Into the Woods Official Movie Thread — Page 178

Hear, hear, wonderfulwiz! Let's just be honest here. The real star of Into The Woods was that magnificent pair of skin-tight leather pants. I wanted more scenes of Rapunzel's Prince mounting his horse. Or Rapunzel. I'm not picky.

I saw this movie finally tonight in Auburn Hills MI, the crowd was generally young - around my age, probably (young college age adults) i don't think there was a single child in the crowd. The whole feeling in the room was pretty tense, and toward the beginning I felt like the room wasn't loving the show, but that happens at most movies I've ever been to, you get more comfortable laughing and crying as the movie goes on.

As for the film, I thought it was terrific. I did not go into this lightly, I've loved it since I was a freshman in high school, so for 8 years I've had the OBCR and have never enjoyed a cast as much as the original, and have scarcely loved a musical as much as this one, it spoke to me so deeply even at the age of 14. There were some mild annoyances since I know the material so well, but for the most part the cuts that were made to the material I didn't miss greatly and sometimes felt it helped the story. The one appearance of the Baker's Father made sense to me (as it was obviously in his mind), and because of all the things that had immediately preceded it I was weeping at the same time as the Baker, and I agree with someone on this board (can't recall who) that said the addition of the song No More may have pushed me past a breaking point, so I'm content that it wasn't included for dramaturgical reasons. I didn't even miss the Mysterious Man whatsoever as I thought I might.
One of my annoyances were some of their costumes. In the course of the film, I ended up finding Jack's and the Wolf's costumes wholly preposterous (Jack looked like he was wearing Gucci couture and the Wolf just looked ridiculous the few minutes he was on screen). For some reason the Baker's pants I also found inappropriate (for a baker, that is).
Like many people have said, I agree that Emily Blunt as the Baker's Wife was absolutely splendid the entire time she was onscreen. She made me truly feel towards the character as the leading lady of the piece, which I don't think I've ever thought of the character until today. Joanna Gleason, as everyone knows, was terrific in a pretty dully written character, and she certainly brought her to life. But even in the original production, I felt she was kind of an excuse for a Leading Actress in a Musical (and always felt Patti was robbed of the Tony that year) since the Witch didn't have enough material. But the film really made me believe this WAS her story, and that all these fairytale characters she meets in the woods were ones she stumbled across on her quest. I would have applauded her in the theater if my boyfriend would have let me. I hope she wins SOME award for her wonderful performance.
Meryl Streep was also terrific in a role I doubted she should have playing, simply due to her age and nothing to do with the talent she possesses (which I feel she is mostly unsurpassed by any actresses currently living). She usually made me forget all about Bernadette Peters, which I didn't expect to happen. Plus, I loved her blue hair. Some people have said they didn't like her death being so specific; i thought it was a great idea to have them use that tar to trap the lady giant. Kind of like she helped them out after all. Something like that.
The Princes I thought were very good, although underused. I agree that Chris Pine sings kind of like an old man, but I found him still to be charming (and I overheard a lady in the audience saying she wouldn't mind getting lost in HIS woods, which was hilarious and nonsensical but I don't disagree with her). Agony was a highlight and another moment in which I would have applauded.
Hello, Little Girl. It's a scene that, in the musical, I've usually never found it to be very offensive or even very noteworthy. In the film, I was so creeped out that I wanted to kill Johnny Depp myself. And I thought it worked immensely, in terms of the point of the character. So, good job to them for creeping me out. I also thought Red going into his stomach was hilarious, it reminded me of an Alice acid trip or something.
The suddenly-nine months pregnant Wife made me laugh out loud, and then when she was thanking Cinderella at the wedding, I thought she might as well have just said out loud "Your shoe got us pregnant!"
Anna Kendrick (whom I have loved greatly through most of her film career) underwhelmed me slightly, only in that she seemed (and has seemed in other roles, either to her benefit or detriment) to be holding herself back emotionally. This lady will not let us see her cry, she is too strong for that. That said, her performance of On the Steps of the Palace is maybe my favorite ever, and I love how she belts the last note.
I had no problem with the children. I thought Lilla was sometimes funny, and Daniel sometimes adorable. Neither one of them greatly excited me, but those characters never have in the past. I admired their performances mostly during No One Is Alone, the entire scene I thought was incredibly well done (although awkwardly cut-off).
James Corden was thoroughly charming the entire film.
The ending with Children Will Listen, I thought was a little strangely done. As someone else said, it may have been better if they had brought the ghosts back as they do in the play.

Now that I've reviewed the whole thing, I realize that I said it was terrific at the very top although I now realize many things in it caught my attention in ways I didn't want. But I really think that, despite the qualms (which I expected), it really is a well-made film. It's better when looked at as a whole than at each part. As I sat in the theater at the credits, I was so pleased with the whole thing. And I'm glad.

