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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 8208
Released: November 8, 2005 |
| Our Price: $8.98 |
| Used Price: $4.74 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The essence of Billie Holiday, one of America's most loved and memorable blues singers, is captured brilliantly in a tour-de-force debut performance by singer Diana Ross. Filled with the greatest songs of the incomparable "Lady Day," this stunning film biography received five Academy Award. nominations, including Diana Ross for "Best Actress." Costarring Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor.
Description of Lady Sings the Blues:
Diana Ross stars as legendary blues singer Billie Holiday in this biopic that chronicles her rise and fall. It begins with her late childhood, a stint as a prostitute, those early days as a blues singer, her marriages, and her drug addiction. Overly glossy and lacking depth, this is worth seeing only for the performances. Diana Ross was nominated for an Oscar for her acting debut. A dynamo with sparkling screen presence, she realistically conveys the confusion and unhappiness that caused Holiday so much grief. Her performance is almost matched by romantic interest Billy Dee Williams. Watch for Richard Pryor, who is most powerful in a dramatic supporting role as the piano player in a brothel. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Lady Sings the Blues Reviews:
Lady Sings the Blues 
2009-09-14 - Diana really should have won an Oscar for this movie and not Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music.
Ross and Pryor should have been Oscar winners
2009-09-13 - I probally have seen "Lady Sings the Blues" over a 100 times,and its on TV right now.Its near the end after The Piano Man ,Richard Pryor,has just gotten killed.I'm amazed of his acting,and of course,Diana Ross.She is Billy Holiday,even the way she sings.I have alot of Holidays records,and Ross added her style blending with Billys to come up with one of the greatest performances ever on screen.
This DVD is a Classic,and its one of my top 10 films of all time.Even though I'm a Liza Minnelli fan,I wanted Ross to win the Oscar so bad that year,along with Richard Pryor.
My purchase
2009-07-14 - I love the dvd I purchased of Lady Sings the Blues. Great quantity for a cheap price and quick shipment. Thanx Amazon. Looking forward to buying more great movies on here.
Lady sings the blues
2009-07-01 - Excellent movie and good product, I had trouble finding it so I am extremely pleased
"Diana Ross Plays Billie Holliday"
2009-06-21 - "Lady Sings The Blues" was Diana Ross' first film and it garnered her an Oscar nomination as Best Actress of 1972. She lost to Liza Minnilli for "Cabaret".
Diana plays Blues singer Billie Holliday. As most ardent Holliday fans know Billie was a severe drug addict. Her drug addiction is what destroyed her and Diana Ross should be applauded for her mesmerizing performance of a woman who eventually had everything in the world then threw it all away to drugs. The most dramatic scenes are the ones in which Billie argues with her boyfriend, played beautifully by Billy Dee Willimas, when he insists she stop using heroine. Billie runs into the bathroom, slams the door, and injects heroine into her veins. The withdrawal scenes are exceptionally well acted and directed. This film was one of the first to dramatize drug use.
The music of Billie Holiday is well documented in this film and Diana does a superb job in recapturing the esssence of one of America's finest Blues singers.
The DVD comes with commentary by Barry Gordy who produced the film, director Sidney Furie, and artist manager Shelly Berger. There are also deleted scenes and a great retrospective on the film featuring new interviews by Diana Ross and others associated with the movie.
"Lady Sings The Blues" received five Academy Award nominations in total.
