Into The Woods BD [Region Free]

I've been a fan of Sondheim for many years. I like the fact that he doesn't write a "painting by numbers" type of musical. His scores are complicated, unpredictable and cares as much about the meaning of a song than whether it's going to be a "Show-stopper" melody. His lyrics are witty and clever and his songs help the story move on rather than slow it down for the sake of popping in a tune to keep people happy. I've seen this three times on stage with different casts, and the TV version of the original Broadway show back when it first came out and it's held a special place in my heart ever since. So, I was very excited about this movie, although due to it being Disney I was a little sceptical about what would happen to it. The casting too could have been a disaster as often happens in recent stage - screen musical movies (I'm looking at you Russell Crowe!).There are some plot changes to the stage version which do change the motivations and meaning a little for some of the character, but on the whole I thought this was a good interpretation. I know a lot of people have hated it as they were expecting the usual Disney musical they know and love - Sondheim is not a Disney Musical writer. His music is often dark, dischordant and complicated.Myself and my partner took our 11yr old boy to see this at the cinema. Just to say, he's watched it twice now on DVD and has also watched the DVD of the Broadway Stage version. It's fair to say he really enjoyed it.Stand out performance for me came from Emily Blunt. I didn't really know her other than from Live, Die, Repeat with Tom Cruise (I think that's what it was called, so apologies if I've got it wrong). As the Bakers Wife I think she gave an incredibly touching performance and vocally stood up to the score. I don't need to say anything about Meryl, she speaks for herself. James Corden did a great job and didn't stand out like a sore thumb which I was worried he might. Anna Kendrick stood out as being the only main protagonist with an American accent, but I'd rather that than have her put on a terrible British accent, she made a good Cinderella. I didn't mind the two kids playing Jack and Red Riding Hood, I'm not a fan of kids in musicals, but they were ok. The supporting cast were all good too, apart from Mr Depp - a terrible piece of miscasting as the seedy wolf. As he proved in Sweeney Todd, he just isn't vocally strong or adept enough to carry this type of musical off.The moral of the story is hammered home a little, but it's done with humour. You have characters that you care about.For those complaining about some events not being right - try reading the originals. They are incredibly gruesome and Stephen Sondheim pays homage to the originals in some of his scenes - the ugly sisters having bits cut off for to make the slipper fit for example is from the original story, just not from the Disney verions and childrens books we're all used to and grew up with.If you're sick of "Happy Endings" and wondered what it might look like after they all got their wishes, riches and good looks - then this film is for you. If you're Disney musical fan you possibly will be disappointed, and I wouldn't suggest it for the very young either.It is, however, a good musical and a good film version of it. And if you forget that Disney had anything to do with it and watch it as a piece of work written by one of the most successful modern writers of stage musical in the last century you will probably be able to take it for what it is, rather than judging it against what you were expecting. Sondheim, although incredibly popular, is a real marmite writer. I have many friends who love his work and are incredibly passionate about his music, and others who would rather sit through Andrew Lloyd Webber, who musically couldn't be further from Sondheim in style.If it is new to you and you do decide to watch it, I hope you enjoy it. No, not hope. I wish...

Great condition family loved it

I was originally minded to give this 3 stars but don't wish to be associated with the one, two and threes who mainly seem to have been shocked by the fact that this is a musical (gasp!) and worse still, a Stephen Sondheim musical (double gasp!!). Placing my cards on the table, I am someone who knows the stage show well and is a great admirer of Sondheim's work. I thought that the opening 10 minutes or so of the film worked extremely well and were a brilliant reflection on film of the opening of the stage show. I thought the cast were excellent, without exception. My concerns relate to the last third of the film where I feel it for a time seriously lost its way. I was disappointed by the fact that the reprise of "Agony" was cut where it is revealed that Cinderella's prince has fallen for the Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel's prince for Snow White (or is it the other way round) but didn't feel it was damaging to the integrity of the whole. What I felt was a travesty was casting an actor (and singer) of the calibre of Simon Russell Beale as the Baker's father - and then cut his duet with James Corden (No More) - one of the most tuneful and lyrically important songs in the whole piece. I am amazed that Sondheim OKd it. It made a complete nonsense of that scene and gave the impression that the film had lost its way. I presume it was actually filmed as the song appears in the credits. Any chance of a Director's Cut?

Despite it's fairytale theme this is a very sophisticated musical. Sondheims music is wonderful and the performances do not disappoint especially that of Meryl Streep who shines. I can watch this over and over again.

