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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
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Criterion - Region 'A'/'B' - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
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Distribution | Criterion Spine #1090 - Region 'A'/'B' - Blu-ray | |
Runtime | 0:53:00.010 | |
Video |
1. 33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 45,195,614,786 bytesFeature: 16,078,178,304 bytesVideo Bitrate: 35.80 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
LPCM Audio English
1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Dolby Digital
Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -31dB |
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Subtitles | English (SDH), None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion
1. 33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 45,195,614,786 bytesFeature: 16,078,178,304 bytesVideo Bitrate: 35.80 MbpsCodec: 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
Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 10 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
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
The Criterion
Blu-ray
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!
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Menus / Extras
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION