Company : original cast album

Sondheim, Stephen (on-screen participant.). Prince, Harold, 1928-2019 (on-screen participant.). Furth, George, 1932-2008 (on-screen participant.). Shepard, Thomas Z. (Thomas Zachary), 1936- (on-screen participant.). Pennebaker, D. A., (film director,, director of photography.). Feldman, Chester, 1926-1997 (film producer.). Crichton, Judy, (film producer.). Tunick, Jonathan, (orchestrator.). Jones, Dean, 1931-2015 (performer.). Stritch, Elaine, (performer.). Barrie, Barbara, (performer.). Coe, George, (performer.). Cunningham, John, 1932- (performer.). Ralston, Teri, (performer.). Kimbrough, Charles, (performer.). McKechnie, Donna, (performer.). Braswell, Charles, 1924-1974 (performer.). Browning, Susan, (performer.). Elmore, Steve, (performer.). Howland, Beth, 1941-2015 (performer.). Myers, Pamela, (performer.). Louise, Merle, (performer.). Hastings, Hal, 1916-1973 (conductor.). Sondheim, Stephen Company. Selections. (Added Author). Janus Films, (presenter.). Pennebaker Associates, (presenter.). Talent Associates, (production company.). Norton Simon Inc., (production company.). Castle Drive Productions, (production company.). Criterion Collection (Firm), (publisher.).

Summary: "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 Price, 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 ensured 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"--Container.

Item details

ISBN: 9781681438689
ISBN: 1681438682
Physical Description: videodisc
1 videodisc (53 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 insert (12 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 19 x 70 cm, folded to 12 x 19 cm)
Edition: DVD special edition.
Publisher: [New York, N.Y.] : The Criterion Collection, [2021]
Copyright: ©2021

Contents / Notes

General Note:	Originally released as a documentary film in 1970. Accompanying insert (12 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 19 x 690 cm, folded to 19 x12 cm) comprises full credits and essay by journalist and film historian Mark Harris. Special features: New audio commentary by composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim; audio commentary featuring director D.A. Pennebaker, actor Elaine Stritch, and Broadway producer and director, Harold Prince (2001); new conversation among Sondheim, orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, and critic and television producer Frank Rich; new 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 D.A. Pennebaker and Hegedus (2001); Original cast album : Co-Op (2019 episode of the TV series Documentary now! that parodies the film); reunion of the cast and crew of Original cast album : Co-Op (2020).
Formatted Contents Note:	Company -- You could drive a person crazy -- Getting married today -- Another hundred people -- The little things you do together -- Being alive -- Side by side -- Barcelona -- The ladies who lunch.
Creation/Production Credits Note:	Musical numbers staged by Michael Bennett ; book by George Furth ; production director, Harold Prince ; cinematographers, Jim Desmond, Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker ; orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.
Participant or Performer Note:	Featuring, Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, George Furth, Thomas Z. Shepard, Dean Jones, Elaine Stritch, Barbara Barrie, George Coe, John Cunningham, Teri Ralston, Charles Kimbrough, Donna McKechnie, Charles Braswell, Susan Browning, Steve Elmore, Beth Howland, Pamela Myers, Merle Louise ; conductor, Harold Hastings.
System Details Note:	DVD; NTSC; region 1; full screen (1.33:1 aspect ratio); Dolby monaural; color.
Language Note:	In English; subtitles in English for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH).