NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (August 2021): Criterion have transferred D.A. Pennebaker's Original Cast Album: Company to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by Chris Hegedus and Nate Pennebaker". I can't find too much information - but the source sure looks like 16mm. So the 1080P is rich with heavy grain, strong colors and an overall thick, but consistent appearance.

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Original Cast Album: Company has a lot of music - songs from 'Company' or rehearsals of those songs - group efforts, solos, chorus, instruments. It sounds great - all in a studio - authentically flat and a wonderful, lively representation in the uncompressed transfer. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A'/'B' Blu-ray (available in the UK is September.)

The Criterion Blu-ray offers a new audio commentary by composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim and they include the audio commentary from 2001 featuring director D. A. Pennebaker, actor Elaine Stritch, and Broadway producer and director Harold Prince (found on older DVD.) There is a lot more. A biting satire of modern relationships, the 1970 musical comedy Company marked the emergence of Stephen Sondheim as the premier composer-lyricist of his generation, and the beginning of his fruitful collaboration with orchestrator Jonathan Tunick. In the included 1/2 hour conversation, Sondheim and Tunick discuss the creation of Company—nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tonys—and the legendary recording of the cast album for it. The conversation was moderated by critic and television producer Frank Rich and recorded by Criterion in December 2020. Criterion also include a new 19-minute interview with Tunick recorded in April 2021 where the Tony-, Grammy-, Emmy-, and Academy Award-winning orchestrator and composer talks to Ted Chapin, author of Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical "Follies," about the art of orchestrating. We also get a dozen minutes of never-before-heard audio excerpts from interviews with Stritch and Prince, conducted by D. A. Pennebaker and Hegedus in 2001. In 2000, director Pennebaker interviewed producer Harold Prince and actor Elaine Stritch for a DVD commentary track for Original Cast Album: "Company." The supplement includes never-before-heard excerpts from those conversations. A 25-minute episode of Documentary Now!, a television series that parodies famous documentaries, "Original Cast Album: Co-Op" spoofs D. A. Pennebaker's Original Cast Album: "Company" and features actors John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Paula Pell, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Alex Brightman. The program originally aired in 2019. Lastly, is a 1/2 hour reunion of the cast and crew of “Original Cast Album: ‘Co-Op’” recorded in 2020, featuring director Alexander Buono; writer-actor John Mulaney; actors Rénee Elise Goldsberry, Richard Kind, Alex Brightman, and Paula Pell; and composer Eli Bolin discussing the D. A. Pennebaker documentary that inspired them. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by author Mark Harris.

I'll be honest, I wasn't looking forward to watching D.A. Pennebaker's Original Cast Album: Company - either because I wasn't in the mood or I initially had no interest in the topic. But that was dismissed fairly quickly finding joy, performance, love, effort, and fascinating details of the artistic process. It's really wonderful. Great to recognize many faces like Barbara Barrie (One Potato, Two Potato), Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Elaine Stritch (Who Killed Teddy Bear) etc. It's a shame this series wasn't continued. The Criterion Blu-ray is marvelous. I'm so happy to have seen Original Cast Album: Company and to wade through the many new supplements plus a new and older commentary. Absolutely recommended if you have any interest at all - you won't be disappointed! 

Gary Tooze