Six by Sondheim

Dec 9, 2013

1h 26m

★ 7.1

Overview

This intimate documentary explores the life and career of the stage legend Stephen Sondheim through six of his best-known songs.

Genres

Documentary

Music

Production Companies

SD Entertainment

HBO Documentary Films

Six by Sondheim Trailers

Cast

Self

Audra McDonald

Frank

Darren Criss

Charley

Jeremy Jordan

Self / Mary

America Ferrera

Self / Joe

Stephen Sondheim

Crooner

Jarvis Cocker

Self (archive footage)

Yvonne De Carlo

Singer #17

Jackie Hoffman

Self (archive footage)

Dean Jones

Mrs. Lovett (archive footage)

Angela Lansbury

Mama Rose (archive footage)

Bette Midler

Beth

Laura Osnes

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

5.8

Keine Lieder über Liebe

Oct 26, 2005

As Tobias, a young director, supposes that his girl-friend Ellen had an affair with his brother Markus, front man of "Hansen", one year ago, he decides to shoot a documentary about the band's next tour. When Ellen joins the project, everybody's emotions boil over, although they are observed all the time.

7.0

Mr. Holland's Opus

Dec 29, 1995

In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the composition unwritten but generations of students inspired through his teaching, Holland must redefine his life's purpose.

6.9

Velvet Goldmine

Aug 28, 1998

Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.

6.2

A Chorus Line

Dec 10, 1985

A group of dancers congregate on the stage of a Broadway theatre to audition for a new musical production directed by Zach. After the initial eliminations, seventeen hopefuls remain, among them Cassie, who once had a tempestuous romantic relationship with Zach. She is desperate enough for work to humble herself and audition for him; whether he's willing to let professionalism overcome his personal feelings about their past remains to be seen.

4.5

About the Looking for and the Finding of Love

Jan 27, 2005

Director helmut Dietls and Patric Susskinds illustrate a legendary story of two lovers who cant keep themselves away from death.

9.5

The Rise & Fall of Penn Station

Feb 18, 2004

In 1910, the Pennsylvania Railroad successfully accomplished the enormous engineering feat of building tunnels under New York City's Hudson and East Rivers, connecting the railroad to New York and New England, knitting together the entire eastern half of the United States. The tunnels terminated in what was one of the greatest architectural achievements of its time, Pennsylvania Station. Penn Station covered nearly eight acres, extended two city blocks, and housed one of the largest public spaces in the world. But just 53 years after the station’s opening, the monumental building that was supposed to last forever, to herald and represent the American Empire, was slated to be destroyed.

6.9

The Life and Loves of Beethoven

Jan 15, 1937

Lyrical biography of the classical composer, depicted as a romantic hero, an accursed artist.

7.0

Pencils Down! The 100 Days of the Writers Guild Strike

Jan 1, 2014

In 2007, the Writers Guild of America, the Screenwriters Union, hit an impasse in their contract negotiations with the Studios. At the center of the dispute was jurisdiction over the internet. Unable to make progress, the WGA called a strike which brought Hollywood to a halt for 100 days.

5.0

Song of My Heart

Jan 31, 1948

The portrait of Russian composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky focuses on his failed love affair.

8.0

Lost Heroes

Feb 28, 2014

Lost Heroes is the story of Canada's forgotten comic book superheroes and their legendary creators. A ninety-minute journey to recover a forgotten part of Canada's pop culture and a national treasure few have ever heard about. This is the tale of a small country striving to create its own heroes, but finding itself constantly out muscled by better-funded and better-marketed superheroes from the media empire next door.

7.0

Deadliest Crash: The Le Mans 1955 Disaster

May 16, 2010

Three years in the making in conjunction with the BBC. Using never seen before home movies, photos and eye witness accounts - this is the inside story of the world's biggest motorsport disaster.

6.0

Theory and Practice: Conversations with Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn

Jan 1, 2010

This timely, bold set of one-on-one interviews presents two of the most venerable figures from the American Left—renowned historian Howard Zinn and linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky—each reflecting upon his own life and political beliefs. At the age of 88, Howard Zinn reflects upon the Civil Rights and anti–Vietnam War movements, political empires, history, art, activism, and his political stance. Setting forth his personal views, Noam Chomsky explains the evolution of his libertarian socialist ideals, his vision for a future postcapitalist society, the Enlightenment, the state and empire, and the future of the planet.

8.0

Amadeus

Sep 19, 1984

Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Viennese composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

0.0

Charles Ives: A Good Dissonance Like a Man

Apr 21, 1977

A thoroughly researched biopic of Charles Ives, America's greatest and most innovative composer (and insurance executive), who combined strikingly futuristic experimentalism with gentle nostalgia. Includes narration taken directly from Ives's own writings, and reminiscence from those who knew him.

8.7

Kiss Me, Kate

Nov 20, 1958

Broadcast live on the Hallmark Hall of Fame series on NBC, a pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a great deal like the characters they play, and they must work together when mistaken identities get them mixed up with the mafia.

7.2

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

Jul 27, 2017

Describing herself as a 'street queen,' Johnson was a legendary fixture in New York City’s gay ghetto and a tireless voice for LGBT pride since the days of Stonewall, who along with fellow trans icon Sylvia Rivera, founded Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), a trans activist group based in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. Her death in 1992 was declared a suicide by the NYPD, but friends never accepted that version of events. Structured as a whodunit, with activist Victoria Cruz cast as detective and audience surrogate, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson celebrates the lasting political legacy of Johnson, while seeking to finally solve the mystery of her unexplained death.

7.7

When We Were Kings

Oct 25, 1996

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

6.0

Twenty Years After

Jan 1, 1944

This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits, then from a number of 1944 releases.

7.1

Immortal Beloved

Dec 16, 1994

A chronicle of the life of infamous classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven and his painful struggle with hearing loss. Following Beethoven's death in 1827, his assistant, Schindler, searches for an elusive woman referred to in the composer's love letters as "immortal beloved." As Schindler solves the mystery, a series of flashbacks reveal Beethoven's transformation from passionate young man to troubled musical genius.