https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Lady-...lu-ray/133491/
Sorry, the day is February 21, 2021 but I can't edit the post title anymore. Pre-orders should be up soon on Amazon etc. Hopefully Mahogany will be next!
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https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Lady-...lu-ray/133491/
Sorry, the day is February 21, 2021 but I can't edit the post title anymore. Pre-orders should be up soon on Amazon etc. Hopefully Mahogany will be next!
About time! Hopefully, this will include the original featurette from '72 and the trailer.
Oscar please to Diana Ross!
Why wasn't Billy Dee Williams nominated for Best Actor?
Welp, according to this link, it'll be identical to the DVD.
https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/...eb-23-20201208
I’m ok with that. The “Behind the blues doc” they included was great. I remember there being some deleted scenes included on the DVD, but were there seven? I don’t recall, and don’t feel like searching for my DVD.Quote:
Originally Posted by sansradio
Off topic, while I was on Amazon, I noticed there is a DVD available of The Wiz movie coupled with the live TV broadcast from a few years ago.
Yes, at the very least seven. I just wish they had beefed this Blu-Ray up with the original promotional material. Seems a missed opportunity.Quote:
Originally Posted by khansperac
I really hope Mahogany is up next whitesoxx. I wonder if there exists any deleted scenes from the movie.. There was meant to be a a scene where Diana is filmed shooing away pigeons while walking down some steps. There are certainly some stills that suggests other scenes were filmed. Perhaps Diana slapping Berry could be included as an extra lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by whitesoxx
A quick clip of Diana shooing pigeons was included in the Mahogany modeling montage. I would love a bonus feature showing more of the scenes that became that montage. And yes, the slap would be quite an extra, lol!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Other then The Wiz, i don’t understand why recent releases are not available in UK format yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyB
Why didn't they release it as Lady Sings The Blu Ray ?
That is great news. Diana's performance was wonderful and I was so excited for her Oscar nomination. 1972 was a year that saw so many great performances and I think in another year there would have been no question who would have won the Oscar. I hope this sells really well. Diana's interpretation of Billie Holiday's music is excellent.
The votes cast for the two black nominees most likely affected the outcome. This was the first year that two black actresses were nominated for Best Actress.
Being that Lisa Minnelli's mother, Judy Garland- Hollywood Royalty, had passed away in 1969.The sympathy vote for Ms.Minnelli.
I wish the LSTB soudtrack were two separate discs: Diana Ross' singing and The Instrumental Score.
Being older now, I am keenly appreciative of Ms.Ross' vocal pathos.
I would hope that people voted for the best performance regardless of skin color and that having two black nominees would not split votes enough to affect the outcome, but it probably did have an effect, sadly.Quote:
Originally Posted by TNSUN
Liza Minnelli performance was absolutely stupendous and was Hearlded around the world. it was so strong she made the cover of time and Newsweek the same week which has never happened before. The movie itself was a cutting edge phenomenon artistically. Liza probably got some votes because of her lineage, but I am certain the Academy members felt the same way the general public around the world did about her performance: superb. I wish Diana would have won, but it’s not like they gave the award to some undeserving person as Liza’s performance was Óscar caliber in anyone’s book.
Liza was given the Oscar because...
A. And most importantly, the Academy were shame faced they had never given one to her mother, even though she deserved one for A Star Is Born.
B. Berry offended many of the Academy voters by placing to many trade adds day after day. Something that was unusual for the time.
I love Liza, but Diana should definitely have one the award imo. For someone who’s only acting experience was in an episode of Tarzan, to give this kind of tour de force performance in a film debut should without question have been rewarded.
Cabernet undoubtably has a brilliant musical score with plenty of memorable dazzle dazzle numbers that stay in the head. Taken as a whole, i find sections of the film rather boring and less memorable. Diana was compelling from start to finish and appeared in virtually every scene. Hers, imo was overall the better performance.
Don’t forget, Ollie, Diana had also appeared in an episode of “Make Room for Granddaddy” and shown her acting chops in her solo TV special and “GIT” and any number of other television programs as well prior to LSTB.
