Into the Woods

I have searched and searched and could not find a thread on this even though I feel like there was one, so mods please feel free to merge if there is indeed an existing thread.

This is a movie based on the extremely successful Broadway musical and something Sondheim fans have been waiting for FOREVER. It brings all of the Grimm fairy tales together, but came way before Once Upon A Time and is significantly darker.

The first half of the play tells the stories as you know them (or at least as the Grimm Brothers wrote them, so, for example, the stepsisters cut off their toes and heels in an effort to fit into Cinderella's shoe) and the second half tells of "what happened after". It subverts the idea that fairytales should be aspirational. Are Cinderella and her Prince a healthy couple? What kind of PTSD would a woman have being trapped in a tower all her life? What happens when giants seek revenge on wilful boys who steal from them? It's dark, but still hopeful, and the music and songs are just fantastic.

Well I've been kind of nervous with all the things we've been reading about this production (certain characters who are supposed to die, won't be for example) and the look for the Wolf is less than inspiring (see here: http://io9.com/johnny-depps-big-bad-wolf-from-disneys-into-the-woods-i-1649330684). Also there was the concern that while Meryl Streep can do no wrong, her singing was less than inspired in MAMMA MIA and she has to kill it in this movie.

Well this trailer, featurette thingy, is helping a lot to allay my fears. Especially the question of Meryl. And it really does look gorgeous.

If you are interested in this film, watch it! http://link.brightcove.com/services...k5Nz1HmLGrVlkxGTUBUM_JtH-&bctid=3854877348001

Yes, that's true, if they hadn't made it such a big reveal it likely wouldn't have had quite the response. Though, I mean, it's still pretty friggin' weird. And VERY predatory looking (like if there was ever a poster for Stranger Danger, that face would be on it) which is so confusing because they said they were getting rid of all the sexual stuff with Red Riding Hood since they'd cast an actual child in the role. I guess they are going to make it still about a sexual predator maybe, but remove the sexual awakening bit for Red? At least, so long as they haven't changed anything, the Wolf isn't really in the show that long (hence why the actor who played him on Broadway also played Cinderella's Prince).

The rest though is starting to look surprisingly good. People are still concerned about the singing, and I am too, but I remind myself that Sondheim always said he preferred actors who could sing, not singers who could act. Plus I just think Meryl had some bad direction in MAMMA MIA in general, her whole performance was not up to her normal excellence.

I'm a wait till I see the movie before passing judgement girl, but this is definitely the first time I've felt some excitement about this movie. Fingers crossed!

Well it is supposedly quite close. But they have changed a few things, and obviously cut some stuff (the play is very long). I don't mind changes when you change the medium. In fact when film interpretations are too literal they tend to be less effective. But we shall see if they've done it well. Lapine and Sondheim have been deeply involved in the making of the movie which is good

Yes Peters would have been amazing, but she never had the on screen presence like Meryl does. She's been good in movies, but on stage is where the magic happens. I like Meryl. She's the right age for the role and has the acting chops, I just have to hope her singing lives up to it.

I'm actually thinking Chris Pine might be a big surprise in this one. A few moments in this clip quite impressed me. We shall see . . .

I'm quite sad about "No More" it's probably my favourite song in the piece (how depressing am I?), and about the removal of the Mysterious Man/Narrator. But I do at least understand it. And I don't know why I'm not as worried about Pine or Blunt. I just feel like there are a lot of handsome prince looking actors out there and while Pine is a known quantity he's still not uber uber famous. I feel like they could have chosen one of many other male actors at his fame level, so I feel like he must have impressed them somehow. Blunt I just feel is great at everything, but that might be my bias.

Streep on the other hand is the biggest concern because she's what they are using to sell the film and so it's not like there was another actress they could have easily used if she didn't have the singing chops. I mean, she can sing, but it's more folky simple singing. I did like the little bit I heard in this featurette though, and fingers crossed she can pull out the big stuff.

It's funny, in the heyday of the movie musical almost all the lead women were dubbed by Marni Nixon and that was a time we look back on with, "Why can't they make musicals like that anymore?" I guess we live now in a time where dubbing would be just the most scandalous thing EVER. But still. It was common practice back then.

Hefronica - remember too they are trying to appeal to a general audience with this trailer and so they are trying to appeal to that dark mysterious Nolan thing which is incredibly popular (witness how depressing the new Avengers trailer is even though the Avengers tends to be way more lighthearted than the DC films). Every interview I've heard about the film though has the creators talking about how funny it is. I think you might be pleasantly surprised .

I saw it!!!! Went to a press screening today and can't really say much until I post my review. BUT. I will say don't fear the quality of singing. In fact this is one of those rare modern movie musicals where you can sit back and relax knowing that the quality of the singing won't make you cringe. And also - Meryl can belt. I had no idea, but she can.

Oh and Agony is fantastic - the audience actually applauded after it was done.

There's a lot more to say, a lot more . . . complicated stuff . . . to say. But there you go for now .

The thing is, Sondheim is a very particular kind of musical composer. His stuff is almost opera in that people sing A LOT. Sweeney Todd has almost no talking (they added talking to it for the film). There's A LOT of singing in this one. There is also talking, for sure, but it's not like CHICAGO say. They cut some songs in INTO THE WOODS, but they also cut some dialogue, so really it's the same proportion of singing to talking as the broadway show.

I really didn't think it was too much though, simply because of how all the music weaves together. It's not like talk, then a song, then talk, then a song, where you get whiplash and it just kind of starts to feel silly. It's more like singing, a couple lines of talking, the refrain again, leading into another number, then talking singing, then just talking, then a proper song with a beginning middle and end. Etc. There's a flow to it.

So basically I can't say if you'll think it's too much. It really depends on your feelings about Sondheim musicals .

hefronica - my review won't be going up until closer to the release date, but I'll definitely post here to let folks know!

Um . . . okay. I guess you are disagreeing with my use of the "almost like opera" thing, and have obviously had people say something like "God Sondheim is so boring, there's no dialogue" to you before or something because all I was doing was trying to answer a question in a straightforward simple fashion and I did make it I think quite clear that there was dialogue in a Sonheim musical. A person asked if there was going to be any dialogue and if it wasn't too muscial-y. Byt the very nature of the question I assumed the person was worried there would be too much music and so I wanted to let the person know that when it comes to many (not all - but again, I was trying to be simple in my answer and not lecture) Sondheim musicals there is a lot of music. It isn't like something like CHICAGO where you have a scene then song then scene etc. I believe I described what I meant above and included the fact that there is indeed dialogue. I never said otherwise. I just said relative to those other kinds of musicals there is A LOT of music. I do like your comparison to LES MIS etc though, it would have been good for me to mention that there is definitely more dialogue than in that. So thank you for that.

As for your opera thing, some Sondheim is more opera than others and while you might feel dogmatic in that SWEENEY TODD is not one, other people in the industry have been debating for years if it is and I've actually seen a professional opera company produce it.

Anyway, the point to all this was quite simple: there's more singing in INTO THE WOODS and more constant music playing than in something like CHICAGO, but as mrsmig says there is more dialogue in it than in something like LES MIS.

And regardless of the quantity, I found the film's mixture of dialogue and song very well done. I have other opinions on the movie which I can't share yet, but I don't think it comes off as too musical. Then again, I know this show off by heart so I might be a bit biased in its favour when it comes to its composition.