SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

tavm In reviewing African-Americans in film in chronological order for Black History Month, we're now at 1999 with another biographical movie from HBO called Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Before she herself became the first woman of color to win the Oscar for Best Actress (for Monster's Ball), Halle Berry portrayed the first such woman to be nominated in that category-Ms. Dorothy Dandridge. Framed by scenes in which Dorothy is talking on the phone to someone named Geri, we find out early on that Geri (Tamara Taylor) is the wife of one of the Nicholas Brothers (Fayard) she talks to on the set of the dance scene she performed with them on Sun Valley Serenade. The other brother, Harold (Obba Babatunde), Dorothy eventually marries. The bed scene, cut between those of the Auntie (LaTanya Richardson) abusing Dorothy from earlier, is a harbinger of the struggles Dandridge goes through in life. And what struggles they are: painfully dealing with segregation in various hotels and nightclubs with manager Earl Mills (Brent Spiner) constantly trying to reassure her, Carmen Jones director Otto Preminger (Klaus Maria Brandauer) becoming intimate with her during the filming and subsequent release through to the Academy Awards only to drop her after it's all over, his later treatment of her during Porgy and Bess, drunken abuse from later husband Jack Denison (D.B. Sweeney) over losing his nightclub after she failed to attract crowds night after night, and her eventual decline in pills and alcohol even with Mills back in her career. There's also notable turns by Loretta Devine as Dorothy's mother Ruby, Cynda Williams as sister Vivian, Darrian C. Ford as Fayard Nicholas, and William Atherton as Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck. Director Martha Coolidge made a mostly compelling account of the highs and lows of this trailblazing personality with Berry providing the beauty and range to put it through nicely. Her scenes with her mentally impaired daughter Harolyn were also pretty heartbreaking. The film's source was Mills' biography of her. I haven't read that though I did read another one by Donald Bogle that I heartily recommend as I definitely do of this nearly excellent movie.

SheShines3 I recently watched the movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge with Hally Berry acting the part of Dorothy. The movie touched me deeply & I would like to learn more on her life story & talk with others who are deeply affected by her amazing life & all she endured. This movie will stay with me always. For that I am thankful. She was an amazing women! I am a white female who will never understand the mistreatment, pain, etc. of black people. Thank you Dorothy for your incredible story! Such an inspiration.

tomreynolds2004 Haile Berry is radiant in the title role. An excellent job is done of separating the woman from the myth. Klaus Maria Brandauer is quite memorable in a key supporting role. Brent Spiner is also good. But, Berry's tour-de-force performance is the reason to watch this made-for-HBO biographical feature.It is not often that one has the opportunity to take in such a movie. After her night club career took off, Dandridge eventually found her way to Hollywood where she appeared in the movie version of George Gershwin's famous opera, Porgy and Bess. Next she co-starred with up-and-coming singer Harry Belafonte in the fascinating Carmen Jones. Such talent is rare indeed. Indeed, it is rare to find such a talent.

Kritically Kind This movie is all about Halle Berry - to look at it from any other point of view would be to overlook the most powerful force in the movie. Berry is brilliant in her portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge - her acting is flawless and we witness the greatness of Dandrige and exprience the pain of her downfall with Halle Berry as our guide. What a tremendous coincedence that Halle Berry would play the first African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award when she herself would later become the first African-american woman to actually receive the prestegious award! She is supported by a strong cast which all help to make this a movie to remember. 7/10