Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 1970 • United States
Starring Stephen Sondheim, Elaine Stritch, Donna McKechnie
This legendary, long-unavailable documentary from Direct Cinema pioneer D. A. Pennebaker captures the behind-the-scenes drama that went into the making of a classic Broadway recording. 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.
Directed by Blake Edwards • 1982 • United Kingdom, United States
Starring Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston
Blake Edwards’s brilliant boudoir farce stars a never-better Julie Andrews as Victoria Grant, a struggling 1930s cabaret singer who cooks up a scheme that makes her the toast of ...
Directed by Richard Attenborough • 1985 • United States
Starring Michael Douglas, Alyson Reed, Terrence Mann
This spectacular adaptation of the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize–winning musical looks past the razzle-dazzle of the Broadway footlights to reveal the often bitter realities behind show-busine...
Directed by Chantal Akerman • 1986 • Belgium, France
Starring Delphine Seyrig, Fanny Cottençon, Pascale Salkin
The exuberant enchantments of the singing, dancing musical meet the feminist, formalist sensibility of cinematic visionary Chantal Akerman in this uniquely captivating vision of love an...