A person said as they were leaving "Yeah, I've always thought act 2 was boring as $#!*" They didn't understand (as I feel many in America, judging by every critic saying the end is the worst part and they should have faded to black sooner) that the end is the whole point. Sometimes life gives you a lot of bad stuff to deal with. You have to move on. You aren't alone and there will always be someone there to help you along the way. I don't want an Into the Woods without an Act 2, because it robs the whole thing of its heart. I applaud Rob Marshall for making a terrific entry into the musical movie catalogue.

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SM2 as far as your last remarks, you have a point about her teleportation powers. But as I recall the only way to enter the tower was via Rapunzel's hair as well as the magic words "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me."

If that's the case, no other method (magic or practical) would allow anyone to enter that tower.

As for the Witch using her powers to stop the giant's wife, why would she? She doen'st give a crap if the giant kills everyone and wreaks havoc on the kingdom and village. They mean nothing to her. She thinks only of her own wellbeing and misfortune and for her daughter (as a beloved possession, not a person). That's it.

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So the 2nd Act has been gutted as much as it was in the script? Reading the script is seems like they took out lots of dialogue, particularly any questions of the murky morality surrounding rescuing of kingdom.

Saw it last night and I'll try and keep my thoughts short.

I liked it for the most part. I'll echo what the critics have said, act 2 is where the film goes from great to uneven. The cast is very strong with a shout out to James Corden and Chris Pine. I thought the only song that didn't transfer smoothly was Hello little girl. In all, it's a faithful adaption. It's never been my favorite show but I liked it well enough.

@ the first screening i attended 'agony' was the only number that got applause.

"I was not completely bothered by some of the plot changes except for Rapunzel's fate. They decided to give her a fate that was a little similar to Ariel's from 'The Little Mermaid'. Neither of the characters die like in the original source material and they do end up with their princes. However, movie watchers will never know if she truly lived happily ever after with her prince or if the two of them escaped to a safe haven."

Well, actually, in the 'original source material' Rapunzel doesn't die either (if we're talking about the fairy tale.) If you're talking about the musical, it's true that Rapunzel doesn't die, but to me the witch's anger still makes sense because Rapunzel makes the conscious choice to reject her - which is a LOT more painful than her getting killed, which was an accident.

As for what sort of an ending Rapunzel gets...you're right that we don't find out, although since in the movie her prince seems to be a nice guy and not a cad like he is in the musical, I think it's safe to assume they live happily ever after somewhere - if not at the palace (which I think the giant destroyed) then somewhere else, like maybe a summer palace or something. Maybe they ran off to Norway and became Anna and Elsa's great-great-great-grandparents.

I haven't seen ITW yet, but I go in with a great deal of prejudice against Chris Pine. I am not at all a fan of his because I just don't believe he does a good job with Captain Kirk. However, my problem may be with the ST reboot in general; except for Zachary Quinto, most of the actors aren't portraying the same characters I grew up with. So, Chris, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt -- at least this time, you're not trying to walk in Shatner's shoes.

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That's very big of you AHL--I'm sure Mr Pine is waiting breathlessly for your critique on his performance.

Ah, SweetLips, the question is not whether Chris Pine is worried about what I think, but whether he should be worried about what ST fans in general think. It sounds like he's doing ok with the younger generation, so I guess ST fans are generally giving him a thumbs up.

Maybe I'm just prejudiced against his thick eyebrows.

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"...the question is not whether Chris Pine is worried about what I think, but whether he should be worried about what ST fans in general think."

Excellent film. It was a joy to watch (and hear) from start to finish. I was at a 1 pm showing and the theater was quite full, with a mix of ages including some families with very small children. I didn't notice anyone leaving early or much restlessness. People were very quiet at first but after "Agony" there were frequent laughs throughout. For some reason that song seemed to be the cue to people that they could laugh at this movie. It seems Pine is getting the biggest laughs everywhere and my theater was no exception.

The casting was pretty much perfect and everyone did their characters justice. I was surprised at just how likable Rapunzel's prince became in this adaptation. Magnussen really did a lot with this small role, as did Mauzy with her Rapunzel. It was actually kind of nice to see them get to ride off to a (possibly) happy ending.

The only thing I really missed is some of the brilliant dialogue cut from the second half--particularly in the scene where the group first encounters the giant. I absolutely love the way that plays out on stage and it did seem rushed here, but I know with there being no narrator or Rapunzel deaths there wasn't much they could do about that.

I am so pleased with this film and can't wait to own it on DVD. I always doubted that anyone could turn this show into a movie and do it justice, but Marshall and co. proved me wrong. An I'm very thankful for that.