MovieChat Forums > Lady Sings the Blues (1972) Discussion > beatdown *spoilers*

beatdown spoilers

posted 20 years ago by jaystats2
37 replies | jump to latest

One of the most harrowing and disturbing scenes in this film, is where Piano Man(Richard Pryor) is beaten to death by the two thugs. I saw this film with my parents when I was like 7 or 8 , and that particular scene haunts me to this very day. The sudden, violent transition from Billie and Piano Man getting high and goofing-off, to the brutal, slow-motion beating, was way too intense for me as a kid- hell, adults too for that matter. Diana Ross' performance along with the supporting cast(Pryor, Williams)are in my opinion, timeless pieces of work. I've been waiting for the DVD release of this one for the last six years and my collection won't be complete until I have it.

[–] Is0dezirableI 13 years ago

I'm 21 years old but "Lady Sings the Blues" is one of my mothers favorite movies.. I remember watching for the first time when I was 12 and like all of you I was deeply disturbed. The rape scene, and the beginning scene of Billie in the psych ward were the two scenes that really bothered me. I'm still to chicken to watch it again.

[–] twilliamson (126) 4 years ago

I'm amazed at how many people on this thread recall seeing this movie as a seven or eight year old child. In my opinion it is not appropriate for children at all. Like, almost nothing in this movie is something a child should be exposed to - rape, lynching, prostitution, drug abuse, murder by beating...why did parents think this was a good movie for their kids to watch?

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I agree with you 100%.