The Emmy-award winning HBO film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge is now available on HBO Max. (And it might well make its way onto our list of the best movies on HBO and HBO Max.)
The 1999 film — written by Shonda Rhimes and Scott Abbott, and starting Halle Berry and Brent Spiner — has returned to HBO for the first time since 2006. The film won numerous awards in 2000, including five Emmy awards for art direction, cinematography, costumes, hairstyling — and lead actress for Berry. (It also received four additional nominations.) Berry also took home the Golden Globe for best actress that year, as well as a SAG award, Image award, and Black Reel award.
Here's the gist of the film, if you've yet to see it:
Based on a true story, the film chronicles the life of Dorothy Dandridge, the first Black woman to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. Dandridge (Halle Berry) begins her career working as a nightclub singer before eventually breaking into Hollywood, where she meets her steadfast manager (Brent Spiner) and struggles against racism. Her rise to stardom introduces her to Otto Preminger (Klaus Maria Brandauer,) a film director with whom she develops a complicated relationship.
HBO Max is the streaming service from WarnerMedia that includes the HBO catalog as well as new exclusive shows and series. It's also where you'll find every 2021 Warner Bros. film release at the same time as the movies land in theaters.
HBO Max costs the same as the legacy HBO service — $14.99 a month. In addition to all the HBO content that you know and love, it's also where you'll find the entire DC Universe of superheroes, the Turner network of content from the likes of TBS, TNT, TCM and more, all of Studio Ghibli, and a host of new originals like The Head, Raised By Wolves, The Flight Attendant, Doom Patrol, and more.
