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Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday

  • TV Movie
  • 1990
  • 59m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
52
YOUR RATING
Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday (1990)
Documentary

Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday tells us the story of one of jazz's greatest singers ever. Although Billie Holiday lived a life filled with tragedy, this documentary focuses more ... Read allLady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday tells us the story of one of jazz's greatest singers ever. Although Billie Holiday lived a life filled with tragedy, this documentary focuses more on her achievements as a singer and her exceptional ability to convey emotions through her... Read allLady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday tells us the story of one of jazz's greatest singers ever. Although Billie Holiday lived a life filled with tragedy, this documentary focuses more on her achievements as a singer and her exceptional ability to convey emotions through her voice, rather than going into detail about her drug and alcohol addictions and destructiv... Read all

  • Director
    • Matthew Seig
  • Writer
    • Robert O'Meally
  • Stars
    • David Langston Smyrl
    • Billie Holiday
    • Ruby Dee
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    52
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Matthew Seig
    • Writer
      • Robert O'Meally
    • Stars
      • David Langston Smyrl
      • Billie Holiday
      • Ruby Dee
    • 2User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos3

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    Top cast22

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    David Langston Smyrl
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    • (as David Smyrl)
    Billie Holiday
    Billie Holiday
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Ruby Dee
    Ruby Dee
    • Billie Holiday
    • (voice)
    Buck Clayton
    Buck Clayton
    • Self
    Harry Edison
    Harry Edison
    • Self
    • (as Harry 'Sweets' Edison)
    Milton Gabler
    Milton Gabler
    • Self
    • (as Milt Gabler)
    Carmen McRae
    Carmen McRae
    • Self
    Albert Murray
    Albert Murray
    • Self
    Annie Ross
    Annie Ross
    • Self
    Mal Waldron
    • Self
    Louis Armstrong
    Louis Armstrong
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Count Basie
    Count Basie
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Roy Eldridge
    Roy Eldridge
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Duke Ellington
    Duke Ellington
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Helen Forrest
    Helen Forrest
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Dorothy Patrick
    Dorothy Patrick
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Irene Rich
    Irene Rich
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    Artie Shaw
    Artie Shaw
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • …
    • Director
      • Matthew Seig
    • Writer
      • Robert O'Meally
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews2

    7.952
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    Featured reviews

    8Sylviastel

    The Angel of Harlem

    This documentary shows rare archive footage of Billie Holiday aka Lady Day. She inspired Annie Ross who is interviewed here with others like Carmen MacRae. The documentary shows her performances including "Strange Fruit" which was both groundbreaking and revolutionary about lynchings in the South. Billie was subjected to plenty of prejudice as she was an African American singer and performer. With a flower in her hair, she could mesmerize her audiences as if she was singing to your soul. Her performance of "Strange Fruit" does that here. The song is beautifully and masterfully written where her voice compliments the poetic nature while displaying the horrors of lynching. If it is a wake-up call about the brutality in the South where Jim Crow laws reign supreme at the time. Billie had a very troubled personal life though which added fuel to her performances. She died too young.
    8suunchild

    Do Over, Please

    This is a very interesting & informative presentation of the great Billie Holiday. However the english translations of song lyrics are so grossly incorrect, lol, it's distracting. Someone please tell the filmmaker(s) to redo them. They can reach out to me for transcription if they'd like; lol.

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    Storyline

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 1, 1990 (West Germany)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Germany
      • Japan
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA(Interview site)
    • Production companies
      • Munich Tele-Pool
      • Taurus Film
      • Toby Byron / Multiprises
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      59 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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