Rating: 
Summary: A Tour de Force Of A FIlm!
Review: I love ballet! I love good dance in general. So watching Robert Altman's "The Company" was 112 minutes of pure bliss. Altman takes us onstage, and off-stage, for a look at the world of dance, dancers, choreographers, set and costume designers and a ballet director, Alberto Antonelli, played wonderfully well by Malcolm McDowell. Actress Neve Campbell, best known for her roles in horror flicks, was trained for years in classical ballet. She is absolutely beautiful, and an extraordinarily lithe, exciting dancer. (No more scary movies Neve!!). It is obvious that she has put a lot of herself into this film. Not only does she play a major role, but she co-wrote and co-produced the movie. She did all of her own dancing, and seems to fit right in with the professional dancers from the Joffrey Ballet Troupe of Chicago, which is featured here.The film is loosely structured and documentary-like. The viewer gets a a fly on the wall look at a dancer's life as Altman takes us behind the scenes, up close and personal. We watch both the professional and personal - from the grueling physical toll of constant practice to brilliant performances. The dancers' effort to perfect their mastery of dance is totally honest, and this artistic honesty really makes the film as special as a live performance. There are some spectacular dance performances throughout, with splendid colors, electric energy, creative costumes, and wonderful footwork which showcase the Joffrey Ballet Company. There's an opening modern piece where dancers leap across the stage with streamers, that is just fabulous. In another sequence a ballerina dances on and around a swing. Altman's camera emphasizes her grace and elegance, and this is one of the movie's high points for me. Neve Cambell also dances a marvelous pas de deux onstage, during an outdoor concert performance, in the rain. The effects are incredible. The music is "My Funny Valentine." The last number, the piece de resistance, is more garish than grande, unfortunately. The costumes and choreography look as if they had been designed for Sesame Street. I still enjoyed it, however. Just wanted to be fair and balanced here. Ballet director Antonelli, (McDowell), is a temperamental tyrant who meddles in every aspect of the ballet. But he is also charismatic, funny, and acknowledged as the troupe's backbone. Neve Campbell plays Ry, a member of the ensemble who is increasingly given important roles, as her talent merits. Her love interest, (James Franco), is a hunk! The chemistry between them is dynamite! We are also shown the tempermental behavior, tantrums, stress and strife that go on backstage. There's no major story here, just enough to entice. The main attraction is fantastic dance. Highly recommended for aficionados and beginners alike.
JANA
Rating:
Summary: An engrossing, beautifully-shot glimpse into ballet
Review: I really don't like the ballet. I guess you can lump me in with the majority of the male population in that respect - I think it's tedious, and it just doesn't seem to hold my interest. Not to mention those leotards - I have my own package to look at, thank you. But tonight, as I sat down in a little, cramped theater to see Robert Altman's follow-up to his smash critical hit, Gosford Park (he nabbed a Director nom for it in 2001), I realized a really scary thing - the ballet scenes in Altman's free-flowing, gorgeous Company are REALLY COOL. That's right; not just in a visual sense (props to Andrew Dunn, the cinematographer, though), but in the fact that the enthusiasm and blood/sweat/tears that go into the art really leap of the screen in this movie. The film opens just like a performance - audience noise, a booming voice introducing the dancers - and then Chicago's Joffrey Ballet bursts into action, strips of fabric and bodies moving across the stage to Van Dyke Parks' pulsing score. Then effortlessly, casually, Altman moves on to a normal day in the lives of the Joffrey dancers and The Company begins its steady pace that never lets up. I guess it's somewhat of a sin to, as a movie critic, not have seen too many Robert Altman movies, but what I've seen (Nashville (flat-out one of the best movies I've ever seen) and Gosford Park (a highlight of 2001)) has been great, and The Company seems to fall in that same general style for which the man is legendary. The camera wanders around and characters move in and out of the story, and the movie is held together by stunning ballet sequences that feature (what I'm told to be) the Joffrey ballet's best numbers. Then again, Altman is also known for not having 'plot' as a primary goal in his movies, and where it works all the time in Nashville, it is at once the movie's greatest strength and weakness here. To play the plot summary game for this one would be futile, for