k.d. lang Movies
As a self-described odd duck, k.d. lang has always done things her own unique way. Thinking outside of the box shows in her use of small-case letters for her name, her music, acting, and lifestyle. The Grammy award-winning singer has successfully crossed several musical genres, and added acting to her repertoire of talents.The Canadian-born Kathryn Dawn Lang began performing in the early '80s as k.d. lang with her band, the Reclines. The singer left Edmonton for New York, where she cut her first CD in 1984 and gained a following. With her voice, reminiscent of her inspiration, Patsy Cline, lang parlayed her country sound and a cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying" into stardom and two Grammys in 1988 and 1989. Switching gears to popular rock, she won a Grammy in the Pop Vocals category in 1992, a year after she began her acting career.
Fame brought her personal life into the spotlight. Most notable has been lang's work with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and for gay rights. Lang grew up knowing she was a lesbian, but gave notice to the world in an interview in the Advocate in 1992.
Her 1991 acting debut in Percy Adlon's film Salmonberries foreshadowed her public stance as a lesbian. Lang plays a woman of Anglo and Inuit heritage, who finds love with a German woman (Rosel Zech) who has come to Alaska after her husband's death. Life has not been particularly kind to either woman; they find compassion and solace in each other's company. Lang's sensitive portrayal of an Alaskan pipeline worker, who forms a deep bond with the town's new librarian, drew critical acclaim.
Lang's involvement in films also included work as a singer, songwriter, and musical scorist. Among her credits are songs in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) and Sweet November (2001). Lang's lyrical musical score for Even Cowgirls Get the Blues won accolades, even though the movie was not well received by critics or the public. She also produced a musical score for the 1995 documentary Celluloid Closet, which chronicles the treatment of homosexuality in the early days of the film industry.
Since the making of Salmonberries, lang has appeared in several other films. She played Michelle in Teresa's Tattoo, a quirky comedy that combines elements of crime and science fiction. Lang also co-starred in a television movie adaptation of a Mario Puzo book. The Last Don profiles the Chicago mob family of Don Domenico Clericuzio, with lang portraying a lesbian film director. In Stephan Elliot's thriller Eye of the Beholder, lang plays Hilary, the assistant to a detective on the trail of a serial stalker and killer. Hilary watches her British Secret Service boss (Ewan McGregor) morph into stalker, murderer, and lover.
At the turn of the 21st century, k.d. lang continued to explore film and music, while speaking out for those on society's fringes, a place she herself has always called home. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 2006
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The concert film Tony Bennett: An American Classic serves as a video accompaniment and companion piece to the legendary crooner's 2006 album of the same title. On that LP, Bennett duets on a series of pop standards, with nineteen of the world's top rock and pop artists. In the film version - originally produced and aired on NBC - Bennett teams up with many of the same guests, including Christina Aguilera, k.d. Lang, Stevie Wonder, Chris Botti, Elton John, Juanes, John Legend, Barbra Streisand and Diana Krall, to celebrate his own 80th birthday. Rob Marshall, the helmer of Chicago, directs. Tracks include: "Smile" with Streisand, "Sing, You Sinners" with Legend, "Because of You" with Lang and Botti, "The Best is Yet to Come" with Krall, "The Shadow of Your Smile" with Juanes, "Rags to Riches with John, "Just in Time" with Michael Buble, "For Once in My Life" with Wonder and "Steppin' Out" with Aguilera. Bennett then performs his standard closer, the seminal "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," as a solo number. Throughout, Marshall and his collaborators re-create, via elaborate onstage production design, classic settings from various periods in Bennett's life and career, including the 52nd Street Swing Club, one of the earlier incarnations of Columbia's recording studio, Carnegie Hall, the stage of the 'Rat Pack,' the set of Bennett's infamous MTV Unplugged performance in the early nineties, and much, much more. As these settings magically come to life on stage, such celebrities as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Billy Crystal, Robert de Niro, John Travolta and Bruce Willis, recount the tale of Bennett's life, career and musical journey, and their narration is interwoven with the musical performances by Bennett and his fellow vocalists. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Bennett
