Sid & Judy (2019)

Sid u0026 Judy: Directed by Stephen Kijak. With Fred Astaire, Count Basie, George Cukor, Rob Dodd. Revealing new look at Judy Garland fifty years after her tragic, untimely death. Fusing the unpublished recollections of producer, manager and third husband, Sid Luft, with film clips, rare concert footage and Judy’s own inimitable words.

“This is a fascinating documentary on Judy Garlandu0026#39;s career and marriage to Michael Sidney Luft. What I most loved about this documentary was its presentation of rare, rare, rare footage showing Judy from A Star is Born and her 1963-1964 tv series not shown before. For example, alternate takes of Judyu0026#39;s second attempt (wearing a brown dress) singing u0026quot;The Man That Got Awayu0026quot; were shown. Also shown was with an alternate take and the final version of the song where she is wearing the black dress. There are also scenes of Judy on the set of A Star is Born interacting with the crew or getting ready for a take.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs for her tv series, there were scenes of her not shown presented here that might be found on the dvds of her tv shows as shots edited out from the televised sequences. Some with guests Martha Raye, Lena Horne, and herself solo are examples.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlso presented are color home movies of Judy at her Hollywood home with Sid at the time, one of Liza as a child, and one of Judy getting out of a car she was driving and then greeting some fans.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJudy was a genius when it came to her singing talent, acting ability, and dancing skills as well. She was one of the most talented people the world has known. She was a bright woman with great incite, but she was also a woman who never seemed to grow up and face reality and accept responsibility. She allowed her mother, business managers, agents, and husbands to manage her affairs. Now I totally understand that she was busy with everything she had to do and dealing with her drug habit which kept her health in jeopardy. Emotionally, at many times in her life, she seemed to remain a child, despite being a grown adult.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, after being burned a few times, one would think she would herself take a look at contracts, for example, and make demands on her own without anyone else there. Sid, it seems, did try to help and run her career, but what is not mentioned in this documentary is that Sid and Judy didnu0026#39;t file income taxes during some of those years. It has been written that Sid often spent lots of time at racetracks, but if he were really as astute and caring as he claims, how come he didnu0026#39;t stay on top of that? We will never know since so many people who knew them are gone forever.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn the documentary, it was stated that in 1959 Judy was told to get to a hospital immediately when she was extremely bloated and overweight with a damaged liver. If the story is true, Judy stated she would not go to the hospital without first stopping at their hotel to have a triple vodka with water. If she didnu0026#39;t get it, she wouldnu0026#39;t go. Sid gave in to her so that she would enter the hospital. As much as I admire and adore Judyu0026#39;s talents, I have a difficult time respecting this kind of puerile behavior. Judy was in many ways from the many, many bios I have read about her a wonderful person who loved life and laughed often. However, she turned a blind eye to things she didnu0026#39;t want to deal with. From Sidu0026#39;s words (taken from his book which I have read), he said Judy claimed she didnu0026#39;t want to be bothered with worrying about money. If she had had a more mature nature, perhaps she would not have ended up in the sad financial state she was in towards the end of her life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI did learn a lot about Sid Luft and his marriage and his managing Judyu0026#39;s career, but I suspect that some of the more unflattering things about Sid were left out in an attempt to make him appear more faultless.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOverall, this is an excellent documentary worth seeing and buying and adding to oneu0026#39;s own library. I recommend it without hesitation.”