Disney you did it again...you censored a great musical. Now don't get me wrong I do like the musical, but how does the film hold up? Well first the good- It is a great musical. Everyone in it is great- aside from one but we'll talk about her in a second. The story is clear and its fantastic to watch. The Bad (Although not completely) - It is adapted from a musical and the songs are Sondheim (not a bad thing just keep reading) which means this isn't a film where you can just switch off. The music is great although edited slightly for the film and songs have been cut for time-which brings us to the main problem of the film. Its two hours long. Now that's not so bad but because the songs are giving so much information and if your the kind of person that thinks Fast and Furious films has a gripping story line your bound to get bored and switch off. Saying this however I do like the film and have seen it three times (At least its shorter than watching all three hobbit movies) Once in the cinema. Once with my family and once by myself. The funny thing is when I watched the film by myself and in the cinema I never noticed time, whereas when I watched it with my family I noticed just how long it was-or actually how long it felt because you are being given so much information that it feels longer because there are so many character story arcs going on. Now how about the characters-there all great, even the kids but the only one that feels a bit miscast to me is Anna Kendrick, don't get me wrong she is a great singer but as an actor she is lacking. There are also some rather saucy moments in the film which I found hilarious and its done cleverly so adults will see it one way and kids see it another (Talking about Red and the wolf). Now for the most part this is a dark musical and there are parts that can be scary for kids-especially in the third act of the film. And if you look at the film with realism you'll notice one or two things you'll question but it is worth at least a watch. I recommend it to those who are avid musical goers, those who like Tim Burton or the original Brothers Grimm stories or Sondhiem. If you are interested in the film and are none of the things I have described and have a good attention span then by all means take a look at the film. You may be surprised.

En général, je n’aime pas du tout les comédies musicales mais j’ai été agréablement surprise par ce film enchanteur. Je recommande son visionnement.

Non avevo avuto modo di vederlo al cinema ed ho recuperato acquistandolo. Personalmente a me è piaciuto moltissimo!

Cuando decidií comprar esta peícula, no sabía nada de ella salvo el trailer que había visto en Youtube, no había visto nada acerca de la película, no tan siquiera la sinopsis, ni había indagado nada.Recuerdo que llegó perfectamente junto con otra peli que había pedido junto con ella, sin incidentes de ninguna clase.La película, a mi me encanta, se que hay a mucha gente que no le gusta, pero a mi me recuerda mucho a los cuentos clásicos (los originales), en los que Disney se ha basado en muchos de ellos, de hecho hay muchas escenas, que hacen referencia directa a dichos cuentos...En definitiva, fue una buena compra, me gustó el producto.Quizás lo unico, que la película me parece quizás un poco larga en exceso, pero está basada en un musical y supongo que el musical ya es largo de por si,

Dieser Film hat mich beeindruckt, tage lang habe ich noch über einzelne Momente nachgedacht.Wer den Film aufmerksam schaut, die Liedtexte auch mitliest bzw. die Lieder versteht und die versteckten Nachrichten zu entschlüsseln weiß, der wird von diesem Film begeistert sein.Jedes Wort scheint so durchdacht zu sein, wer den Film mehrfach sieht wird jedes mal eine zauberhafte Kleinigkeit neu für sich entdecken, gebannt vorm Fernseher sitzen und das Genie hinter der Geschichte zu würdigen wissen.Als ich ihn zum ersten mal sah, war ich noch von all dem überwältigt. Zunächst habe ich mich von den negativen Rezensionen abschrecken lassen, laut denen so gut wie alles gesungen wird.Nach dem Kommentar des Regisseurs, welchen ich auf meiner Blu-Ray gesehen habe, dienen die vielen Gesangseinlagen zu Beginn der Vorstellung der Charaktere. Wer länger als eine halbe Stunde des Filmes gesehen hat, wird wissen, dass später mehr gesprochen wird.Auch später dienen die Lieder dazu, die Gefühle und Gedanken der einzelnen Charaktere zu beschreiben. Wer aufmerksam mitliest wird merken, dass die Figuren dadurch eine charakterliche Tiefe erlangen, die man in normalen Filmen nicht darstellen kann, vor allem nicht in einem einzelnen Film ohne zig Nachfolger.Nachdem ich den Film mehrfach gesehen habe, genieße ich die Lieder immer mehr, sie unterscheiden sich grundlegen, auch wenn es am Anfang nicht so zu sein scheint.Sehr fasziniert haben mich die Charaktere. Der Film vermittelt ein Bild, nach dem es kein grundlegenes Gut und Böse gibt. Jeder Charakter hat einen Grund für seine Handlungen, die mehr oder weniger positive oder negative Folgen haben.Dies ist ein Thema, mit dem sich der Film durchgehend auseinandersetzt: Ist das, was du wünscht, auch das, was du willst? Kannst du die volle Reichweite deiner Handlungen voraussehen?Dies und viele viele Lehren sind in dem Film versteckt, es geht nicht nur um die normalen "Und die Moral von der Geschicht'" Momente der bekannten Märchen im Film, sondern auch um die eher realistischen Lehren, die wir aus Situationen ziehen.Der Film erfindet eine komplett neue Geschichte, ohne die alten Geschichten groß umzuschreiben.Ein alternatives, mehr oder weniger glückliches Ende erwartet alle, die den Film bis zum Ende genießen. Wer das Singen zu schätzen lernt und über die Neuerfindung der Geschichten hinwegsehen kann, wird einige grandiose Momente zum Mitfiebern erleben, die auch mit viel Witz in die Geschichte eingearbeitet wurden.Gerade auch älteres Publikum, welches sich zu dem Film Gedanken macht, wird dieser Film mitreißen.Disney hat es mal wieder geschafft. Grandiose Schauspieler mit wundervollen Stimmen (die Gott sei dank im Originalton geblieben sind), eine schöne und sehr aufwändig gestaltete Kulisse, als auch eine mitreißende Geschichte, die erfolgreich in ein qualitativ hochwertiges Meisterwerk eingearbeitet wurde. Wer das zu schätzen weiß, wird den Film noch mehr genießen, hoffentlich auch bis zum letzten Moment.Vorher sollte nur jedem klar sein, dass es sich um ein Musical handelt, also relativ viel gesungen wird. Die Gesangseinlagen sind im Originalton auf Englisch und besitzen Deutsche Untertitel. Der Film geht über 2 Stunden lang und bedient nicht nur Klischees, die Geschichte ist an einigen Teilen drastisch verändert worden. Wer sich dessen im Klaren ist und es akzeptiert, wird den Film genießen können.