Director Brian De Palma returns to the helm for the first time since 2002's Femme Fatale with this stylish screen adaptation of James Ellroy's novel detailing one of the most notorious unsolved murders in Hollywood history. Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) was a struggling actress looking to make a name for herself in 1940s-era Tinseltown. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, it was her grim fate that would ultimately overshadow anything she would accomplish during her short and tragic career. When police discover Elizabeth's body cut clean in half and with all of her organs missing, ex-pugilist detectives Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) are the men charged with cracking the case and apprehending the killer. This isn't your average murder case, however, and as Blanchard's marriage to Kay (Scarlett Johansson) begins to suffer due to his obsession with the sensational crime, his partner Bleichert discovers a troubling link between the victim and the mysterious Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), a prominent socialite and the daughter of one of the town's most connected key players. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, (more)
This documentary compiles 20 different film and television appearances by the distinctive singer Peggy Lee. She is seen and heard performing such classics as "Fever," "Wind Beneath My Wings," "A Fine Romance," "Big Spender," and "Is That All There Is." ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2004
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Flashback Records introduces a series of music video collections that aim to present the essential artists and songs of a particular era and genre. Each program features six original videos. Essential Music Videos: Extraordinary Women includes songs by Natalie Merchant, Sixpence None the Richer, k.d. lang, Alannah Myles, Nina Gordon, and Sinéad O'Connor. ~ Sarah Block, All Movie Guide
- 2002
- Add Tony Bennett's Wonderful World: Live in San Francisco to QueueAdd Tony Bennett's Wonderful World: Live in San Francisco to top of Queue
This video captures Tony Bennett performing before an adoring San Francisco audience during a 2002 concert that was recorded for PBS. In addition to a trio of duets with k.d. lang, Bennett croons classics like "Fly Me to the Moon," "Steppin' Out With My Baby," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." The DVD release of the concert contains a gallery of Bennett's artwork. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Part high-tech spy thriller and part psychological study, Eye of the Beholder was Ewan McGregor's first feature film following his mainstream breakthrough performance in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The Eye (Ewan McGregor) is an agent of the British Secret Service, equipped with the latest in high-tech crime fighting gadgetry and assisted by his indefatigable collegue, Hilary (k.d. lang). The Eye's latest assignment is a surveillance project; the son of a well-known politician has been spending a great deal of money on someone, and they would like to know who and why. A little sleuthing reveals that the mysterious person taking the cash is a woman named Joanna (Ashley Judd), but the trail gets much stickier when the Eye witnesses Joanna pulling a knife and killing the politician's son. Normally, he'd take the shortcut to putting her behind bars, but some time ago he lost contact with his daughter when his wife left him; Joanna reminds the Eye of his daughter, and he's too fascinated with her to bring her to justice. The Eye now follows Joanna obsessively, and discovers that she's also involved with a blind man (Patrick Bergin) and has a history of emotional instability from being abandoned by her father at a young age. Eye of the Beholder was directed by Stephan Elliott, best known for the comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Ashley Judd, (more)
One of the most instantly recognizable voices in the history of popular music, Roy Orbison moved people with a career that lasted decades. This program collects thirteen live performances from the singer and songwriter that capture him at various points of his career. Included are full performances of such classics as "Only the Lonely," "Crying," "Oh, Pretty Woman," "Blue Bayou," "In Dreams," and a second rendition of "Crying," performed as a duet with the award winning vocalist k.d. lang. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
This crime drama, based on the best-selling novel by Mario Puzo, follows 20 years in the long reign of powerful Mafia kingpin Don Domenico Clericuzio (Danny Aiello). For years, the Clericuzios have been warring with a rival crime family, the Santadios, which is not helped when Domenico's daughter Rose Marie (Kirstie Alley) decides to marry the son of the head of the Santadio clan. On the night of Rose Marie's wedding, Domenico orders the execution of the entire Santadio family, including his new son-in-law. Rose Marie is pregnant as a result of her brief honeymoon, and her son Dante (Rory Cochrane) grows up to become a hired killer with a bitter hatred of his grandfather. Meanwhile, Pippi De Lena (Joe Mantegna), Domenico's key enforcer who carried out the slaughter of the Santadinos, has been grooming his son Croccifixio (Jason Gedrick) to take over as the Clericuzio's new trigger man. However, after he muffs a crucial execution, Croccifixio is sent to work with the family's operations in Las Vegas, where he becomes involved with starlet Athena Aquitane (Daryl Hannah). Soon Dante makes a risky bid to seize control of the Santadio family's crime empire. Originally produced as a television miniseries, the home video release of The Last Don is 262-min. long and it includes material not used for television broadcast. The video version features adult language and nudity and received an R rating. The Last Don co-stars Robert Wuhl, Penelope Ann Miller, Seymour Cassel, Burt Young, and k.d. lang. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Aiello, Joe Mantegna, (more)
