch lady sings the blues online stream full movie. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Mom and pop were just a couple of kids when they got married. Critical edition of young adult fiction lady sings the. Finally, the lady sings the blues script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the diana ross movie. On oscar night, it was minnelli who emerged as the best actress winner, with cabaret besting lady sings the blues in the music and design categories. Get lady sings the blues dvd and bluray release date, trailer, movie poster and movie stats.
Beginning with holidays traumatic youth, the film depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with louis mckay billy dee williams, her boyfriend and manager. Pop star diana ross portrays legendary jazz singer billie holiday in this biographical drama. Billie holidays autobiography, lady sings the blues, begins with one of the great alltime leads. Born elinore harris, billie holiday had a difficult teen and young adulthood period, which included working in brothels, both as a cleaning woman and a prostitute, and being raped. However, it was actually ghostwritten by william dufty. Lady sings the blues is a 1972 film about jazz singer billie holiday based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from one of holidays most popular songs. The song also featured as the title track of a movie about holidays life starring diana ross and has been covered numerous times by the likes of ella fitzgerald, diana ross, and smokey robinson. Thus, between 1972 and 2006, this featurette inadvertently contained an. Through this difficulty, she dreamed of becoming a jazz singer. Furie, the director and the three people credited with the screenplay, cannot use the basic truth of their facts as a defense of the film. Like others who knew holiday, the duftys hated the 1972 film lady sings the blues, which starred svelte diana ross as the tough, buxom billie holiday. Jul 16, 2011 in nineteen fiftysix, billie holiday wrote a book about her life called lady sings the blues shirley griffith.
Billie holliday diana ross remembers her traumatic younger days in baltimore, working in a brothel and serving her aunt, in an early flashback scene from lady sings the blues, 1972. There is an uncanny echo, a suggestion, and yet the style is a tribute to billie holiday, not an impersonation. Lady sings the blues few voices in recorded music are as immediately distinctive and arresting as that of lady day. Lady sings the blues is a 1972 american biographical drama film directed by sidney j. Lady sings the blues script transcript from the screenplay. Lady sings the blues is a patchwork quilt of anecdotes with no consistent thesis holding it together. Lady sings the blues incongruously transforms holidays messy, bisexual, masochistic romantic history into a glossy romance about a troubled, needy womanchild and the endlessly patient dreamboat who could slow but never entirely halt her march toward selfdestruction. Beginning with holidays traumatic youth, the film depicts her early attempts at a singing career and. Lady sings the blues shes got them bad she feels so sad wants the world to know just what the blues is all about lady sings the blues.
Billie holiday lady sings the blues lyrics genius lyrics. Rent lady sings the blues 1972 starring diana ross and billy dee williams on dvd and bluray. The movie is filled with many of the great billie holiday songs, and ross handles them in an interesting way. Lady sings the blues is the title track of billie holidays 1956 album written by holiday and noted jazz pianist herbie nichols. Lady sings the blues 1972 movie clip diana ross, billy dee williams, richard pryor.
Jun 24, 2011 oscarwinning actor adolphe ceasar solider story narrates the classic and original movie trailer for the hit film lady sings the blues starring diana ross, billy dee williams and richard pryor. Well refund your credit card or we can credit your fandango account to use for another movie. Dana spiardi wrote this article about billie holiday and whether or not she diana ross accurately portrayed her in the movie lady sings the. Lady sings the blues 1972 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Billie holidays autobiography, lady sings the blues, begins with one of. Considering the fact that this is not some overpriced ultimate edition, and to the best of my knowledge it has not. At this time he starts to flash backs to 1928, and he has a visit with a rapist. Filled with the greatest songs of the incomp arable lady day, this stunning film biography r eceived five academy a ward. Oscarwinning actor adolphe ceasar solider story narrates the classic and original movie trailer for the hit film lady sings the blues starring diana ross, billy dee williams and richard pryor. It is the title song to her 1956 album, released on clefverve records mgc 721verve mv 2047 the song was also chosen to be the title of the 1956 autobiography by holiday and author william dufty, and the 1972 movie starring diana ross as holiday. He gets finger placed, put in a straight jacket, and placed in a cell. Rent lady sings the blues 1972 on dvd and bluray netflix. Beginning with holidays traumatic youth, the film depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with louis mckay billy dee williams.
Lady sings the blues 1972 pop star diana ross portrays legendary jazz singer billie holiday in this biographical drama. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing lady sings the blues near you. I wonder what diana ross thought when her lover and mentor berry gordy told her that as part of his plan to launch her postsupremes solo career in entertainment, her debut film role would be playing the life story of the troubled. The life story of jazz singer billie holiday told in her own words. Streisand funny girl vs ross lady sings the blues vs. Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer billie holiday. Duftys writing style is good enough to make the reader feel they are reading lady day telling us her story. Coming up from a tough street life in baltimore, billie holiday broke in as a jazz singer during the era of the big bands. Lady sings the blues original soundtrack diana ross. Sep 18, 2006 billie holidays autobiography, lady sings the blues, begins with one of the great alltime leads. The book formed the basis of the 1972 film lady sings the blues starring diana ross. Lady sings the blues diana ross billy dee williams richard pryor 1972 billie holiday diana ross goes from harlem brothel maid to heroinaddicted singing star, losing the man billy dee williams she loves.
In fact, hes funny that way would go unreleased until 2006, when it was included as a bonus track on the release of blue, dianas lost jazz album. Rider from lady sings the blues soundtrack artist diana ross. Various artists, ella fitzgerald, keely smith, peggy lee, dinah shore, nancy wilson, etta james lady sings the blues music. Youll have to complete your refund and exchange before the posted showtime indicated on your ticket. Lady sings the blues r 2h 24min biography, drama, music 12 october 1972 usa the story of the troubled life and career of the legendary jazz singer, billie holiday. Still, the obvious errors in lady sings the blues, which were only magnified when the book was turned into a diana ross film in 1972, have launched numerous historians and fans on a corrective.
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