Sweeney Todd's adaptation was atrocious. There was a "blanket rule" to cut all choral singing which eliminated the driving narration done by the "Greek chorus." Stupid, stupid move that killed the film. It took the "legend" out of Sweeney Todd and made it a small story with very little resonance, zero perspective, and removed about half the score. Epic fail.
If you think Rob Marshall is bad, don't EVER give another musical to Tim Burton. He doesn't have a clue. Rob tried a technique that worked to great success in Chicago and failed, for the most part, in Nine (there are still some moments in that film I find breathtaking---in a good way). And, above all, the biggest problem with Nine wasn't that the numbers happened in his head (Guido imagines all sorts of things in the original 8 1/2, too), it was that Marshall forgot it was a COMEDY (so says Fellini), not a morose "midlife crisis" spiral into self-awareness.
Into the Woods is not about real people in real situations. There is no need for gimmicks to hide the songs. It's the one genre of film were people actually EXPECT characters to sing and are disappointed if they don't.
I think it needs a big starry cast and a big budget. It could be a hit for a wide audience, too. There's so much going on in the story. Humor, action-adventure, a little bit of horror (I hope they play more of that up in the creepy woods), fantasy, children's stories with adult messages ...
But up front, I'm really glad Tim Burton isn't involved on any level with this.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Updated On: 1/11/12 at 11:04 AM