Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty

i don't understand how can someone who has led the life that dorothy dandridge has could inspire such bland tributes, the two bio's written about her were awful and don't get me started on the awful movie about her that starred an inept halle berry giving a bloodless performance, now we have a tribute documentary that is just as boring and dull, it's a curiosity piece that is only important because it contains several of her musical shorts shown in clips of course and also it has footage of the historical night at the Oscars, but other than that i'd say this should be passed over because it offers no new interviews, or any other information that isn't already known, here's hoping that a new documentary, film and book come around to do justice to this beautiful talented star known as miss dorothy dandridge.

Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty (2003)

*** (out of 4)

Very good documentary on the black actress who used her looks and talents to kick in the door's of Hollywood as well as break color barriers across the country. The documentary features interviews with the likes of Brock Peters, Larry Fishburne, Halle Berry and various others who either knew Dandridge or looked up to her. The documentary does a great job at covering her life story within the short 50-minute running time. The most interesting stuff is her relationship with director Otto Preminger, which some claimed ruined her career. The film talks about her apparent suicide from overdose and the fact that she had less than $2.50 to her name when she died. Clips from most of her movies are shown as well as her appearance at the Oscars. The film has a few flubs like crediting her with the first kiss between a black and white person on screen but overall it's good.

I think those tributes to Dorothy Dandridge throughout the documentary were wonderful. Just because they weren't done to suit others' particular needs doesn't mean it wasn't well or anyone couldn't enjoy it. I'll even go as far as to say it's about time Hollywood acknowledge and pay tribute to a black star anyway. It may have not been my way of doing it, but I can't get mad because something was made about her, and mad because it wasn't the way I wanted it. Also for those who didn't know her, it gave them an insight to who she was, what she did, and the prices she paid for stardom.

If someone else can do it better than this and the other played on A&E years ago, be my guest to go on a head and do it, but to criticize someone else's hard work because it wasn't up to your expectations or what you know, then do it yourself. Yet, you cannot please everybody.

P.S. As for Halle Berry playing Dorothy Dandridge in the TV made movie, who else would have gone to such lengths to bring Dorothy's life to the big screen? Many directors weren't even the least bit interested in doing a movie based on the life of a black actress, so it good to say that someone wanted to do it. I was satisfied seeing some black actress wanting to pay a tribute to another who paved the way for actors/actress now.

Did these people even KNOW Dorothy Dandridge? She was absolutely beautiful, and highly talented...but the "tributes" paid to her in this documentary were flaccid, uncaring...delivered in a near monotone address so as to say the narrator was completely unimpressed with her accomplishments, her talents, and her life.

She deserves better, and this work should be remade into a live biography of her life, career, loves, and her tragic self-induced death. When she died of by suicide via drug overdose, she had $2.14 in her bank account. This Oscar-nominated, fabulous, glamorous, beautiful, talented woman was 42.

But this? This detritus rates a 2.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.