Product Details

• Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Kultur Video
• VHS Release Date: April 16, 1995
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302037034
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,418 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Given the often inextricable relationship between art and suffering, it's no coincidence that Billie Holiday, popularly acclaimed as jazz's greatest (if not technically best) female singer, was also one of its most tragic figures. While both triumph and tragedy are covered in this hourlong documentary, we are mercifully spared excessive details about the more sordid aspects of Holiday's life (her drug and alcohol addictions, her disastrous relationships with abusive men) in favor of careful consideration of her music. Testimonials are offered by those who played with her (pianist Mal Waldron and trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison), were influenced or inspired by her (singers Carmen McRae and Annie Ross), or worked with her (producer Milt Gabler). Together, they paint a portrait of a woman who was both tough and vulnerable, sad and defiant, an unschooled musician who became a supreme innovator.

Fairly or not, documentaries like this one will inevitably be compared to Ken Burns's Jazz, especially when they contain some of the same material, as is the case here. But while Lady Day doesn't always benefit from the comparison (actress Ruby Dee, reading from Holiday's autobiography, and narrator David Smyrl race through their lines as if they've got a train to catch), it surpasses Jazz in one vital respect: instead of constantly interrupting the music with voiceovers, Lady Day offers some of Holiday's few performances on film or TV in their entirety, including "Strange Fruit," her graphic and disturbing song about Southern lynchings, and "Fine and Mellow," in which a visibly and audibly deteriorating Holiday is backed by Lester Young, Ben Webster, and other jazz immortals. --Sam Graham

From the Back Cover

This sparkling documentary lets us see and hear the miracle that was Billie Holiday. Featured are rare TV and movie clips, along with commentary by a stellar group of jazz instrumentalists and singers who knew her well. Among those recalling Lady Day are the vocalists Carmen McRae and Annie Ross (who were inspired by her), fellow Count Basie alumni Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, and Billie's last accompanist, pianist Max Waldron. Award-winning actress Ruby Dee reads from Holiday's autobiography Lady Sings the Blues. This film program puts Billie Holiday's often anguished life into perspective: as this program proves, she was a victim and a fighter. Above all, she was a genius of a jazz singer, as can be seen in performance clips of such Holiday standards as "Strange Fruit," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," "Fine and Mellow," and others. Discover the many faces of this irresistible woman, this "dark lady of the sonnets"; experience the power of her transcendent art. 60 minutes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time, November 23, 1999

By 

ladym - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Day - The Many Faces of Billie Holiday [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This video would be worth the money if only for the inclusion of that legendary performance of "Fine And Mellow" for the Sound Of Jazz t.v. special -- probably THE most transcendent moment in music history! The commentary by Milt Gabler during this scene ("They were all champions . . . and SHE was a champion!") and by Billie's former colleagues and admirers throughout this video are distinguished by their intelligence and warmth. For example, the precious and aged Buck Clayton describing his trumpeting behind Billie as simply "filling up the windows". And the insights of the late, great and utterly dignified Carmen McRae are particularly invaluable. I cried more than a few times watching this beautiful documentary and recommend it highly. It's all we have on Billie, and God knows how we need her.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Only 2 problems with this video - too short and not enough!!, May 7, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Day - The Many Faces of Billie Holiday [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It's too bad they waited so long to make this video; would have been perfect if they had been able to speak to Count Basie, Artie Shaw and (most importantly) Louis Armstrong. However, they have done a great deal of research and unearthed (!) some fascinating footage I have never seen before. So what is lost in live interviews with people she knew and worked with is helped by actually seeing Billie Holiday at different stages. I highly reccomend this video, especially anyone who has seen "that" movie,("Lady Sings the Blues")and felt as dissapointed with it as I was! Buy this video,you won't regret it!

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Kultur, this time you missed it!, September 12, 2003

By 

fCh "fCh" (GMT-5, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Day - The Many Faces of Billie Holiday (DVD)

If you are interested in the (ever fashionable) approach to Jazz, via the contemporary interpretation of the social environment in which the Jazz artists created, then there is a good chance you may like this DVD.

However, if real footage is what you are after, this DVD may well disappoint you too. In this latter case I strongly suggest you spend your money on "The Ladies Sing the Blues" DVD.

Being interested in a combination of real footage and adept commentary I got disappointed on both ends. In the whole DVD, there are at most three incomplete songs where Lady Day actually sings, yet there are a few too many (poor taste) instances when her voiced dubs some disconnected Jazz players/dancers. As well, in addition to some general socio-historical vignettes, I found the commentary to be just a suite of encomiums with no critical side to it.