- 1995
The Larry Sanders Show is celebrating its eighth anniversary, and guests k.d. lang, Pat O'Brien, Rosie O'Donnell, Mandy Patinkin, and Noah Wyle are booked for the big show. It seems that Murphy's Law is in full effect for the anniversary show, however, and in addition to O'Donnell's limo failing to arrive, it's revealed that lang and Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) have a background as feuding neighbors, while Patinkin and Wyle can't stop arguing over who has a better TV series. As if those factors weren't enough to make the anniversary show a stressful occasion, it seems as if Larry (Garry Shandling) has forgotten to take his usual bathroom break before the show. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Based on Vito Russo's groundbreaking 1981 work of film history, The Celluloid Closet gathers clips from dozens of mainstream Hollywood films to illustrate how the movies have dealt explicitly -- and more importantly, implicitly -- with gay and lesbian themes. Layered between the clips are interviews with filmmakers whose works have touched on that subject. The popular films of the Golden Age could only hint at homosexuality and often portrayed gays as simpering characters, objects of scorn or merriment, or insidious villains. With the strictures of the old Production Code loosening, bolder presentations were possible, but often over the objections of studio executives who feared a public backlash against a film that dealt with a long taboo subject. Among the films discussed are Philadelphia, The Children's Hour, Making Love, Rope, and Spartacus. Gore Vidal, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, and director John Schlesinger are among the film's strongest interview subjects. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
Writer/director Gus Van Sant's early bid for big-time commercial success -- a success he didn't manage to achieve until Good Will Hunting -- is based on Tom Robbins' 1976 feminist bestseller. Uma Thurman plays Sissy Hankshaw, a woman born with very large thumbs. After her parents (Grace Zabriskie and Ken Kesey) take her to a doctor (Buck Henry), who offers her parents no remedy for their daughter's condition, the film races ahead to the 1970s. Sissy is now a popular feminine hygiene spray model for a product called Yoni Yum, the product of a company owned by The Countess (John Hurt in drag). Sissy travels to the Rubber Rose beauty ranch, also owned by The Countess, to shoot a Yoni Yum commercial. At the ranch, she makes the acquaintance of the inscrutable Chink (Pat Morita) and Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix). But under the nose of The Countess, the cowgirls on the ranch are talking mutiny, with the women trying to liberate the Rubber Rose Ranch from the chains of patriarchal oppression. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uma Thurman, John Hurt, (more)
In this special episode of the acoustic-oriented MTV showcase, Tony Bennett (joined by the Ralph Sharon Trio) sings a set of favorites and new numbers in the easygoing but swinging style he made famous, including "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," "All of Me," "Steppin' Out With My Baby," and "They Can't Take That Away From Me." Includes guest appearances from Elvis Costello and k.d. lang. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1994
It's the old switcheroo in this action comedy that follows the exploits of desperate extortionists. Gloria is a fluffhead with a Chinese dragon tattooed upon her chest. She wears lovely holograph earrings that just happen to contain classified detail of the U.S. space program. She is taken hostage by the bumbling extortionists and their leader Carl, former head of a freezer treat company. Unfortunately for them, Gloria accidently drowns in their pool when she tangles with a beach ball. Now the crooks must find a look-a-like for Gloria. They find her in Teresa, a college girl with a talent for mathematics. She is captured and tattooed. She soon escapes leading the crooks on a merry chase. Joining in the hunt for Teresa is an FBI agent and her new boyfriend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrienne Shelly, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
Writer/director Percy Adlon's offbeat tale of the friendship between two unusual women: an East German emigre who works as a librarian in Alaska, and a taciturn pipeline worker. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- k.d. lang, Rosel Zech, (more)
- 1993
This video combines the music and biographies of some of the best-loved women in country music. The viewer learns the life events and lessons that deeply affected these famous country singers and their music. Interviews with Emmylou Harris, k.d. lang, Kathy Mattea, Patty Loveless, and Lorrie Morgan provide insight into the character of each singer. These intimate conversations are interspersed with the works of each of these ladies of country music. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- Add k.d. Lang: Harvest of Seven Years (Cropped and Chronicled) to QueueAdd k.d. Lang: Harvest of Seven Years (Cropped and Chronicled) to top of Queue
This live musical performance features some candid moments at home with singer/songwriter k.d.lang. Tunes include "Crying" with the late Roy Orbison, "Turn Me Around" and others. ~ All Movie Guide
The original, full-length Red Hot and Blue album gets the royal treatment in this release that not only offers the best-selling release in its entirety, but some exciting extras as well. All of the artists are here, including David Byrne, Erasure, the Neville Brothers, Tom Waits, U2, and Annie Lennox, and in addition to offering 19 memorable music videos by such directors as Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders, special appearances by Richard Gere, Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Malkovich, and others ensure that the popular AIDS benefit and tribute to Cole Porter will be a noteworthy addition to the collection of any music fan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
This hard-boiled throwback to the film noir dramas of the 1940s and '50s is directed by filmmaker and actor Dennis Hopper, based on the novel Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Williams. Don Johnson stars as Harry Madox, a drifter who settles in a small Texas town and begins secretly setting small fires, setting up his planned heist of the local bank run by eccentric Julian Ward (Jack Nance). To pay the bills while he puts his robbery scheme in motion, Harry gets a job working at a used car lot owned by the ailing George Harshaw (Jerry Hardin), whose promiscuous vamp of a wife, Dolly (Virginia Madsen), immediately begins a torrid affair with Harry. Harry's also powerfully attracted to the gorgeous Gloria Harper (Jennifer Connelly), an innocent, virginal secretary at the car dealership with a dark secret involving a creepy blackmailer, Frank Sutton (William Sadler). The Hot Spot also stars Charles Martin Smith, Barry Corbin, and Leon Rippy. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, (more)
- 1990
This musical performance video brings some of country's greatest songs to life. He Walked On Water, by Randy Travis, I Fell in Love, by Carlene Carter and Strangers Again, by Holly Dunn are just a few offered. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1989
This 1989 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by John Goodman and features musical guest k.d. lang & the Reclines. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Goodman, k.d. lang, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
This Canadian made-for-TV film stars Wendy Crewson as a Toronto woman who inherits the family ranch in Alberta. Ignoring the pleas of her mother (Malan Gilsenan) to sell the rundown place, Wendy opts for the life of a rancher. She soon finds herself over her head financially, and turns to an old friend, Alex (Paul Gross), to help her manage her land holdings. Alex proposes to Wendy for business reasons, thus launching a rocky relationship that ends inevitably in genuine love. Originally telecast over the CBC Network in 1990, Getting Married in Buffalo Jump was released directly to video in the States, where its title was pared down to Buffalo Jump. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Crewson, Paul Gross, (more)
- 1988
Several music and film celebrities recall their former lives in this reincarnation-oriented feature with musical accompaniment. K.D. Lang considers herself the reincarnation of the late country singer Patsy Cline, Martin Sheen gives a rambling monologue about his near-death experience while filming Apocalypse Now, and Willie Nelson sings songs about cowboys who come back to live another life. Also included are Rae Dawn Chong, Catherine Oxenberg, Donovan, The Dalai Lama, Ringo Starr, and James Coburn. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Shaver, Rae Dawn Chong, (more)
- 1988
- Add Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special to QueueAdd Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special to top of Queue
The secret word is "Happy New Year" as Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) and the Playhouse gang hold a Christmas party. Things threaten to get out of hand fairly early as the increasingly disappointed Pee-Wee receives one fruitcake after another. When he complains that he didn't get anything he really wanted, our hero learns an important lesson about sharing from none other than Santa Claus. Among Pee-wee's special guests are singers k.d. lang, Grace Jones, Dinah Shore, and the Del Rubio Triplets, "Beach Party" perennials Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon (who'd recently costarred with Pee-wee in the theatrical film Back at the Beach), the outrageous Little Richard (on ice-skates!) and such pop-culture giants as Oprah Winfrey, Charo, Cher, Joan Rivers, Magic Johnson, and even Zsa Zsa Gabor. Pee-wee Herman's Christmas Special first aired December 21, 1988 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Reubens
