Lady Sings the Blues (1972)

VHS CASE/SIDE

Length of film:  144 Minutes

Rated: R

Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

Director: Sidney J. Furie

Starring: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, Paul Hampton, Sid Melton, Virginia Capers

IMDB Rank: 7.1/10

***Officially not including a intermission, the VHS version was released in a two-tape set, thus breaking the film into two parts.

Part 1 Time:   101 Minutes

Part 2 Time:   43 Minutes

Where does the first part end? Billie Holiday (Diana Ross) is informed that her mother has passed away. Billie cries in her powder room.

Final line of dialogue on the first part: Billie cries uncontrollably speaking gibberish to herself stating, “I don’t know.”

First line of dialogue on the second part: “Ah, Mr. McKay?” The doctor (Milton Selzer) calls out to Louis McKay (Billy Dee Williams).

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Minimal, Billie Holiday is becoming more well known within the New York music scene, but her addictions to drugs are becoming to overtake her. With the death of her mother, Billie is now at a crossroads in her life in regards to her addictions. Will she enter rehab to begin her fight against addictions?

Which part is better? Part one is significantly better as we are able to see the trauma faced Billie Holiday in the early year of her life and career.

Academy Awards: Best Leading Actress (Nominated-Diana Ross), Best Writing-Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced (Nominated), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Nominated), Best Costume Design (Nominated), Best Music-Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation (Nominated).