"Into the Woods" Movie Changes- Page 8
"Into the Woods" Movie Changes
Stephen Sondheim Inc#175
Posted: 6/25/14 at 10:20pmI'm sure Disney has a carefully planned marketing strategy for this one. I doubt that they're going to change it based on some quotes Sondheim gave (though I'm sure their heads exploded when it became the main headline on IMDB.com and a topic of discussion o numerous outlets). Having said that, I cannot wait for a preview. Still, the movie is a few months apart, so we might not see one in another month or two.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#176
Posted: 6/25/14 at 11:01pm
Stopping to think about it what bothers me is Disney has a history of dressing up misogyny as girl power.
They're into misandry now. That godawful Maleficent didn't have one redeemable male character. They're either portrayed as inherently evil or ineffectual. In fact, the more masculine a character looks (e.g. brawny, facial hair), the more evil he is. Young Stefan and Prince Phillip are still boys/young men, with willowy figures and delicate features, so they're not evil yet; however, Young Stefan is a thief and Phillip is a cipher who can't accomplish his main task (i.e. waking Aurora). There are no positive male characters in this movie. It seems the only way they can make a woman a heroine is to make all the men horrible or inept by comparison. Meanwhile, the inexplicably named Maleficent is totally reformed, and the only "bad" things she does is in retaliation for a man's betrayal and violation of her. Thus, justified.
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Stephen Sondheim Inc#177
Posted: 6/25/14 at 11:05pmSounds perfectly reasonable to me.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#178
Posted: 6/25/14 at 11:59pmI meant that the male characters are evil for no apparent reason whereas Maleficent is given a reason for why she curses Aurora, which is shown to be just a momentary lapse in judgment. Throughout the film, she's inherently good and looks after the flora and fauna and later Aurora, which goes against the very meaning of her name. (Might as well have renamed her Beneficent.) On the other hand, King Stefan, who is a kind, loving, concerned father in the animated film, is evil in this new reimagining for evil's sake.
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Stephen Sondheim Inc#179
Posted: 6/26/14 at 7:09pmThanks BroadwayBenny, but then I don't see how the "Lament" intro makes sense to what Rapunzel got changed to doing in this film. "This is the world I meant, couldn't you listen? Couldn’t you stay content, safe behind walls, as I could not?” doesn’t sound like it fits what Rapunzel does.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
Stephen Sondheim Inc#180
Posted: 6/26/14 at 7:34pmIt has more to do with what the witch is feeling than what happens to Rapunzel. She lost her daughter, whether she is alive or dead, in the witch's eyes, she failed because she couldn't keep her in the tower
Stephen Sondheim Inc#181
Posted: 6/26/14 at 8:03pmBut "This is the world I meant" is referring to the world that killed her. It isn't quite the same if it's the world that just drove her off. It actually means the opposite in that situation, because Rapunzel is better off out of the tower than trapped in it, as opposed to when she is killed where she would have been better off safe in the tower. The Witch's feeling are the same, but the words don't match. Of course, I doubt anyone would think into it so far.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#182
Posted: 6/27/14 at 1:13am
"But "This is the world I meant" is referring to the world that killed her. It isn't quite the same if it's the world that just drove her off"
Exactly. The Witch's downfall may seem anti-climatic if Rapunzel is still living. LAST MIDNIGHT ( assuming it hasn't been gutted and taken out by Disney) won't have the edge that it should have.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#183
Posted: 6/27/14 at 9:36am
Do we know for sure if that line was even kept? I remember when I heard the audio of Meryl it sounded like Rapunzel runs off on her horse and the Witch goes right into: "No matter what you say, children won't listen".
Which makes more sense given the plot change.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#184
Posted: 6/27/14 at 3:39pmYes, that audio clip starts off with Rapunzel running away and then the Witch goes into "No matter what you say, children won't listen..." That's the part they've kept.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#185
Posted: 6/27/14 at 4:16pm
Or maybe when crazy-Rapunzel finds the Witch, and the Giantress is on the loose destroying everything, that is when the Witch tells her: "This is the world I meant, couldn't you listen? Couldn't you stay content? Safe behind bars..."
And then Rapunzel steals the Prince's horse and the Witch reacts saying: "No matter what you say, children won't listen..."
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/14
Stephen Sondheim Inc#186
Posted: 6/27/14 at 4:22pmMaybe, but to me that sounds out of place. "This is the world I meant...." sounds like it should be more about the Witch's loss of the daughter that she loved rather than a "I told you so" to Rapunzel.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#187
Posted: 6/27/14 at 10:48pm
I'm glad everyone sees the problem I mean, but I'm also glad to hear maybe the words and lyrics have been changed/removed for there to be no problem at all. Even though I still wish it was like the original show.
By the way, I didn't notice this till now, but in the Original Cast Recording the Witch's Lament includes the lyrics "Now you know what's out there in the world. No one can prepare you for the world. Even I. How could I, who loved you as you were? How could I have shielded you from her? Or them?" But that's not in the video recording of the original cast! Why didn't they include that? It's so integral as well as the most sad, powerful part to me.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#188
Posted: 6/27/14 at 10:50pm
^^^
That section was cut during previews and has been removed from all other productions. Also cut was a bunch of "A Very Nice Prince". I was disappointed because it is very powerful, but the show is 3 hours long.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#189
Posted: 6/27/14 at 11:00pmSally Durant Plummer, the American Playhouse video recording is only 2 hrs. 31 mins.
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Stephen Sondheim Inc#190
Posted: 6/27/14 at 11:02pmI was talking about the length during previews - when it still had Boom Crunch, and multiple short songs that were subsequently turned into dialogue.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#191
Posted: 6/27/14 at 11:20pmNice cover. But you said the show is, not was, 3 hours long.
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Stephen Sondheim Inc#192
Posted: 6/28/14 at 12:26amWith intermission, it would be 2hrs 45 minutes. That's pretty much three hours.
Stephen Sondheim Inc#193
Posted: 6/28/14 at 11:43pmThank you Sally Durant Plummer. That was all very informative and I'm glad you agree with me it was powerful and it's a shame it was cut. I think they could have kept that one part and removed all the others they did and it would be short enough, but oh well. Updated On: 6/28/14 at 11:43 PM
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