the audience applauded

Memorable, crazy movie

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This was apparently the pilot for a documentary series on cast recordings, and it's a shame it didn't come to fruition, because it's really quite good.I was not familiar with Sondheim beyond a handful of songs that you just hear everywhere (like Send in the Clowns) and even though this is just a few songs from the musical, it was a revelation, particularly Barcelona and Ladies Who Lunch. I'm sure the full production was excellent, but these talented people singing these brilliant songs into their microphones was wonderful as well.The most fascinating part is the final section, in which Elaine Stritch gives a powerful performance of Lunch that was not, apparently, good enough for the album. It's a great example of the difference between a live performance and a recorded one; as a live performance it was incredible, but it drove her mad.Well worth watching.

This one is for musical comedy fans only, but if you are, this somewhat mythic documentary will remind you why you love them so much.Watching Sondheim at work, correcting the pronunciation of Bobby, Bubby (booby) Bobby Bob is worth the price of admission.I've waited years to watch this and finally Netflix made it possible.A month later, I watched the PBS screening of the John Doyle revival of Company. Since it won a Tony, I expected a decent show though I knew Doyle had staged it with his three-time gimmick, the performers playing their own instruments. (When I heard he was directing "Peter Grimes" at the Met, my first thought was how on earth the opera singers were going to manage to play their own instruments.Not that I didn't care for the new Company, but I couldn't believe anyone on the planet earth would want to be friends with anyone of those people. They were unlikable, unsympathetic and wore incredibly ugly costumes. No dancing, of course, since you can't play an instrument and dance but there was the marching band doing What Would We Do Without You, which sort of worked. You Could Drive a Person Crazy was sort of cute, with them stopping to blow saxophones rather than do the Do-do-dododo part. Amy had none of the whimsy that makes "I'm Not Getting Married Today" work. In fact, this Amy looked old and hard.Joanne, however, had not a whit of the charm Elaine Stritch brought to the part. She seemed to mistake off key for acerbic and walking around playing the triangle just didn't work for me. Maybe it's hard to be picky about a cast when they all have to play an instrument. What a stupid way to cast a musical comedy. Doyle seems to forget it's a musical.So rent the Making Of because it truly captures the musical. And listen to the commentary. It's priceless. Once you know what Dean Jones was going through, his "Being Alive" is heart wrenching.

Sound quality is awful, like very old cassette tape or records. This is not either musical nor concerts but like the sound track making documentary. Songs are not completely sung (interrupted) or talking or chattering voices are imposed. I expect the musical or concerts and so very much disappointed for this high price awful contents DVD.

Here's a great documentary to remind us that real music is performed by real people and not computers. Not only do we get to see the vocalists recording their tracks, but we get to see various sections of the full orchestra as they play their parts, including warmups and practicing "licks." Stephen Sondheim's coaching of the singers is so wonderful to watch - he understands actors and artists in a way that corporate producers/execs do not. If you love musicals--and want an uplifting experience to re-affirm your love--WATCH THIS!!