One of the hopes some of us had that "Into the Woods" would eventually become a movie was that this mash-up of fairy tales, with some of the best songs ever written, would reach a far greater audience than the stage musical (fortunately available with the original cast--it is fantastic) alone could. But judging from many of the one star reviews here, one wonders whether a large segment of the population is just too dense and dumb to ever get a Sondheim show, even one as accessible as Into the Woods. Or were they never adequately prepared for what was coming? And yes, folks, people do sing in movie musicals. That is why they are called musicals.So for the uninitiated, this is NOT a typical Disney show, nor one that ever was written with a Disney audience in mind. It is a Sondheim/Levine show, toned down a bit in its darkness, which Disney has produced and made, with Sondheim advising.Sondheim's lyrics and music are sophisticated and complex--this is higher art than the usual far of what we are fed--and it requires a few listenings to really get or understand. But once you get the songs, you realize that Sondheim's music is not unmelodic at all, though it stretches your ears a bit at first. But one day you realize it is just gets in your blood and you realize the songs really ARE beautiful musically--each a piece of art that pays huge dividends for a lifetime. And once you get to know them, the songs' unparalleled lyrics reveal new insights into life after practically every listening. Sondheim's songs usually cannot be lifted right out of the story the way they are in many other musicals--they are deeply woven into the story of the show and are part of the plot.All that said, this movie adaptation was not nearly as bad as I had feared it would be, having finally dared now to watch it. I miss some of the music from the stage show--especially the song "No More", which I thought was a cornerstone piece in the original show. And I thought this DVD was to have, as a bonus feature, some new song that Sondheim wrote for Meryl Streep, which then also got cut--but it is not on my copy. Oh well, I am not going to dock it for that.Sondheim apparently had to make some compromises to keep Disney happy--and for executives to demand that he cut lines or songs seems a little bit to me like telling Beethoven how he should edit the 9th Symphony--who would have the temerity if they had any respect for the guy at all?--but Sondheim apparently obliged them, knowing this may the only chance he would have in his lifetime to get 80-90% of the show to the big screen with some of his input. And what got to the screen is most pretty good to excellent.Generally, all of the singing is very good. Of course they are not the same as in the original Broadway show--nothing ever will be--but I really enjoyed hearing some new interpretations of the songs--like hearing the songs you already know and love, but from a slightly different angle. Meryl Streep was particularly great, as was James Corden, Anna Kendrick, and the actors playing Jack and Little Red Riding Hood. The only one I rolled my eyes a little bit over was Johnny Depp's wolf--not quite evil enough maybe? I thought he would be a bit more wolf and a little less Johnny Depp. Still, it wasn't awful. The movie preserved most of the essence of the Broadway show, though it wasn't quite as humorous--probably more due to the limitations of film and advantages of live theater than anything.So while what we have here may be wasted on a lot of the fools who have never seen a musical, or people unfamiliar with Sondheim, or people who thought they were getting something like "Frozen", and while it will never eclipse the original stage production for all of the great things it had and still has, I believe the world is far better off with this movie than without it--if this is the only movie version that was ever going to get made with Sondheim around to advise--he's in his 80s now. It is still much more Sondheim than Disney. I would give it 4 or 4.25 stars and dock it one for the cuts that Disney forced on it--except I still like most of what remains anyway--and with all the ignoramuses giving it one star, I will round it up to 5, as it really is a lot better than the average is currently showing. And for those still complaining, remember what Hollywood did to "A Funny Thing Happened", "A Little Night Music", and (not quite as bad) "Sweeney Todd", to say nothing of a lot of non Sondheim musicals. It could have been a lot worse. In time, more people will come to understand and appreciate it.