there's not much: Neve Campbell is Ry, a star dancer for the Joffrey, and at one point she gets a boyfriend (James Franco, curiously underused here), their schedules clash, and more ballet drama goes on. We meet a few other characters, but more often-than-not, they're just faces of the ballet. Sometimes, people appear in the beginning of the film and...well, we simply don't see any more of them. I guess Altman was trying to show the organic, unfolding nature of the film, but a couple of times I suffered from cinematic blue balls. BUT, I think the proof that the loosey-goosey structure of the movie works is found in a great "Christmas roast" scene where the ballet assembles to parody aspects of their troupe. At this point, I knew I was locked in to The Company, for I found myself laughing my ass off - and if you're getting those inside jokes, the movie's been working. The movie's power lies in those ballet scenes (that must comprise at least a third of the film) that simply exist on screen, for us to observe like an in-house audience. One performance in particular had the somewhat restless audience in the movie theater so speechless and still, I swear I could hear people exhaling when it was over. And then Neve's great moment, which occurs near the beginning of the film - a lush, erotic ballet in an outdoor ampitheater that continues at the performers' unsaid insistence during a violent windstorm that begins pouring rain. Malcolm McDowell, who plays the director of the Ballet, begins ranting and worrying that someone might slip - and whether it happens or not, well, you'll have to see for yourself. Altman builds tension that could rival any psychological thriller, and even has the winking capacity to surprise us. And he surprised me, too, for the film's sudden ending left we wanting more. That's saying a lot for a guy who hates the ballet. GRADE: B+
Rating: 
Summary: Two Thumbs Up
Review: I think this movie really does show the passionate world of modern dance. I have been a dancer my whole life and always enjoy a great movie that portrays very realisticly the pain that comes with the joy of dancing. I think anyone who is mature will love this movie. Even if you are not into dance the wonderful drama, and i hate to sound like a perv, but the intensity of the sexual content makes it even better.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was so excited to see Neve Campbell on film again. As I was watching The Company I kept thinking, 'When is this story gonna pick up?' The dance sequences are beautiful but there is absolutely no story. I bet Neve has 10 lines in the whole movie and she is clearly the main star. The look of this film is like a documentary...not a drama. If you are a ballet fan then you will adore this film. I found myself fast forwarding the dances to get to the story. Lets just say I did a lot of fast forwarding.
Rating:
Summary: Very Surprised
Review: I went to see this movie because I'm a big Neve Campbell fan. To be honest I didn't know what to expect. I'm not a big fan of
ballet (the one I did see put me to sleep). Boy was I surprised at just how much I loved this movie. It is
mesmorizing, graceful and has a beauiful feel to it. Every ballet scene has an almost hypnotic effect. I just couldn't keep
my eyes off of the screen. It had a very cathartic effect on me. It was also special because I know that is Neve's project. She's
been working on it for years. Bravo Neve you did it and it's
magnificent! A must see film.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Amazing Dancing
Review: I'm looking forward to the release of this DVD. Not a dancer myself, I enjoy the vicarious pleasure of "behind-the-scenes" movies, and Altman's directorial technique and the general plotlessness gave The Company an immersive, true-to-life feel. The dancing, by the Joffrey Ballet which is more avant-garde and less traditional than other companies, was far superior to that in other movies, where it can feel dumbed down for the average viewer. This went well beyond my understanding into "holy cow, how did they just do that?!"
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good in spite of utter lack of plot
Review: I'm not a dancer, and rarely see any sort of dance performance;
but I enjoyed this movie; except that I kept waiting for some
kind of plot, somewhere. But it was interesting to see how
they produce the shows and how they live, and the dances
themselves were beautiful and interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: haven't seen it but must comment
Review: If you see reviews here praising 'Center Stage' as a ballet movie please do not listen! I am a retired ballerina and Center Stage is a teenager's movie with a few excerpts of ballet intermingled. Have a pleasant day.
Rating:
Summary: Look Inside the World of World-Class Ballet.
