Into the Woods (2014)

[Wiendish Fitch]

53 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I still enjoy this movie, but they could've done a better gown for Anna Kendrick's Cinderella.

I completely agree. The movie's dress is so lifeless and murky, poor AK all but fades into the background. It didn't have to match the stage dress, but couldn't they have done something more fun with it? If they'd made it a sugary pastel color, it would have looked so much prettier in the nighttime scenes (and would have made for an ironic contrast for the darker turn the story takes). 

[paramitch]

On 1/11/2025 at 9:49 AM, EtheltoTillie said:

Thanks, I find it hard to articulate why I don't like it, but it's such a horrible story, I just don't want to watch it.  When people say they "LOVE" it, I just don't understand what they are feeling.  T

This is now OT for the Into the Woods Thread, but I read something this morning about how ST came to be.  Hal Prince originally didn't like the idea either, but he was persuaded by something Sondheim said about the story.  I can understand that sentiment only in the abstract.  I still don't want to watch it. 

I love Sweeney Todd. It's right up there as one of my favorite musicals of all time.

To answer your question as to WHY I love it -- multiple reasons. I think it's the most sweeping and melodic of all of Sondheim's scores, with some gorgeous songs. I love the symmetry and tightness of the plot -- it's downright Shakespearean in its tragedy and irony, and the characters are complex and richly drawn. Sweeney begins as a sympathetic victim so his descent is truly horrifying (the entire point, which is about the dangers of revenge).

As the story reaches its climax and conclusion, there is enough dark wit and humor to leaven the darkness, as well as a kind of awful tension in watching just how depraved Sweeney is willing to be for revenge (and Mrs. Lovett for her selfish, warped love/lust). And "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" in opening and closing the show, interspersed with brief reprises, helps to alleviate some of the horror, as the victims join the chorus and continue to frame the story, so the violence is mitigated somewhat.

I still think Sweeney is a masterpiece. The juxtaposition of the gorgeous, sweepingly romantic score with the shockingly violent and tragic storyline, the superb performances, and the brilliant and often witty book/lyrics make it worth the journey for me.

On 1/11/2025 at 10:31 AM, Browncoat said:

It's one of my favorites.  I love the music, especially the very cheeky "Have a Little Priest", and I guess I just like a well thought-out revenge story.  It seems straightforward, but it's quite complex, really.  And yes, it is quite dark, and I understand why people don't like it, but I really do.  I've seen it on stage several times, and of course I own the gold standard Angela Lansbury/Len Cariou version.  I wanted to like the Tim Burton adaptation.  I feel like if he'd been more open to casting people who are not Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, it could have been great.

I love, love, love the Lansbury/Cariou original cast, although I also think George Hearn did a great job in the recorded proshot version of the stage show as well.

I love the movie adaptation -- with reservations. I think Depp sings at an acceptable level, and while Bonham Carter doesn't, Sondheim never really cared about great voices anyway (see also Glynis Johns in A Little Night Music), and I think HBC's performance is absolutely extraordinary -- funny, sexy, tragic -- I would even say she brings a very thin streak of complexity and humanity to Lovett that I have never seen in any other Lovett performance. So I her thin little voice doesn't bother me -- at least she's on pitch. The performance is just so good and so unique for me. I did enjoy Rickman and Spall as well -- perfect casting. And the use of a genuine child as Toby (rather than the adult used in the stage versions) makes it all even more tragic and poignant. The film's "Not While I'm Around" is, for me, a masterpiece for this reason (combined with HBC's incredibly subtle performance).

The only negatives I feel about the film are that I feel like the movie blood looks incredibly fake, I feel like Burton overdid some of the onscreen violence, and I missed some of the songs that were removed (especially the "Ballad").

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And back to Into The Woods -- I loved the casting there, but I wasn't as familiar with the show prior to seeing the movie.  

I loved most of the casting on Into the Woods, but I can't stand James Corden as the Baker. He has zero of the charisma or gravitas the role needs (the Baker is arguably the secret heart of the show), I don't feel any chemistry or connection to Blunt's Baker's Wife, and he's by far the weakest singer in the film. I really wish someone else had been cast.

On 1/11/2025 at 10:55 AM, Babalu06 said:

I truly don’t get why people want to go to a musical with a splash zone of blood.

Just as with plays, there can be a huge variety in genres in musicals. They don't have to be bright and sunny. Sweeney Todd is a great example of that. I enjoy Sweeney Todd in the same way I enjoy Titus Andronicus or Romeo and Juliet or Medea.

To come full circle, this is my problem with the film version of Into the Woods. The stage version has an ending that is so much richer and more bittersweet -- it's more daring. The movie's ending is a pallid, "safe" version that I feel really dilutes what the story was about all along.