Into the Woods

Inside the theatre you're welcome to discuss your favorite television shows, musical artists, video games, books, movies, or anything popular culture!
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bookworm
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Into the Woods

Post by bookworm »

Has anyone seen this?
The motion picture that just came out, primarily, but also the stage production if you’ve seen that and wish to discuss. Though apparently they have some significant differences.
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Post by Knight Fisher »

It came in 8 on the year for me so overall pretty good. Agony was done well, but it could have been better.
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Post by Shennifer »

I saw it last night and thought it was pretty good. I didn't know anything about the stage production, so I had no idea how it would turn out
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Post by Catspaw »

Knight Fisher wrote:Agony was done well...
I saw the movie with a couple of friends the other day, and the "Agony" song was by far our favourite part of the movie! We laughed. A lot. And then we laughed some more. And then we got together two days later and kept finding reasons to break into song. "Agony....so much greater than yours..." Then we laughed even more. Good times. \:D/ Chris PIne has been a favourite ever since Princess Diaries 2 was in theatres a million years ago, so that didn't hurt at all. :inlove:

Overall, the movie was decent but nothing really special, in my opinion. I wasn't familiar with the play, so I didn't know quite what to expect. I did enjoy the story and the songs, but barring the one exception noted above, I didn't leave with songs stuck in my head. I didn't want to buy the soundtrack. (Except for Agony, which I bought on iTunes.) \:D/ I didn't want to see it again right away. It was good, but nowhere close to great. The two friends I saw the movie with felt the same way.
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Post by bookworm »

I’ve never seen the play, or even heard anything about it before now, so I had no idea at all what the story was about, but my movie group was going to see this last weekend so I had to decide if I wanted to go along.

I’m not one of those people that hates on musicals, I’m fine with them. In fact I think I would say in general I like musicals. But I won’t just like any one; they have to be good, and I have to be in the mood.

I almost didn’t go. Like I said I didn’t know what it was about other than being some kind of fairytale mashup so didn’t know if it was any good, and I wasn’t particularly in the mood for a musical that evening. I decided to give it a chance though because I wanted to go have fun with friends. I am so glad I went!

I loved this! It was thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end, every one of the songs was enjoyable, and it had a perfect balance between humor and profound reflections. The story has so many layers and different themes you can probably take something new from it each time you watch it. The stories of each character, though all connected in the main plot, have their own lessons and ideas as well, apart from what is conveyed when they overlap.

I enjoyed it so much I already knew for certain as I left the theater that I’m buying it once it’s out, a decision I rarely come to so immediately. And unlike Catspaw, I do want to see it again right away. (Which I don’t believe I’ve ever actually felt about a movie before, certainly not to this degree.) I’m seriously considering a second theater viewing. I won’t do it unless it comes to the local theater with cheaper ticket prices, but I really want to.

It’s interesting that your group all had the reaction it did Catspaw, because my group unanimously had the reaction I did; every single person absolutely loved it. There has to be an asterisk that one of them is really into musical theatre, so of course they were going to, but the other three were just regular people like me, and one is actually rather a musical hater, so for such universal enjoyment I think it has to have something special. You guys must have just been in a bad mood that night. :noway:

I say if you’re a fan of musicals you should definitely go see this one and if you enjoy an occasional musical I highly recommend considering giving this one a try. I found it to be a great one, and very well done.
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Post by Catspaw »

bookworm wrote: It’s interesting that your group all had the reaction it did Catspaw, because my group unanimously had the reaction I did; every single person absolutely loved it. There has to be an asterisk that one of them is really into musical theatre, so of course they were going to, but the other three were just regular people like me, and one is actually rather a musical hater, so for such universal enjoyment I think it has to have something special. You guys must have just been in a bad mood that night. :noway:
I'm glad that your group enjoyed the movie so much! The friends I went with do enjoy musicals, which is why we went together, since we have a few friends who will not go see any musicals. Their loss. ;) We really were looking forward to the movie, so it's not like we went in looking for reasons not to like it. Different people, different thoughts, I guess. :-k
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Post by ric »

I saw this last week and was quite surprised. I'm not generally too into musicals, but this kind of intrigued me. I wasn't aware it was a musical by Stephen Sondheim, so I was expecting more Menken-esque catchy pop tunes (which I'm pretty sick of). Although the songs weren't breathtaking, they were still quite good, and I don't think the music was really the focus of the film. The lyrics were. There were so many themes and different messages being thrown around, at the end I was quite confused. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it. It seemed pretty inconsistent and jumbled at times, but it had some amazing moments and I would definitely watch it again - like you bookworm, I don't usually feel this way about a movie directly after watching it.

One thing I was very confused by was the apparently blatant moral relativism. Was that really the main theme of the movie? "You are not alone," as in, you can always know whether something is right or wrong because it's determined by those around you?
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Post by bookworm »

You're right ric that if you try to contemplate the story as a whole it is rather jumbled, because I don't think that's what you're 'supposed' to do.
It's jumbled because there is so much jammed into it; but just because the themes all touched doesn't mean they're all connected. As I said, there are so many possible takeaways you can just pick and choose what grabs you each time. I don't think you're meant to try to take it all in, I think you go with what stands out from the jumble.
This is evidenced by your takeaway as the main theme. It's completely different than mine.

