在这部妮娜·西蒙:传奇片中,The documentary Nina Simone: La Legende (The Legend) was made in the '90s by French filmmakers. It was based on her autobiography I Put A Spell On You and features live footage from different periods of her career, interviews with friends and family, various interviews with Simone herself while she was living in the Netherlands, and on a trip to her birthplace. A significant amount of footage from The Legend was taken from an earlier 26-minute biographical documentary by Peter Rodis, released in 1969 and titled simply Nina.
In this up-close and personal portrait of vocalist and musician Nina Simone, the singer herself and a number of friends, relatives and connaisseurs tell excerpts of her path in music and life. Remarkably, the documentary was able to follow Simone on a visit back to her childhood home, and her mother and siblings are interviewed. Simone also discusses her participation in the civil rights movement and voices opinions that would be controversial then and now. Ultimately, this is a strong portrayal of the pain that was Nina Simone's.