https://www.cbsnews.com/news/andra-d...illie-holiday/
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I'm very excited about this. I have loved Billie Holiday for countless years; even saw Audra McDonald as Billie twice on Broadway. 'Lady Sings the Blues' is a great cinematic piece of fiction, but there is very little about the movie that depicts the real Billie Holiday. I am hoping that Audra and Lee can help "demystify" the legend, so to speak, and give Holiday some long-due redemption.
She's one of my all time favorites as well. I just found this after YEARS of searching. Royal Blue Columbia 78rpm from 1933. Her very first recording. With Benny Goodman. [[Not my original photo).Quote:
Originally Posted by antceleb12
Attachment 18624
This is a great record!! I have a set of old, early Billie Holiday 78's tucked away somewhere, and I think this is one of them. Her life has always been troubled, but these early records offer a rare glimpse of a Holiday with a promising career, before substance abuse and legal troubles plagued her...Quote:
Originally Posted by thanxal
This looks so good. Can’t wait.
The other ones that are highly sought after and valuable are her original Brunswicks [[not the reissues on red Columbias). An original "Your Mother's Son-in-Law" just sold on eBay for $395 and wasn't in as good of condition as mine, which I paid waaaay less than that for.Quote:
Originally Posted by antceleb12
We need a remastered "Lady Sings The Blues" soundtrack album without the dramatic dialogue. I could listen to this recording all day. Diana Ross' vocals on this album make any morning good!
Wasn't it Berry Gordy who once said, “ why should film bios involving black stars be saddled with the truth when the white equivalent seldom are”.......Or such like.Quote:
Originally Posted by antceleb12
I for one am super excited about this film. Having Evan in the cast makes it extra special and somehow fitting.
I would really like to see this on the big screen, but with cinemas closed across the land I'm not sure what will happen.
Audra got nominated for a Golden Globe
You mean Andra [[it's short for Cassandra). And yes, she did! Two noms -- Best Lead Actress in a Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
Thats a good sign. I wonder if Andra or the film will get a nod at the oscars?.Quote:
Originally Posted by sansradio
I saw there was huge criticism of the Golden Globes - basically saying they are "bought" awards.
Well, I just saw where she was snubbed for a SAG award. It's anyone's guess at this point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Andra Day won a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama tonight
Interesting. I have not seen the film yet, but it would be exciting if an Oscar nomination were in the offering. Might Andra achieve what Diana failed to do?.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
Her performance is off-the-charts extraordinary and absolutely deserved the win. The film as a whole? Not so much. It gets a great deal right, particularly its positioning of Lady as a genuine Black liberation icon, but mostly devolves into fan-fiction territory. It doesn’t give you a sense of what made Billie unique, show how she initially tackled “Strange Fruit,” or flesh out her relationships, particularly with her soulmate Lester Young. Instead, it inflates the fleeting dalliance with this FBN agent into something it wasn’t and generally paints Billie as little more than a sad junkie who could sing. And one directorial decision in particular during the closing credits is gratuitous and unforgivably cringeworthy. Still, I’d love to see Andra take home the Oscar; it’s a classic case of a performance elevating a film.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
Many thanks for sharing your thoughts on the film sans. I might hold out on the chance of seeing it on the big screen sometime later in the year.Quote:
Originally Posted by sansradio
Is that not what some critics said of LSTB?. Diana’s performance elevating the film too a higher level.
I was hoping to see a little more of the lighthearted side of Billie that we know existed but is rarely talked about. Good to hear it’s a great performance though.
No problem. Yes, indeed, this moment is mirroring the LSTB one in more ways than one!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
You do see Lady’s lighthearted side, particularly with the characters played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Miss Lawrence, who are both terrific as her woman and man Fridays. Once again, Andra’s performance is soup-to-nuts faultless...it’s the vehicle itself that’s flawed.
Great Performance by Andra and especially for a first time performance. Billie's life is one of those icons that you just can't tell in two hours. There is just so much there in her short time with us. In fact I remember reading that a lot of the footage from LSTB ended up on the cutting room floor.
I was a big fan of both Andra's stunning performance and the film itself. I don't think any movie about an icon as mythologized as Billie Holiday will live up to everyone's expectations. Since there is still a lot about Billie's life still shrouded in mystery, and since the people closest to her are long deceased, there are large pockets of her life we will never be able to accurately portray with 100% certainty. Regarding the criticism regarding the film not highlighting the "right" relationships, I think its important to remember that the movie is about Billie's relationship with the United States, law enforcement, and institutionalized racism - not her relationship with Lester Young, not her relationships with her mother, Louis McKay, Jimmy Monroe, etc. People are said that the movie was "overstuffed," but I strongly disagree. I think people thought or assumed that the film would center on her 1947 arrest and trial, but her battle with the FBN started well before that and lasted to her death. To tell 20 years of complicated history in two hours is a difficult task, and I think the film did well with the plethora of information needed to paint the whole picture.
I think what I enjoyed the most that LSTB failed at was depicting Holiday as strong, determined, and intelligent. While it showed her struggle with addiction, it did not show her as an addict first; it showed her as a human who struggled to get over her personal traumas. I also am glad that the movie showed McKay as the repugnant, abusive, slimy pig that he was, rather than the horribly fictitious version of him portrayed in LSTB.
Vocally, Andra Day's interpretation of Holiday's iconic catalogue was mind-blowing. Not only can she handle the material, but she flawlessly captured Holiday's unique rhythms and essence that made her musicianship so outstanding. Andra and Audra McDonald are the only two people I've ever heard who have captured Holiday's spirit so flawlessly.
I would say that the only complaint I had with the movie was that some of the dialogue seemed a bit contrived, and yes some elements had to be fictionalized due to pockets of missing information and the fact that its a movie, but otherwise I thought it was a moving, respectful ode to Holiday's legacy and the sacrifices she made as a civil rights pioneer.
I watched this film today and I really recommend it, it is a fantastic film and the lead performance is outstanding, as was Diana in Lady sings the Blues 50 years prior!! Excellent if you can watch it you won't be disappointed
I see she was nominated for an Academy Award yesterday - no other nominations though.
Maybe but she has Viola Davis to contend with...Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie9
And neither Viola or Andra are the favourite
Who, then? Mulligan?Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
The Carey lady?? It’s the one I’ve never heard of that seems to win most of the actress awards - SAG?? Sorry I’m not very knowledgeable about these people
LOL. That’s Mulligan. 😆Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob