#1090: PENNEBAKER, D.A.: Original Cast Album: "Company" (1970)

-
PENNEBAKER, D.A. (United States)
Original Cast Album: "Company" (1970)
Spine #1090
Blu-ray


This holy grail for both documentary and theater aficionados offers a tantalizingly rare glimpse behind the Broadway curtain. In 1970, right after the triumphant premier of Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking concept musical Company, the renowned composer and lyricist, his director Harold Prince, the show's stars, and a large pit orchestra all went into a Manhattan recording studio as part of a time-honored Broadway tradition: the recording of the original cast album. What ensued was a marathon session in which, with the pressures of posterity and the coolly exacting Sondheim's perfectionism hanging over them, all involved pushed themselves to the limit -- including theater legend Elaine Stritch, who fought anxiety and exhaustion to record her iconic rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch." With thrilling immediacy, legendary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker offers an up-close view of the larger-than-life personalities, frayed-nerve energy, and explosive creative intensity that go into capturing the magic of live performance.

53 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:33:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2021
Director


D.A. Pennebaker was 45 when he directed Original Cast Album: "Company."

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by author Mark Harris.

Commentary
  1. By composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim; and
  2. From 2001, featuring director Pennebaker, actor Stritch, and Broadway producer and director Harold Prince.
Conversation

Among Sondheim, orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, and critic and television producer Frank Rich.

Interview

With Tunick on the art of orchestrating, conducted by author Ted Chapin.

Never-before-heard

Audio excerpts from interviews with Stritch and Prince, conducted by Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus in 2001.

Original Cast Album: Co-Op

A 2019 episode of the TV series Documentary Now! that parodies the film.

Reunion

Of the cast and crew of Original Cast Album: Co-Op, recorded in 2020, featuring director Alexander Buono; writer-actor John Mulaney; actors Renée Elise Goldsberry, Richard Kind, Alex Brightman, and Paula Pell; and composer Eli Bolin.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Criterion Collection By Spine #

-
The Complete Criterion Collection By Spine # 0000A: No spine #: Ingmar Bergman's Cinema (BERGMAN, Ingmar) [1946-2003] {Sweden} Crisis [1946] A Ship To India [1947] Port Of Call [1948] Thirst [1949] To Joy [1950] Summer Interlude [1951] Waiting Women [1952] Sawdust And Tinsel [1953]  [ 89 ] Summer With Monika [1953] A Lesson In Love [1954] Dreams [1955] Smiles Of A Summer Night [1955] The Seventh Seal [1957] Wild Strawberries [1957]  [ 93 ] Brink Of Life [1958] The Magician [1958] The Devil's Eye [1960] The Virgin Spring [1960] Through A Glass Darkly [1961] The Silence [1963] Winter Light [1963] All These Women [1964] Persona [1966]  [ 94 ] Hour Of The Wolf [1968] Shame [1968] The Passion Of Anna [1969] The Rite [1969] Fårö Document [1970] The Touch [1971] Cries And Whispers [1972] Scenes From A Marriage [1973] The Magic Flute [1975] The Serpent's Egg [1977] Autumn Sonata [1978] Fårö Document 1979 [1979] From The Life Of The Marionettes
Read more

#331: OZU, Yasujiro: Late Spring (1949)

-
Image
OZU, Yasujiro (Japan) Late Spring [1949] Spine #331 DVD One of the most powerful of Yasujiro Ozu's family portraits, Late Spring (Banshun) tells the story of a widowed father who feels compelled to marry off his beloved only daughter. Eminent Ozu players Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara command this poignant tale of love and loss in postwar Japan, which remains as potent today as ever — almost alone justifying Ozu's inclusion in the pantheon of cinema's greatest directors. 108 minutes Black & White Monaural in Japanese 1:33:1 aspect ratio Criterion Release 2006 Director/Writers Based on the novel Chichi to musume (Father and Daughter) by Kazuo Hirotsu . Script by Kogo Noda and  Yasujiro Ozu . Ozu was 46 when he directed Late Spring . Other Ozu films in the Collection: Eclipse Series 42: Walk Cheerfully (1930) Eclipse Series 42: That Night's Wife (1930) Eclipse Series 10: Tokyo Chorus (1931) Eclipse Series 10: I Was Born, But . . . (1932) Ec
Read more

#304: ROEG, Nicolas: The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976)

-
Image
ROEG, Nicolas (United States) The Man Who Fell To Earth [1976] Spine #304 DVD OOP The Man Who Fell to Earth  is a daring exploration of science fiction as an art form. The story of an alien on an elaborate rescue mission provides the launching pad for Nicolas Roeg's visual tour de force, a formally adventurous examination of alienation in contemporary life. Rock legend David Bowie, in his acting debut, completely embodies the title role, while Candy Clark, Buck Henry, and Rip Torn turn in pitch-perfect supporting performances. The film's hallucinatory vision was obscured in the American theatrical release, which deleted nearly twenty minutes of crucial scenes and details. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Roeg's full uncut version, in this exclusive new director-approved high-definition widescreen transfer. 139 minutes Color Stereo 2:35:1 aspect ratio Criterion Release 2005 Director/Writers From the novel by Walter Tevis . Screenplay
Read more