Six by Sondheim

Lapine's direction is almost the star of Six by Sondheim. Not only has he used the six songs to illuminate the composer's life, he organizes years and years of interviews as if they are an ongoing conversation--which, in many ways, they are. They are the monograph of the life and art of a singular man, perfectly assembled, bit by bit, piece by piece.

Riveting, important and lots of fun.

A delicious deep dive into six Stephen Sondheim songs.

Lapine uses a half-dozen of Sondheim's most notable songs as a springboard for a biographical study that's contemplative, analytical and transcendentally emotional.

Given how sharp his songwriting is, it’s little surprise that Sondheim makes an excellent storyteller, always candid and precise, and by turns funny and rueful. And it’s a remarkable tale, one that could probably make for a great musical.

Despite the music in James Lapine's documentary, Six By Sondheim, it is archival clips of Mr. Sondheim describing how he writes that make the film a treasure.

To longtime fans, much of this material and many of the anecdotes will be familiar. But folded together in this wide-ranging assembly they make for an emotional appreciation of a singular artist.

Sondheim’s frequent collaborator James Lapine directs, and he does an excellent job of stitching together interviews from more than four decades, including ones with Mike Douglas and Diane Sawyer, to form a portrait of the composer as both a young and an old man.

Six By Sondheim is just barely more than the sum of its parts, but when it finally adds up, it feels like many of the master’s best songs and shows: a puzzle that assembles itself right in front of your eyes.

It’s always challenging to capture the essence of such artistry on film, and Lapine comes pretty close.