Into the Woods Official Movie Thread — Page 176

If that's not a review out of ignorance.

RESEARCH. that's all that needs to be done.

@Mrtrobz yeah. I really wanted it to be as long as the actual musical. Or a director's cut please.

As annoying as it is reading these people bitch and moan, in a way it's actually kind of amusing thinking of them going into the theater expecting live action "Frozen" and getting the challenging music and darkness/weirdness that is Into the Woods!

Not to mention, a reminder that Disney and all involved deserve kudos for allowing it to be presented with integrity, since they must have realized a good amount of people would wind up bewildered/shocked/disappointed.

parents do need to research but many will not because all they see is disney + fairy tale characters = safe bet and thats enough for them to go by and they dont feel the need they would have to...

The only one that was filmed was "She'll be back".

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i dont think any1 here was disputing the fact that stage shows are different from films or that the ending wasnt emotional...some just feel that there was room for improvement...there is nothing wrong by thinking this...


and i know the stage version like the back of my hand...and so what?

Updated On: 12/26/14 at 04:43 PM

I thought the first part was pretty perfect. Second part, slightly less so, a little rushed but very satisfying and touching. I really look forward to seeing it again...

And get this..,,in the leaked draft, it had the characters rise from a fallen tree to sing Children a Will Listen, then it had them disappear with a gust of wind. Part 2 of the Finale had the characters leave out of the woods by a magically formed path.

Marshall said that the characters were going to pop out of the forest when they were filming, but it was apparently, a last minute change to film it the way it is.

I like this ending for the film a little bit better, because Children Will Listen us a delicate song, and the effects, though beautiful, would've distracted from the song.

So I just came back from the movie. It was enjoyable but I was annoyed throughout because of where I sat. The theater I went to had reserved seating (something new they just started doing apparently...I haven't been to that theater since Maleficent and they didn't have reserved seating then), and when I picked my seat, I picked a seat thinking it was second to last row (there weren't many available. None in the middle. The film was pretty much sold out). Well, I got to the seat and realized that I picked a seat on the second row. UGH! It was the worst movie-going experience I have ever had. It sucked watching a film on a giant screen so close to my face, so I was just really in a bad mood throughout the whole movie. Also very dizzy and uncomfortable. There were some parts that were hard to see and to follow. It just really sucked. Luckily, I wasn't the only one that thought where I picked to sit would be the back, so I suggested to theater management that they really should make it clear to audiences the location of their seats. They were so apologetic and gave me a readmission ticket, so i'll be seeing the film again sometime next week.

Besides the seating issue, I enjoyed the film. I think all the actors did a great job. The stepmother and stepsisters were hilarious! I was looking forward to Pine's "Agony" because it has been celebrated on here, but it was just ok. No one at my theater clapped after the song, or even at the end of the film, so that was sort of disappointing. I guess I was expecting more since most of you guys had great theater experiences when you saw the film. As for pacing, some parts were fast and some were slow, but it was still really good. The shift from act one to act two wasn't bad at all. It felt seamless. Also, I'm probably going to get tomatoes thrown at me, but I thought it was better than the stage show. I've only seen the show once, and it was a few months ago and on DVD. It was ok. I wasn't blown away like I thought I would be since people here love it. I felt like the show kept going and going and going, from one number to another. Maybe I would've enjoyed the play had it been live? The movie felt tight, concise and easier to follow. I do see why some felt the second half of the film was rushed though.

Anyway, it was good and I'm excited to see it again, hopefully next week. I guess seating really does affect how you view and experience a film.

house lights did not go up during itw [reprise] but many left or were gathering their belongings to leave so it "got lost"... not many paid attention...

I've been travelling a lot today and one of the best bits of time-passing entertainment I've had is reading the reviews on Fandango. So many people not realizing it's a musical, outraged parents who seemed to expect Frozen with Meryl Streep, assumptions that this was a Disney concoction, people who've clearly no idea about Sondheim. I'm not saying everyone needs to be an afficionado going into it, but really, at the very least, how can you not know it's a musical? The cast have been on every show going, talking about how much darker it is, that they sang!

I just got back from the movie. I'd like to start out by saying that I really did love the film overall. I thought Act 1 was perfect in every way and worked extremely well. Everyone impressed me particularly Emily Blunt and Lilla Crawford. Agony was hilarious and made me really want to see an Agony (reprise).

That being said...
I agree with everyone who said that act II felt rushed. Particularly the transition between acts and the sequence of where No More once was. I understand cutting the Act II opener and No More, however it left those moments severely lacking something. I think if they had left the scene in Act II opener where the witch comes and the baker and his wife THINK and come to the idea that there is a giant in there midst rather than it being the wedding than suddenly there's a giant. Where No More once was, I understand them not needing the baker's father to sing but they should have left the bakers first and last verse. The music was swelling as if a song was about to happen but it left the scene without feeling full filled

I also have yet to see anyone unsatisfied with the ending. I thought they showed too much of the giant to the point where it was comical and did not focus enough on the plan. I for one did not like that the Into the woods reprise was just over the credits rather than being a part of the film. They show the Baker's wife, cinderella's mother, and the baker's father even though they are all dead so why not show the entire company. If they had the company emerge from the trees while the four survivors walk into the sunrise, I think that would have been very effective. Without the reprise it leaves the movie feeling very tragic rather than giving the uplifting tone the musical has in the end.

I also didn't like the witch's disappearance after Last Midnight. I think the way she sunk into the ground was very specific but without specific reasoning. I think I would have preferred if she just disappeared into a puff of smoke. I always imagined that she would turn old and ugly again but I know many people interpret her disappearance differently. But I feel like ambiguity would have been more effective.

However, besides these complaints I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I was also pleasantly surprised by Giants in the Sky. I wasn't impressed by Daniel's vocals when I listened to the soundtrack but his performance was very charming. All around every one was superb and perfectly casted. Throughout act one I found myself smiling very consistently. Go see this film, you won't regret it.

I am in love with the audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, human stupidity really is infinite:

"[...]it seemed a bit too long and I couldn't help feel that it was created with the inevitable Broadway musical follow-up in mind."

Updated On: 12/26/14 at 08:07 PM