Review: In "The Company", Robert Altman applies his pseudo-documentary directing style to The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. In a style that reminds me very much of Altman's acclaimed 1975 film "Nashville", "The Company" gives us an intimate view of a year in the life of The Joffrey Ballet. Screenwriter Barbara Turner spent a few years getting to know the Joffrey's dancers and recording their stories, which she then transformed into a screenplay for "The Company". Actress Neve Campbell, who was a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada before going to Hollywood, co-produces, acts and dances in the film. "The Company" has an ensemble cast, with a subtle concentration on the life of Neve Campbell's character, Ry. Six days a week of training and rehearsals leaves Ry little time for a personal life, but she struggles to make time for her boyfriend (James Franco) and a second job at a Goth bar while she eats, sleeps, and breathes dance. Malcolm McDowell plays the company's artistic director, Alberto Antonelli, a role inspired by the Joffrey's real Artistic Director, Gerald Arpino. The dancers are all played, quite convincingly, by The Joffrey Ballet's dancers. I really enjoyed "The Company", but you probably either have to really like Robert Altman's work or really like dance to like this film. To say the story arch is unpronounced would be an understatement. The story is the dedication and talent of these dancers. Nothing unusual happens. We simply observe them. I gather that that's the point. The dancers' performances and commitment are extraordinary. Emotions are high; good and bad things happen; but that's ordinary in the life of a professional ballet dancer. "The Company" 's pace is thoroughly even, and its tone is subdued. I thought at first that watching this film was going to require patience, as so many of Altman's film's do. But I was quickly sucked in by the opportunity to see inside the ballet subculture, along with some incredible dancing. There is a lot of footage of The Joffrey Ballet's performances. All of them are modern, not classical. And we can see even more of the dancers in their movie roles, to which they take quite naturally. Neve Campbell trained for months and became a temporary member of The Joffrey to make this film. She appears in eight dances in the film, although you may not be able to pick her out in all of them. "The Company" is her tribute to the world of dance that she loves, and it turns out to be a perfect subject for Robert Altman's signature directing style. If Altman's signature style makes you groan, you may still like "The Company", as it's broken up with fantastic performances by The Joffrey Ballet. The DVD: Bonus features include an audio commentary by director Robert Altman and Neve Campbell, a making-of featurette, "The Passion of Dance" featurette, an "Extended Dance Sequence", and the ability to play all of the dance sequences from the film. The audio commentary is really pretty interesting. I found myself listening to more of it than I had intended. Robert Altman and Neve Campbell discuss the film's genesis, its style, their experiences filming and interacting with The Joffrey. It includes a lot of information about the dancing in the film and more insight into the Joffrey and the world of ballet. The "Making of Featurette" is a 7-minute documentary that features interviews with Altman, Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, and James Franco. In "The Passion of Dance" (4 minutes), Neve Campbell talks about the demanding world of professional ballet and her desire to make a film about it. The "Extended Dance Sequence" is a 2-minute dance sequence that takes place in the film's dance studio. It's not very interesting. I recommend the audio commentary, even if you don't have time to listen to the whole thing.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful dancing, but little else
Review: Not quite a documentary, not convincing as fiction - what, exactly, is "The Company" intended to be? I enjoyed the movie, but after watching it, I still don't know the answer to that question. The movie's sequence (you can't really call it a story) is primarily centered around a series of rehearsals and performances by Chicago's Joffrey Ballet company, in particular those of its star dancer, Ry (Neve Campbell - I'm guessing at the spelling of her character's name). The performances on and off stage are wonderful without exception, and the behind-the-scenes portions of the movie give us at least a taste of what's behind the beautiful dance steps and costumes. Unfortunately, though, that's really all we get - a taste. We never get to know any of the dancers in any depth or see more than a very superficial view of what their art means to them. There is ostensibly a side story involving Campbell's character and her past and future boyfriends, but neither the story nor any of the characters are sufficiently developed to make that portion of the movie very interesting. The delightfully stern and arrogant dance coach (Malcolm McDowell) is the only clearly developed character; the scenes involving him are amusing enough to be worth waiting for. But the real showstoppers are the dance recitals themselves, and the finale is well worth sitting through the good and mediocre scenes that precede it.
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