Billie
Movie · Documentary · Music

Billie - BILLIE HOLIDAY, one of the greatest voices of all time, a woman of breath-taking talent and global popularity, was throughout her short life a figure of controversy - a black woman in a white man’s world, a victim and a rebel whose infamous Strange Fruit, the first protest song, earned her powerful enemies. She was also an enigma, her telling of her own life story a mix of half truths and free-form improvisations. Then in the late 1960’s journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. Over the next decade, she tracked down and tape-recorded interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer’s short, tumultuous life. Raw, emotional and brutally honest, these incredible testimonies ranged from musical greats like Charles Mingus, Tony Bennett, Sylvia Syms and Count Basie to her cousin, school friends, lovers, lawyers, pimps and even the FBI agents who arrested her. But Linda’s book was never finished and the tapes unplayed – until now. With unprecedented and exclusive access to Linda's astonishing 200 hours of never-before-heard interviews, BILLIE showcases an American legend, capturing her depths and complexity through the voices of those who knew her best. Painstakingly restored with footage and stills COLOURISED by one of the worlds leading colour artists, it is an arresting and powerful tale of one of the greatest singers who ever lived, and of Linda Lipnack Kuehl, the woman who would sacrifice her life in trying to tell it.

2020 · 1h 36m
  • 97%
Starring Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday
Director James Erskine

Trailers

  • Billie
    Documentary

Related

Cast & Crew

  • Tony Bennett
    Self
  • B‌H
    Billie Holiday
    Self
  • James Erskine
    Director
  • W‌C
    Will Clarke
    Producer
  • S‌D
    Sophia Dilley
    Producer
  • A‌M
    Andy Mayson
    Producer
  • M‌R
    Mike Runagall
    Producer
  • B‌C
    Barry Clark-Ewers
    Producer
  • James Erskine
    Producer
  • Victoria Gregory
    Producer
  • L‌V
    Laure Vaysse
    Producer

About

Billie

Documentary

Billie - BILLIE HOLIDAY, one of the greatest voices of all time, a woman of breath-taking talent and global popularity, was throughout her short life a figure of controversy - a black woman in a white man’s world, a victim and a rebel whose infamous Strange Fruit, the first protest song, earned her powerful enemies. She was also an enigma, her telling of her own life story a mix of half truths and free-form improvisations. Then in the late 1960’s journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of Billie. Over the next decade, she tracked down and tape-recorded interviews with the extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer’s short, tumultuous life. Raw, emotional and brutally honest, these incredible testimonies ranged from musical greats like Charles Mingus, Tony Bennett, Sylvia Syms and Count Basie to her cousin, school friends, lovers, lawyers, pimps and even the FBI agents who arrested her. But Linda’s book was never finished and the tapes unplayed – until now. With unprecedented and exclusive access to Linda's astonishing 200 hours of never-before-heard interviews, BILLIE showcases an American legend, capturing her depths and complexity through the voices of those who knew her best. Painstakingly restored with footage and stills COLOURISED by one of the worlds leading colour artists, it is an arresting and powerful tale of one of the greatest singers who ever lived, and of Linda Lipnack Kuehl, the woman who would sacrifice her life in trying to tell it.

97%

TOMATOMETER
Average 7.6
Reviews 36
Fresh 35
Rotten 1

Information

Studio
Altitude Film Distribution
Released
2020
Run Time
1 hr 36 min
Rated
15 Unrated
Region of Origin
United Kingdom
© 2019 Altitude Film Entertainment / Concord / New Black Films / Polygram Entertainment / Reliance Entertainment Productions

Languages

Original Audio
English (United Kingdom), English
Audio

English (United Kingdom) (AAC, ⁨Dolby 5.1⁩)

Subtitles

English (United Kingdom) (Always On, SDH)

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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港 (廣東話–繁體)
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門 (廣東話–繁體)
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • 대한민국
  • 台灣
  • Thailand
  • Turkmenistan
  • Vietnam

Europe

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  • Virgin Islands, British
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  • Costa Rica (Español)
  • Dominica
  • República Dominicana
  • Ecuador (Español)
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  • Guatemala (Español)
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  • Venezuela (Español)

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  • Canada (English)
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  • Estados Unidos (Español México)