Anyone catch Six by Sondheim on HBO?- Page 2

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 8:16am

Loved it and found it incredibly moving. I think my all-time favorite moment was when Sondheim was asked what he would say to Oscar Hammerstein today, and his repsonse was "Aren't you proud of me?"

Where in the world did those clips of Ethel in Gypsy come from? Are there more?

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 8:20am

I died when they showed the Patti Labelle version of Clowns.

[GottaHaveAGimmick]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 8:36am

So many special moments:

-Sondheim talking about how he writes for actors. Each song has a beginning, middle, and end.

-The look on Elaine Stritch's face during Being Alive sung by Dean Jones. She knows he is nailing it. He closes his eyes and drifts into an emotional place perfect for the song.

-Once again, Audra McDonald scores big. So personal with Send in the Clowns."What a surprise, who could forsee? I've come to feel about you what you felt about me." Whew!

-I'm Still Here: definatley a different version. However the ladies in the video were priceless.

A thrilling documentary.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 8:54am

A nice little piece, valuable for the lovely interviews with Sondheim himself, and the clips of various performers over the years. Very moving stuff, by and large. I always get a lump when Elaine Stritch says "You're not a kid any more, Robbie -- I don't think you'll ever be a kid again, kiddo."

Alas -- the new performances of Opening Doors (despite the amusing cameo from Sondheim himself), Send In The Clowns and I'm Still Here were very badly done. The Sublime Ms. McDonald did her customary best with the song, but I hereby put a curse upon any director who ever dares to cut away from Audra McDonald when she opens her mouth to sing -- what kind of moron does that? Lapine seems to have studied Rob Marshall's WeedWhacker Editing Style, distracting from the song and the performers, which in Jeremy Jordan's case might have been a good idea. I don't know who that British guy was who performed I'm Still Here, and I hope I never have to endure his bullsh*t ever again -- what the hell was that anyway? I'd expected better from Todd Haynes.

Compare any of the new numbers with the comparative directorial restraint of Pennebaker's film, and the difference should be readily apparent -- they need to get out of the way of the performers, dump the faux-cinematic gimmicks and let us see and hear the performers.

Updated On: 12/10/13 at 08:54 AM

[Movidude742]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 10:07am

"WHY wasn't SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM filmed???"

I won't rule out that the way Wopat's voice degraded over the run of the show made filming it difficult. As much as I did enjoy him in Catch me if You Can, he really brought down the production with the vocal damage. I don't know what else they could have done, and he tried to work through it, but I was almost relieved when his Epiphany didn't make the cast recording.

[Tigger]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 10:18am

Absolutely outstanding. Bravo to HBO and to James Lapine, Frank Rich and huge kudos to Mr Sondheim for being so open and emotionally available. I loved it when he called teaching "the sacred profession". Among many standout moments my very favourite was Dean Jones, the original Bobby, singing thrillingly Being Alive. It gave me goosebumps.

[rjm516]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 11:49am

It really was a remarkable special. I would have loved to have seen more original footage though. The pieces they showed were just so incredible.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 4:39pm

Matt Zoller-Seitz's review in Variety did a great job of crystallizing my thoughts on SIX BY SONDHEIM; it was a masterful case of suiting a documentary's form to its subject. The way that they pieced together dozens of interviews (new, old, and hello young Mr. Sondheim!) was a great analogy to the way his works refract and reflect on life and each other and himself and ourselves.

I loved most of the new performances, "I'm Still Here" especially. I wasn't sure where it was going when it started, but by the end of the number I was convinced it stole the show. When you view it not as a concert performance by Jarvis Cocker (those of you who don't know Pulp should hie thee hence to listen to "Common People" immediately) but as a short film by Todd Haynes featuring Cocker and the song, it works magnificently. That's a song that works brilliantly on its own terms, and fittingly that short film told the story of it brilliantly on its own terms, especially with the amazing reaction shots of all those listening women.

The MERRILY short film(s) were less exceptional, but for the excellent producer's cameo. Moreover, i was just impressed at how thoroughly insightful and condensed the doc was; a true feeling of a lifetime encapsulated in just shy of 90 minutes is an astonishing feat. Is it a definitive be-all end-all compendium on all things Sondheim? No. But it's the best overall package on his life and work I've ever seen yet, and that's valuable enough.

[gstrus2]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 4:44pm

Anyone have a link to watch this online?? Missed it

[PianoMann]

Posted: 12/10/13 at 5:12pm

If you have a subscription to HBO, it's on HBO-Go!

[mamaleh]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 8:51am

This is the kind of thing that makes me glad I've re-upped my HBO subscription. My only demur--besides the head-scratching inclusion of that guy's "serenading" the older ladies with 'I'm Still Here--is that I would have welcomed a deconstruction of at least a dozen songs, not just six. I was surprised that Sondheim didn't include his supposed favorite, "Someone Up a Tree."

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 8:55am

Do most people really not know who Jarvis Cocker is?

[artscallion]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:05am

I had no clue who he was. Then again I'm not as worldly as I appear.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:17am

I have no idea what we're winking about, but I like it.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:17am

I had no idea who Jarvis Cocker is, and if his performance of "I'm Still Here" is any indication, I've not been missing a thing.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:19am

...

Well, I know you're smarter than that, so I'll just assume you're being some kind of funny.

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:32am

Maybe it's because it was so much fun seeing Sondheim perform in the role of a producer in "Opening Doors," but I thought his line readings of those lyrics were the best I'd ever heard. His facial expressions were priceless, too. So glad Lapine talked him into doing it.

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:35am

For those who don't know, Jarvis Cocker is lead singer of the band Pulp. They, along with Suede, were the front line of the glam revival movement of the 1990s that turned into the current dance-rock genre.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 9:40am

How nice for Jarvis Cocker. A name I'll be avoiding from now on. That idiotic "I'm Still Here" was the real low-pont of the program.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 10:20am

Jarvis Cocker was in this??

Singing I'm Still Here?!

Wtf!

Did he perform an "impromptu stage protest" in front of Sondheim in the same way he did with Michael Jackson?

[Hex3]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 11:33am

I was on a flight to London when it premiered on Monday. Does anyone know where I can watch it online? HBO Go doesn't work out of the US.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 11:43am

No Scripps, he obviously doesn't think Sondheim has a God Complex.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 1:26pm

obviously SONDHEIM didnt think that Jarvis Cocker's version of I'M STILL HERE was a low point in the show otherwise he would not have been cool about having it be in the finished product (as i am sure FRANK RICH and JAMES LAPINE let SONDHEIM have imput)...I LOVED THIS TAKE ON THIS ICONIC SONG...and the film within the doc of the lovely faces of all those women spoke volumes to me...what a brilliant moment in a brilliant over-all documentary!

[DAME]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 1:30pm

I am hoping it pops up on HBO go so I can watch this weekend.

[mschwager]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 1:32pm

It's already on HBO Go