From award-winning director and frequent Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, Six by Sondheim is an intimate and candid look at the life and art of legendary composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who redefined musical theater through such works as Company, Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George. Told primarily in Sondheim’s own words from dozens of interviews spanning decades, the film is a highly personal profile of a great American artist as revealed through the creation and performance of six of his songs. It features rarely seen archival performance footage and original staged productions – created exclusively for this film – with stars including Audra McDonald, Darren Criss, America Ferrera and more.

For thoughts on Six By Sondheim, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Six By Sondheim arrived on Blu-Ray in 2021 featuring an array of different sources in the best quality possible. It can be said with confidence that the movie itself and everything within it look as technically sound as it can look in HD. This can be attributed to the fact that Warner Archive has delivered a formidable encode and given the film plenty of room to breathe. This company is always so great in this respect, a quality that is always appreciated. The archival footage used seems to be in the best shape possible given the quality of the source material. New interview segments look incredibly crisp and clear with natural skin tones and detailed facial features. There is no evidence of compression artifacts or other digital nuisances of the sort. I do not see how this could have been improved visually. This disc holds up impeccably.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with an exquisite DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures this legendary figure perfectly. Dialogue is the primary aspect of the film, and it comes through crisp and clear without being overwhelmed by any competing sounds. The crew does a great job of capturing the subjects and making sure all this information comes through with supreme clarity. Even audio from the archival footage comes through pretty clearly, given the age and the format.

The other essential element of this feature is the incredible music that stems from the mind of Sondheim. Every cue and performance is resolved well here as music often flows throughout the room. Ambient sounds from some of the environmental elements are precisely placed in the rear channels. The audio track offers up a dynamic experience and proves to be an excellent sounding presentation for this feature. Optional English SDH subtitles are included for those who desire them.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on the disc.

Final Thoughts

Six By Sondheim is a touching portrait of one of the great artists of the twentieth century. Through his own engaging anecdotes about his life and key insights from some of his collaborators, you get a well-rounded idea of what makes him such a special presence. The newly staged performances are a nice touch, yet it is the archival performances that typically still reign supreme in giving you goosebumps. If you are a fan of Sondheim, it is doubtful you would have anything less but a great time. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a top-notch A/V presentation but no supplemental features. Highly Recommended

Six By Sondheim can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.