..Gary
Dretzka
..Noah
Forrest
..Leonard
Klady
..R.J.
Matson
..David
Poland
..Douglas
Pratt
..Ray
Pride
..Michael
Wilmington
Lady Sings The Blues
Diana Ross evokes the life of Billie Holiday with a committed earnestness in the groundbreaking 1972 feature, Lady Sings the Blues, which has been released by Paramount as a Special Collector's Edition (08374, $15). Directed by Sidney J. Furie, Ross conveys the vulnerability and determination of her character across a very believable arc of maturation, beginning her character as an adolescent growing up in seedy surroundings and then showing her struggle with drug addiction and other conflicts after achieving the bittersweet success of an African-American singer in racist times. Once in a while, her performance succumbs to the thinking-on-your-feet repetitions that can be a ready pitfall for any actor relying upon improvised dialog, but the bareness of her emotions and the psychological range of her character are exceptional. Additionally, what the film does to Holiday's life, Ross does to her music, glossing it over a bit and condensing its artistry while infusing it with pop star glamour. This isn't a bad thing, because what really happened is that it revitalized Holiday's reputation and re-introduced her music to a new generation, while offering a definitive context for that music, the way that all of the best biographical music dramas do. At the same time, the film's success contributed to the deconstruction of the very prejudices it was depicting, proving that a drama glamorizing the African-American experience could attract audiences across the spectrum.
The picture is presented in letterboxed format only, with an aspect ratio of about 2.35:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. Despite a natural softness and browness in the cinematography, the color transfer is excellent, replicating the image crisply and solidly. The sound has been remastered in 5.1-channel Dolby Digital, bringing a pleasing clarity and wideness to the music without detracting from the drama. Along with optional English subtitles, the 143-minute feature is accompanied by 20 minutes of deleted scenes that will please fans who are looking to flesh out a few plot turns, and an excellent 23-minute documentary, featuring interviews with Ross and others, that goes over the film's daring conception. Producer Barry Gordy ended up placing his own bank account at risk to see the film to completion and stop Paramount from trashing it.
Gordy, Furie and agent Shelly Berger also supply an excellent commentary track, detailing the many fights they had as they struggled to find the right tone for the movie (it was Berry who insisted that Billy Dee Williams be hired over a more experienced and talented actor, and his instincts were absolutely correct, because there was nothing that other actor could have brought to the role that matched the Clark Gable-like impact Williams had) and see it to completion. Having managed to succeed on his own terms throughout his life, Gordy pulls no punches when it comes to doing a commentary. "This film was no different than every other project we did, because it was all made up of love and competition. We competed on every thing, but we had the love. I always felt that competition bred champions, and many times competition got in the way of the love, of course. Diana and I found out many times, because while we did have a relationship that was absolutely wonderful, many times the personal relationship got in the way of the professional relationship, so much until we eventually had to end the personal relationship to keep the professional relationship going strongly and it was right after that that we did the film. That's why in certain scenes with Billy Dee, while Diana was now, not with me but with someone else, I still had a feeling about Billy Dee flirting with her and trying to stick his tongue in her mouth."
February 3, 2006
DVD Roundup: This Week's DVD Releases
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