Company: Original Cast Album

"But this is the definitive. It's the end-all and be-all of this song. And, God, that could drive a person crazy!" I like to think that in another life I'd be an audio technician in a recording studio. Watching Stephen Sondheim in full flight is reminiscent of watching Peter Bogdanovich on the movie set (and vice versa).

Viewed December 16, 2021. This has a different feel from D.A. Pennebaker's other performance films, primarily because it's about a group of people working together to try and achieve a perfect recording, something that they know will stand as a historical document for long afterwards. Shot in Pennebaker's intense close-up style, the process is thrilling to watch, the glory and agony of artistic creation captured with vulnerable immediacy.

I've watched a lot of "making of" commentaries and sometimes they're a little boring as they have to recap the film or show. In this case, there's no recap or explanation of any sort of the underlying play. Since I wasn't familiar with the story, it just felt like some close camera shots on a lot of hard-working (and exhausted) people singing some very quirky songs.

I can't believed I asked someone if they heard of the play using this movie's full title.

Inessential but mildly diverting documentary, you get to watch Sondheim smoke a lot of cigarettes.