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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

Directed by D.A. Pennebaker
USA 1970

 

This holy grail for both documentary and theater aficionados offers a tantalizingly rare glimpse behind the Broadway curtain. In 1970, right after the triumphant premiere 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 making 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.

***

Stephen Sondheim's musical "Company" opened on Broadway in the Spring of 1970, and tradition dictates that the cast recording is done on the first Sunday after opening night. D.A. Pennebaker, the now-legendary documentarian, filmed the production of the original cast recording, the back and forth between Sondheim and the performers, and the dynamic of trying to record live performance. The film climaxes with Elaine Stritch's performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch". The show won 6 Tony Awards including "Best Musical" and ran for two years on Broadway. A plan to make a series of "Original Cast Album" films never materialized.

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 28th, 1970

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Review: Criterion - Region 'A'/'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution Criterion Spine #1090 - Region 'A'/'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 0:53:00.010        
Video

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 45,195,614,786 bytes

Feature: 16,078,178,304 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.80 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Commentaries:

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -31dB
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -31dB

Subtitles English (SDH), None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Criterion

 

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 45,195,614,786 bytes

Feature: 16,078,178,304 bytes

Video Bitrate: 35.80 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

New audio commentary by composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim
Audio commentary from 2001 featuring director D. A. Pennebaker, actor Elaine Stritch, and Broadway producer and director Harold Prince
New conversation among Sondheim, orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, and critic and television producer Frank Rich (29:27)
New interview with Tunick on the art of orchestrating, conducted by author Ted Chapin (18:39)
Never-before-heard audio excerpts from interviews with Stritch and Prince, conducted by D. A. Pennebaker and Hegedus in 2001 (11:46) (24:37)
“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 Rénee Elise Goldsberry, Richard Kind, Alex Brightman, and Paula Pell; and composer Eli Bolin (33:11)
PLUS: An essay by author Mark Harris


Blu-ray Release Date:
August 17th, 2021
Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 10

 

 

Comments:

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

 


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Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

  

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Criterion Spine #1090 - Region 'A'/'B' - Blu-ray


 


 

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