Into the Woods Official Movie Thread — Page 151

" Meryl may be Meryl but the Baker's Wife is a more difficult role to successfully execute in my opinion."

Blunt pretty much had to get a nomination for the Globes. Scarce competition. But congrats to her :)

Snatched up a pass to an early screening last night thanks to a friend of a friend. No spoilers, I promise!

I'll begin by saying that this is a good film, and a very good adaptation. The art direction and costume design are beautifully done, and create a distinct atmosphere. The film never feels "stagy", which is often a problem in stage-to-screen adaptations.

The acting is quite good across the board, with a special shout out to Chris Pine for stealing every scene he's in. The editing keeps the story quipping along without it ever feeling frenetic (a la Chicago), and the cinematography serves the material quite well, framing the special effects in such a way that they look both magical and naturalistic. Thankfully, Rob Marshall didn't do the "dream sequence" musical number thing, and only a few songs feel forced. But, more on that later.

Tonally, the film is on point. While plot lines may have been changed and a few songs were axed, the emotional journey is the same, and the film is really quite moving. Love the change in set design and thoughtful color-correction in "Act 2".

The only thing that really bothered me about the film is that there are a few musical numbers that stop the show in the wrong way. I know this has been discussed before, but both "I Know Things Now" and "Giant in the Sky", songs in the past tense, feel just a little bit unnecessary. While Marshall did what he could with them, by showing us the literal journey these characters are describing, they just feel like over-long asides. Of course, I'm not advocating for cutting these numbers, they're ESSENTIAL thematically, but they just feel a little odd when rest of the film has so much momentum.

That being said, I still think that this is just about as good of an adaptation as was possible, due to the inherent theatricality of the piece. Here's hoping for some Oscar love!

They are on Amazon UK under the MP3 version, are we allowed to link to buying sites on here?

This one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00PABORXA/ref=s9_simh_gw_p340_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1E078SRPVGYSHETMMJS6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=455344027&pf_rd_i=468294

I would love it if Chris Pine got an Oscar nomination. Elevating every scene you're in is exactly what a great supporting performance does.

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dtzum...these were already posted on page 150 by me...but thanks for the echo...:)...and congrats to EMILY and MERYL or the noms...

Neil Gaiman 200 word "review"
into the woods

Gosh, this movie looks better and better every day
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Anna Kendrick and James Corden Sing "No One Is Alone" From Disney's Into The Woods

Whoa- that's cool!!!! LOVE IT!

http://bit.ly/korbeewoods
No One Is Alone

Rob Marshall had to this say about the Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical.

“On behalf of my fellow producers, John DeLuca and Marc Platt, I want to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press for this wonderful honor. I am so proud to have been a part of bringing Sondheim and Lapine’s beloved and profound work to the screen, and equally proud of the extraordinary cast who brought it to life with such passion and heart.” - Rob Marshall, director "Into the Woods,"

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/emma-stone-reese-witherspoon-and-more-react-to-2015-golden-globes-nominations

The "No One Is Alone" video was simply wonderful.

I just finished reading the script and I like all of the changes. It works on the page, so we'll see how if it works on the screen. There are also a few surprises, but I'll keep mum on that.

I thought they said that Meryl has a new song?? That's not in there.

So, after December 25, how many articles do we think Jezebel and XOJane are going to publish on the sex shaming of the baker's wife?

Look, I know Sondheim and Lapine have said before that the killing of the baker's wife was never about punishing the woman for her tryst with the Prince. That's their story, but at the end of the day, perception is reality, right?

So I got to see an advanced screening of the movie yesterday - and it's FANTASTIC. Seriously, it's the best stage to screen adaptation in recent memory. (So you have an idea, my favorites are 1776, Fiddler, The Sound of Music, and West Side Story - for a taste).

I know Into the Woods better than just about any other show out there. I've taught it for years in school and watched the Broadway cast recording umpteen times.

I'm not going to go through the whole cast - just a couple of standouts:

Meryl Streep disappears completely into the role of the witch. She's fascinating to watch - you can't take your eyes off her when she's on screen. Her voice has improved tremendously since Mamma Mia. She has some great line readings that I feel truly make her performance Oscar worthy. Stay With Me and Last Midnight are definite highlights of the movie.

Chris Pine is the MVP of this cast. Seriously - he steals every single scene he's in. Agony is literally the funniest three minutes of screen time I can remember seeing since Borat. Some people might find it ridiculous, but the scene is brilliantly staged and deserves the roaring laughter it got last night (and, I might add, the only full out applause the movie got until the end).

The rest of the cast is very strong as well - there really isn't a weak link amongst them.

The cut songs were missed (especially the second Agony but more because of how great the first one was). No More is only there instrumentally. They couldn't have done the song as it's written given the way the movie is done, and arguments can be made for its inclusion, but I think it worked really well the way that it was done here as it is.

There is a surprise for Sondheim fans at the first night of the ball (I think it was the first night). Not telling what it is, but it made my wife and I grin like fools.

The only thing I would really criticize is the change-over between acts. That's always tough in stage to screen adaptions, and I don't think they quite pulled it off here. The end of act one/opening of act two are played instrumentally, but the scene in the show where the witch comes into the baker's house to tell them about the giant is really missed. When the action of act two gets going (when they face the giant for the first time), characters literally just APPEAR - they're just -- THERE. It's strange.

It really is a fantastic movie. I was grinning through most of the first act's material, and choked up a bit at the end. It's certainly something I plan to see again.

Say what you will, but Rob Marshall definitely knew what he was doing with this one.

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