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Summary: Into the Woods- Inducted INTO the BEST!
Review: This newer musical is one of the BEST yet! Of course, I expected it to be good... it is by sondheim of course! I was not surprised that Burnadette Peters did such a great job. She is amazing! All of the others were great too! This takes the number one spot on my list of favorite musicals (and I have seen many!)
Rating:
Summary: Into the Woods
Review: It's a great play that combines comedy with a meaning and it means a lot to me because it is so great. The music is spactacular and I can't help singing along! I saw it fist in my home city of Houston, but I loved it so much i bought the movie and i whatch it 24/7!
I LOVE IT
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Summary: Put me to sleep
Review: Sondheim-lovers, just skip this review, since you will not agree with most of it. No, this review aims at the newbie, who's only exploring musical theater, and looking for passions, drama, and a score that is striking and captivating. To such public, I say only this - this recording put me to sleep. True, the cast is talented, but THIS SHOW HAS NO SCORE! There are no melodies you will be humming after you leave the theater (or your living room). True, there may be great intellectual premise to the work, but this is definitely not entertainment. Whatever depth this show has, it's boring! Fortunately, since only Sondheim fans seem to be writing reviews here, one can assume those who don't care for Sondheim aren't even considering this DVD. Good.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and fantastic
Review: There are no gimmicks here: there's no director's cut, actor commentary, or language selections. This is a DVD to own because of the exquisite material in the musical itself. One of Sondheim's most successful musicals, it's also one of his most accessible (unlike, say, Passion). It seems familiar because you've heard of the fairly tales before, but there's a satirical twist that is often unexpectedly funny. This show is going back to Broadway in a slightly revised format in April of 2002, but this original version is superb because of the great acting and singing: Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Robert Westenberg, and Chip Zien. The first act is very lighthearted, and the second is noticeably darker; overall this is one of my favorite musicals.
Rating: 
Summary: Great show, but lesser dvd
Review: I like this dvd very much. Ofcourse, the musical is great, no doubt about that. But I already had it on video, because BBC send it out some years ago. What I really was hoping for, on a dvd... Extra's! But there aren't any on it. Only the show itself. But still... it is great to have it now on digital dvd. The quality is much better then on my old videotape, wich I erased now, btw...
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Summary: The best live taping ever
Review: I have seen a lot of live tapings of musicals but Into the Woods is the most amazing. It has many unknown people. The only famous person was Bernadette Peters. She was fresh from her triumph as Dot and Marie in Sunday in the Park With George. The show is hilarious and even better than the CD. At first, I thought the title song was tuneless but now I know that it is a musical you need to get used too. I wish there was a documentary of the making of this musicalfrom the audition to the rehearsals to opening night to the recording etc. The audition part could show the reactions of the people who were in Sunday in the Park With George when they saw each other again. Maybe, it will be on a special edition of the DVD.
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Summary: wonderfull, wonderfull, wonderfull
Review: Es una pena no poder poner mas de 5 estrellas, todo es perfecto, la musica, los decorados, la historia y sublimes todos los actores. Desde hoy soy Fan de Bernardette para toda la vida
Rating:
Summary: a must-have for all fans
Review: "Into the Woods" was originally produced when I was a very little kid, but I became familiar with it at a very early age. Since then, I have only grown to love this show and appreciate it on many levels- as a fan, admiring actor and stage-hand, and now as a cast member. I never got to see this production, which I always lamented, given that I adore Peters and Gleason (whom both absolutely *sparkle* here). So naturally, I had to buy this. It doesn't disappoint! This production is beautifully executed! If you love theater, you will automatically love this musical.
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Summary: Not just entertaining but profound, believe it or not
Review: Musical theater can frequently delight you and occasionally move you but how often does it actually instruct you? "Into The Woods" has more valuable life-wisdom to impart than all but the greatest dramatic plays and novels. It's an amazing piece of work. (And the tunes are infernally catchy to boot...)That said, I'll indulge myself with a few trifling criticisms. Bernadette Peters sings well enough but she frequently panders to her "theatrical" fan base with campy line readings that may be good for a cheap laugh but instantly propel me out of the story. Chip Zien as the Baker is irritatingly nebbishy, using the same trembly-panicked inflection over and over again. And while you hardly need extras when the primary content is this rich, the absence of any DVD commentary from the extraordinarily gifted creators seems like a tragically wasted opportunity.
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Summary: There is a point to this play!
Review: I have been a big fan of Into The Woods for about ten years now. It is one musical that I certainly would like to perform in someday. My introduction to the play was the Great Performances VHS, which I gather is the same video as the DVD.
In reading the reviews for this DVD, I was happy to see the jubillant raves, but was dissapointed in reading the review with only one star. I want to clarify someting to the web-audience.
There is a point to this play. The fairy tale characters are not introduced in order to be killed off in the second act. Every character has to face the dark, dismal, dreary realm of the woods. In fairy tales, the woods are always depicted as scary places that seem to have a life of their own. This feeling of forests are still present in more modern tales like The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow.
In the woods, the characters are filled with fear. The woods is an obstacle that the fairy tale characters have to overcome in order to mature. Each one in this musical have different motives to go into the woods, but to all of them, they are facing their deepest fears, their beasts. Once the characters enter the woods, they find that it isn't too bad, and they achieve their goals in hopes that they don't have to go to the woods again, but they do. We will always have monsters that we have to face, but we have to be strong and persevere. That is the main theme of the play. This theme is obvious, but very deep and profound. In response to the reviewer from Florida, I want to make a point that the story in this musical is more profound than anything in Shrek. I enjoyed Shrek just as much as everyone in the world did, but it was predictable compared to the second act in Into The Woods. The dialogue was witty in Shreck, but even wittier in Into The Woods. I recomend this musical highly, and I suggest you give it another try. Look beyond the first act and the fact that many characters die, and you will find morals that are deep and non-existent in any Hollywood- fare film.
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