Product Details

• Actors: Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Obba Babatundé, Loretta Devine
• Directors: Martha Coolidge
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• VHS Release Date: August 29, 2000
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003RQLA
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,304 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Dorothy Dandridge was a Hollywood trailblazer. A confident sex symbol in the 1950s, she was the first black woman ever nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, but the electrifying stage chanteuse and dancer was forbidden to even enter the nightclubs and show rooms she performed in except from the stage. As portrayed by Halle Berry, who shepherded Dandridge's story to the screen, Dandridge is a sure, insistent star who battled racist studios and Jim Crow laws to maintain her dignity in public while stumbling through a private life marked by bad relationships and abusive lovers. Berry gives her best performance to date, brimming with ambition and moxie offstage, charming audiences with the slinky, sure moves of a nightclub veteran onstage, and convincingly "becoming" Dandridge in dramatic re-creations from Carmen Jones and Porgy and Bess. Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation) is sweet and sympathetic as her supportive, lovesick manager, and Klaus Maria Brandauer is, in Dandridge's words, a "big old bulldog" as director Otto Preminger. Director Martha Coolidge balances private troubles with professional milestones and setbacks and pulls no punches showing the institutional racism of late 1950s Las Vegas or the brutality of a vicious alcoholic husband. Originally made for HBO, this drama lacks the big-budget spectacle of traditional Hollywood biographies but offers in its place sharp writing, intelligent direction, and strong, sensitive performances. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Introducing Dorthy Dandridge, February 1, 2000

By	Harry Lit "Castrobear" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (DVD)

Hale Berry gives a stellar performance in a film that fairs slightly higher than your average TV movie. For this reason, Berry's performance makes this a must see film. Although HBO has taken many liberties with Dandridge's true-life story, the TV film accuretly captures the period, not all bright and colorful. Racism is the focus of a career that was cut short due to bigotry... The musical numbers are first rate as are the dance numbers, it's just the ho-hum soap opera approach that boggs the story down....

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The powerful story of a groundbreaking artist, April 19, 2003

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (DVD)

"Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," directed by Martha Coolidge, tells the story of the first African-American woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Halle Berry turns in a powerful, multifaceted performance in the title role. The film moves back and forth in time to explore Dandridge's career as singer and actress, her troubled personal life, the racism she battled, the personal demons that tormented her, and her relationships with significant figures in the entertainment industry.

Although a bit soap opera-ish at times, this is a compelling and well-made film. It is full of excellent production values--great sets and costumes really help tell this tale. Musical numbers are skillfully woven into the overall story.

But it's the fine performances that really make this biopic special. Berry is superb in the challenging title role. Fiery and vulnerable, Berry creates a full-bodied cinematic portrait of this compelling woman. She gets solid support from a superb supporting cast that includes the versatile Loretta Devine as Dorothy's mother. Klaus Maria Brandauer brings elegance and gravitas to his role as director Otto Preminger. I was especially impressed by Brent Spiner in the pivotal role of Earl Mills, Dorothy's manager; if you only know Spiner from his role as Mr. Data from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," you are in for a revelation in this film.

There are some powerful scenes in this film, and it really holds together overall as a unified whole. "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" is a fitting tribute to Dandridge herself, and is a compelling slice of African-American history and Hollywood history.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dandridge, March 6, 2001

By	C. Weldon "Movie Guy" (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (DVD)

This movie was spectacular from a "made for t.v." movie stand point. Halle Berry was an exceptional choice to play the role of Ms. Dandridge. All my life, I have been a fan of Dorothy dandridge and I was happy to see a film depicting her life. It was very well put together but focused little on what Dorothy was known for, her movie career. Dorothy Dandridge was the first black woman to be nominated for an Acamedy Award. She had many stellar and standout performances including "Porgy and Bess", "Island in the Sun", and "Carman Jones". I would have liked to see more of the film cover her outstanding film career. The film did however show her fight against racism in the music as well as film inmdustry. She was a one of kind woman and this film is definitely worth watching if not owning.