 | |
List Price: $24.98 | | Label: Image Entertainment
Salesrank: 825
Released: August 27, 1997 |
| Our Price: $10.97 |
| Used Price: $9.49 |
|
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
A baker and his wife journey into the woods in search of a cow, a red cape, a pair of golden slippers and some magic beans to lift a curse that has kept them childless. Tony Award winners Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason and the rest of the original Broadway cast weave their magic spell over you in Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece, directed by James Lapine, a seamless fusion of fairy tale characters and what happens after "happily ever after. "With oft-recorded songs such as "Children Will Listen" and "No One is Alone," "Into the Woods" is a music lover's delight from start to finish--and will forever cement Stephen Sondheim's unparalleled position as the giant of the American musical theater.
Description of Into the Woods:
Fractured fairy tales of a darker hue provide the remarkable context for Into the Woods, which deconstructs the Brothers Grimm by way of Rod Serling. While the faces and names are familiar, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and company inhabit a sylvan neighborhood in which witches and bakers are next-door neighbors, handsome princes from once-parallel fables are competitive (and equally vain) brothers, and all the stories intersect through unexpected new plot twists.
Stephen Sondheim's Tony-winning score favors intricate ensemble numbers that present the characters' divergent, then overlapping fears and desires. And it's the latter category that provides a primary thread to James Lapine's ingenious puzzle of a book, which coheres around the inevitability--and treachery--of our innermost wishes. That theme is given farcical energy in the first act, which offers enough comic invention, tart dialogue, and witty music for a satisfying evening of theater as is.
Instead, Sondheim and Lapine offer a bold, darker second act that takes a look at what happens after "happily ever after," elevating the work beyond inspired parody toward allegorical gravity. By the final scenes, with the one-two punch of the score's two most enduring songs, "No One Is Alone" and "Children Will Listen," what began as a clever diversion has touched deeper nerves and primed some tear ducts. This video production by the original Broadway cast gets its marquee shimmer from Bernadette Peters's wonderful witch, but the standout (and Tony winner as Best Actress) is Joanna Gleason, who gives the Baker's Wife a mixture of warmth, pragmatism, and sudden, poignantly romantic radiance.
The DVD version is comparatively no-frills, given its American Playhouse origins, but multiformat digital audio renders the musical performances in immaculate detail. --Sam Sutherland
Into the Woods Reviews:
Good play! 
2009-11-30 - I thought this movie of the play was amazing! The songs were well written and was a great performance!
Good for Sleeping 
2009-11-27 - In my opinion, this production was good for one thing--giving me a few minutes of sleep time. I just couldn't get into this long musical play. I tried to like the characters, but couldn't. I tried to care about the characters, but I couldn't. I kept waiting for the song, "Children Will Listen." Once I heard it, I used the rest of the time for sleep. I love musical theatre, but, for me, this didn't cut it.
Into the Woods 
2009-11-25 - Love the music, this stage production is top notch. A must have for musical theater fans.
Into The Woods - a great take on classic fairy stories
2009-11-06 - Love those good old stories that have been a part of your life since childhood? Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk? Sondheim cleverly and successfully blends several classic fairy tales into one seamless, hilarious story. Spectacular performances by the cast of this live theatre production are supported by an excellent and appropriate score, impressive costumes and great sets. This DVD captures the performance very well, and is a delightful addition to your DVD collection, whether you enjoy classic stories, live theatre, musicals, stage craft, or just plain quirky fun. Highly recommended.
Playfully Amazing
2009-11-05 - All your favorite childhood tales wound into a single story. Experience a full range of emotions while you watch this instant classic. This delightful trip down storybook lane will forever be a part of your video collection.
