Criterion Will Release Special Edition of ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY Documentary in August
The beloved behind-the-scenes documentary will feature new commentary by Stephen Sondheim.
By: Nicole Rosky May. 17, 2021
On August 17, 2021, Criterion will release the documentary film Original Cast Album: Company, which follows the original Broadway cast and creative team of the musical into the recording studio, on DVD and Blu-ray.
A description of the documentary reads,"When Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking concept musical Company opened on Broadway in 1970, it was an immediate triumph. Shortly thereafter, the actors, musicians, and Sondheim assembled to record the original cast album in a grueling, nearly nineteen-hour session that tested the talents of all involved - including Elaine Stritch, who pushed herself to the limit to record what would become her iconic version of "The Ladies Who Lunch." With raw immediacy, Pennebaker and his crew document the explosive energy and creative intensity that go into capturing the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of live performance."
The special edition features will include:
- New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by Chris Hegedus and Nate Pennebaker, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New audio commentary by composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim
- Audio commentary from 2001 featuring director D. A. Pennebaker, actor Elaine Stritch, and Broadway producer Harold Prince
- New conversation among Sondheim, orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, and critic 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 in 2000
- "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
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by author Mark Harris
Get a peek at the documentary with the great Elaine Stritch recording, 'The Ladies Who Lunch':
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