Appreciated sans, but that’s not really the same as having starred in major motion pictures which Liza already had.Quote:
Originally Posted by sansradio
I guess at the end of the day it’s down to personal opinion, but remember even Liza thought D.R was going to win. Perhaps even at this late stage, Diana should do a Trump and demand a recount lol.
That didn't seem to help Liza in the 1970 Academy Awards when she was also up for Best Actress at the Oscars...Quote:
Originally Posted by TNSUN
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Lady-...133491/#Review
Lady Sings the Blues Blu-ray Review
Reviewed by Martin Liebman, February 12, 2021
The musician's Biopic may be one of the hottest genres going today, but it's certainly not a new phenomenon. Quantity and quality both drive today's landscape as movies like Rocketman and Get On Up light up the charts and earn glowing critical reviews. In the 1980s it was La Bamba. In the 1970s it was Lady Sings the Blues, Director Sidney J. Furie's [[The Boys in Company C, Ladybugs) telling of the Billie Holiday story, a story of humble and hopeless beginnings, the rise of a star, and the fall of an icon.
Eleanora Fagan [[Diana Ross) is desperate to escape a directionless life in which she's used and abused for her class, color, and body. She finds menial work scrubbing steps and dangerous physical and emotional work as an object at a brothel. When she auditions as a club singer, she impresses the manager [[Sid Melton) and when she makes her stage debut she earns an enormous tip from the wealthy and handsome Louis McKay [[Billy Dee Williams) which increases her confidence on the floor. She pulls in far more money than is expected of her. Her star quickly grows. Louis is fully attracted to her and obviously wants to build a loving and lasting relationship. But when Eleanora, now going by the stage name Billie Holiday, signs on with a travelling band, she experiences the rough road life, racial America, and finds herself fallen into drugs. As her star is challenged by increasing, and ultimately crippling, drug usage, one of the world's most gifted singers finds her life teetering on disaster.
Holiday's story is one of guarded optimism as the audience roots for the struggling young girl to escape inescapable hopelessness and find an avenue not just to professional success but also personal stability and satisfaction. Unfortunately, Billie's story mirrors so many of those who came before her and so many who would follow her. The allures of fame and grasp of drugs are her downfall, but what a star she was, and how brightly she shined, at her peak. The film tells her story in detail but with endless engagement. Its absolute authenticity has been called into question, but there's no denying the energy the movie engenders and the electricity Ross generates on the screen. Fully faithful to Holiday's life or not, this film is a success of human interest storytelling that overcomes the predictable beats with superior screen presence.
Diana Ross is terrific. She delivers not just a capable performance but one of nuance and evident growth, both through the course of the movie, as expected, and even within a scene, a much more difficult proposition. But with rich material and her innate talent, she brings Holiday to life with remarkable clarity and vision for the character, from meager beginnings to rise and certainly on through her fall. She's supported by several quality performances from legends like Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor but it's Ross who carries the movie and comes to define it through-and-through. Furie's direction is a rock, too, as is John A. Alonzo's cinematography. The film is not flashy but it's excellently atmospheric, knowingly constructed for mood and emotion alike, conveying content with obvious direction and subtle nuance alike. This is a solid film all around.
Lady Sings the Blues Blu-ray, Video Quality
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For its Blu-ray debut, Paramount releases Lady Sings the Blues with a 1080p transfer. The image is a bit rough. Grain is not overly dense but it's also inconsistent, looking relatively fine in spots and clumping up in others. Textures are not razor-sharp. There's a mild softness at play but not enough to render more than a handful of shots problematically fuzzy. General textures satisfy for essential definition, whether faces or a variety of clothes, from ragged everyday attire to more resplendent suits and dresses. Much the same holds true for environmental output. There's a broad array of location details throughout the film, each with their own layouts and opportunities for finer object definition. Nothing stands out for superiority but neither does anything appear grossly underrealized. Colors are not particularly brilliant. There's a solid foundational depth to essential tones, but the movie does favor a slightly depressed, flat color output. Still, basics like clothes and skin are largely fine and black levels are not in any way problematic, even if they're not quite perfect. The print is in rather good shape, showing only a few points of wear and anomalies. There are no obvious encode failures of note, either. This isn't the prettiest 1080p image on the market but overall it looks more or less true to the source; can't ask for much more than that.
Lady Sings the Blues Blu-ray, Audio Quality
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Lady Sings the Blues includes a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. At reference volume the opening score plays rather quietly, without much vigor or confidence. The notes themselves are bold but the delivery lacks oomph and there's not a lot of front spread, either. Surrounds are rendered virtually silent here, too. That's pretty much the story for the entire soundtrack: timid, not a lot of front spread, practically no surround extension, and certainly no obvious subwoofer engagement. As a flat, straightforward, front-center experience it's fine. The music isn't quite so dynamic as it might could have been with superior sound engineering but it's OK as it is. Dialogue is perfectly clear, though, and center positioned. Some listeners might want to turn the volume up a little from calibrated reference.
Lady Sings the Blues Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras
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Lady Sings the Blues includes an audio commentary track, a featurette, and deleted scenes. This is a standalone Blu-ray; no DVD or digital copies are included with purchase and this release does not ship with a slipcover.
- Audio Commentary: Executive Producer Berry Gordy, Director Sidney Furie, and Artist Manager Shelly Berger explore the film in detail, remembering key facets of the production. It primarily covers the broad topics but also studies anecdotes and nuanced details alike that pull the listener into the making of the movie. It's rather honest, too, and a fine compliment to the film.
- Behind the Blues: Lady Sings the Blues [[480i, 4x3, 23:06): The piece opens with Ross discussing the film's place in her career and follows to cover film origins, Berry Gordy's work on the film, script and story, cast and performances [[including Ross making the character her own), direction, cinematography, production design, costuming, awards and reception, and more.
- Deleted Scenes [[480i, 4x3, 21:03): Included, in very rough quality, are Billie's Party, Billie and Louis Come Home, Billie and Harry, Louis Threatens Harry, 'Just Get Some Sleep,' Billie Visits Mama, and Billie Goes to Jail.
Lady Sings the Blues Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation
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Regardless of its absolute adherence to authenticity or stray from it for dramatic purposes, there's no denying there's an engaging, powerful film in Lady Sings the Blues. Even though the central story feels cut-and-paste -- an individual rises from a seemingly inescapable bottom to reach the top, only to fall hard from grace -- there's a sincerity to its telling, a rawness to its emotions, a reality to characters. Ross is a revelation and Williams is terrific in a pre-Star Wars role while a fairly young Richard Pryor is a delight, as always. Neither the picture nor the sound are going to dazzle or delight but they're workmanlike, at least, and the picture quality is pretty solid overall. A few quality extras are included, too Recommended.
Cicely Tyson says in her memoir that, just before the winner was announced, she turned to her date Arthur Mitchell and whispered "Liza Minnelli"; they chuckled. When Liza’s name was called as Best Actress, Cicely shot Arthur a pithy, wonderful what’d-I-tell-you look. The moment survives on YouTube.Quote:
Originally Posted by TNSUN
https://youtu.be/DFstpIKW7A4
I love Liza in Cabaret and Diana in Lady! Both excellent performances and both superb films. I never saw Cicely in Sounder, but I'm sure all three performances deserved an Oscar.
I can't wait to finally have it on Blu-ray. Diana as Billie Holiday was not exactly accurate but it was the first time I finally started researching who Ms. Holiday was. Louis Mckay was portrayed in a brighter light which some will say was not accurate but he did try and get Billie off drugs and that was what I took from the film as well. It my opinion and everyone has one I feel Diana was robed of the Oscar that night.
You hit on two of the points that was definitely the deciding factors. I think Diana did go on to win the Golden Globe and the NAACP award for her performance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Thanks for posting the review of the Blu-ray, Jack. Seems like the quality of the main movie is a decent upgrade from the DVD. I'm not surprised that they didn't put in a huge amount of work to vastly improve the picture quality, considering that they are releasing this to cash-in on the new Billie biopic. However, at this lower price point, it seems like the improvement will be good enough, especially since it's 1080p transfer, instead of a lazy upscale job.
Take Liza being the daughter of the much loved Judy Garland and Berry Gordy’s bombastic promotional campaign out of the equation and Diana ends a sure winner. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by captainjames
Has anyone bought this yet?.
Release date is Feb 23rd :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Lower price at Amazon us now: 9.96