I found the main theme underlying all the others to be parenthood. The story starts with the Baker and his wife wishing they had a child, it's guided along by the Witch's evolving relationship with her 'daughter' from unchallenged devotion to teenage rebellion, her frustrated message being "children should listen", it's taken in a new direction when the Bakers finally have a child, and concludes by going back to the Witch who despite having appeared to lose her own parental relationship seems to still have found fulfilment, possibly as a result of the Baker now being able to begin forming his own, her message now contently "children will listen" because his relationship is being based on pure love.

That was my takeaway from the first viewing, I'm sure I'll probably take away something else from my next, that's why it's so good!
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Post by Catspaw »

I watched "Into the Woods" on Netflix the other day and thought of this thread! I enjoyed watching it. I hadn't seen it since I saw it in theatres a few years ago, and while I still don't adore it or anything, I was glad to have watched it again. I think it helped a bit to know what was going to happen. I didn't remember every little detail, but I knew the main plot points, so I didn't feel quite so disappointed when some things went differently than I expected, and I knew that it was a little darker than I had expected the first time around. With those revised expectations, I probably enjoyed it more than the first time. Still not a favourite, but decent.
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Post by bookworm »

I still absolutely love this! I thought I had posted when I rewatched it a while back, but apparently not. Probably because it looks like I would have still had the last post in the thread.

I was highly anticipating being able to see it again and I bought the dvd very soon after it was available and watched it again very soon after that, and to my great pleasure (though I never really doubted it would be the case) I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first viewing, perhaps even more. I don't know exactly what it is about it, but this show has really taken me. Right now, and ever since I first saw it, I might name it as my favorite musical. If not it is without doubt second.

I even bought the soundtrack, which I very rarely do for anything, and I'm considering also buying the deluxe edition soundtrack even though I already have the basic just to get every little track just because I love this so unusually much. I've just really connected with something here.
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Post by Catspaw »

Wow, that is high praise when something maintains it's high status with somebody! It's interesting how different things connect with different people.
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Post by bookworm »

I went ahead and bought the deluxe version soundtrack; it arrived today. I knew I was going to at some point, I just love this movie so much I want all the things for it.
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Post by Catspaw »

I was listening to Josh Groban's "Stages" album where he has one song from "Into the Woods" ("Children Will Listen") a couple of days ago and thought of you, bookworm, so I had to laugh when I saw you had posted in this thread! I hope you enjoy your deluxe soundtrack. :D
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Post by shnoodlec »

Wasn’t a huge fan of the movie, but I love the musical. I was psyched when we got to do it at my local theater. I was Jack. They raised Giants in the Sky up soooo high that I couldn’t even hit the final note at first! It’s been two years and I still keep up with that cast.
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Post by bookworm »

-- 01 Jul 2018 11:18 am --

That is such funny timing Catspaw! That might have been the day I actually ordered it. Really close at least if not!


That's neat you were in it shnoodlec. I really want to see the stage version some time.

-- 23 Jan 2019 10:10 am --

I found out a community theater nearby is doing it later this year! I'm definitely going!
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Post by Catspaw »

Fun! I was actually just thinking about this movie the other day (while watching Chris Pine in "Princess Diaries 2") :anxious: and I can't think about "Into the Woods" without thinking about how much bookworm likes it. I hope the theatre does a really good job with the show. :D Musicals are lots of fun live.
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Post by bookworm »

It was so good! It strengthened my appreciation for this musical even more, if that was possible at this point.

A little while after first seeing the movie I had watched the recording of the original Broadway production, so I knew the differences between the movie and stage versions going in and was just enjoying seeing it live in person.

The differences are significant, but not in a way I think makes one better or worse like I've seen a lot of people who love the play saying the movie is bad because it left things out. I disagree. The movie is definitely an abridged and simplified version of the story, but not in a bad way. All the essential elements and ideas are still in there, some are just buried a bit. You can definitely dig them out if you give it enough thought though. I obviously have given it a lot of thought over the years, so I eventually put most everything together and seeing the play reinforced what I had gradually reasoned out; which was great. For those who aren't inclined to do such pondering on their own time, preferring things to be more immediately apparent, the stage version's additional scenes give more insight into why some of the characters act the way they do at certain points which aren't as clear in the movie; ideas that aren't inaccessible in the movie but are not as announced as in the play.

So I definitely wouldn't say one is definitely better you should watch that. I would encourage someone to see both, treating them as companion pieces. They provide different looks at the story, each with their own stronger and weaker parts because of the medium being used. But each completely valid and worthwhile, and together giving a well rounded experience of what is truly a truly great musical.
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Post by Catspaw »

That sounds like a great perspective on differences between different versions. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much and that it gave you an ever greater appreciation!
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