Rating: 
Summary: Very Obsession Worthy
Review: I love many broadway musicals and plays, but this one takes the cake. Everything about it is superb! This taping of the play is excellent, gives you the broadway stage experience while also giving excellent close ups and a little bit of film magic, together creating an ecellent buy! Well, well worth the price, just to see the superb Bernadette Peters! This is a must have addition to any DVD collection!
Rating:
Summary: Into the woods to buy this movie!
Review: I apologize for the poor quality of the joke in the title.Anyhoo, I saw this musical in high school (let me rephrase: I saw this video in high school...oh wait, I forgot. I DID see the play in high school too. Weird. But the video came first, so...end of aside) and have loved it ever since. I am an optimistic person by nature and like the phrase "happily ever after." I don't understand why our cyncial society is so determined to sink that phrase in the cruel, unforgiving sea of reality (for more on this subject see Cervantes' soliloquoy in "Man of La Mancha"). It is, however, always a great relief to me when I see that "Non-happy ever after" type shows generally always prove themselves wrong. The ending to this musical is...not what you'd expect! Ha! Thought I was gonna spoil it, didn't ya? But just the same it is a happy one. If any ending can be called happy in the wake of horror and death, and I say sure. Sondheim's best work, in my book. Bernadette Peters is as wonderful as always as the Wicked Witch, and since the most recent revival had (Shudder!) Vanessa Williams in the role, this is the show for you. I reckon.
Rating: 
Summary: Strangely beautiful and memorable
Review: "Into The Woods" is a quirky, overlong, often dark story that cleverly combines popular fairy tales. There are no breakout songs in this otherwise cleverly written musical because the music is so deeply entwined into the strange plot. Sondheim is at his best here with ingenious lyrics such as "Life is often so unpleasant, you must know that as a peasant, best to take the moment present...as a present for the moment." Joanna Gleason is the standout in the cast, with the most interesting role (Baker's Wife) and the best solo numbers. The star, Bernadette Peters is delightful as the Witch, but she has surprisingly little stage time and never really has a strong, signature solo to perform. (There is a truncated "No One Is Alone"). Ben Wright, as Jack (as in "Jack and the Beanstalk"), provides the other standout performance with "Giants in the Sky." Made for TV in 1.33:1 aspect on video tape before a live audience, the DVD and VHS tape look about the same to my eye. It is easier to jump around or repeat scenes on the DVD, though. Unfortunately there are no special features on the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review:
Beautiful music, lots of clever lyrics, absolutely superb cast--trust me, Into the Woods (at least this performance of it) is everything you could wish for in a musical. Although the darker, more melancholy second act provides a sharp contrast to the first act's supposed 'happily ever after', I found it less jarring than interesting, and my favorite song (Last Midnight) is in it, so...yes. At the risk of sounding cliche, this is not to be missed. Even if (for some odd, inexplicable reason) the plot bores you, in my opinion it's all worth it for Bernadette Peters singing 'Lament' and 'Last Midnight'. Stunning, incredible, awe-inspiring, whatever positive adjective you want it will apply. ^^
A warning, however: the songs from it seem to get stuck in your head for days. I've had 'Last Midnight' running through my head for the past two weeks or so and I keep getting this urge to swirl around a swishy cloak that I don't have.
Rating: 
Summary: It wasn't the worst thing I've seen...
Review: This musical is very interesting. I don't know exactly how to describe it. The first half was pretty boring for me and it was so long I thought the finale for act one was the end. The second half drew my attention in a negative way. I really didn't like the way things ended up. The giant killing so many people really didn't seem necessary to me to prove the point of this musical. The way people were killed almost out of comedy drove me in sane death is never a light moment.
What drove me crazy even more was how the baker's wife died. I hate in when main characters die, but at least in some musicals its a very touching death, but here you don't really feel bad after her affair with the prince and this takes away from her husband and the audiance feeling for her. I guess what I mean is it would have been ever more moving if she died with out the affair, and her husband said and did all that stuff after she passed away.
I also hate the fact of recreating fairytales and making the characters look bad. Why do we always have to poke fun about these tales? It almost seems like they arn't respected at all at times. Musicals like Once Upon a Mattress and Cinderella were cleaver and wonderful because they stuck to the characteristics of the main characters. I think sometimes people take to many liberties with character and it ends up like Into the Woods. All the characters were made weird and unlovable by the time the final curtain in the second act fell. (with maybe the exception of Cinderella).
On a more positive note there was some amazing songs and amazing actresses and actors singing them. "no One is Alone" is my favorite and it is beautiful. Some of the songs seem really repetative however. The set seemed really cheesy as well, and the fake animals and fake giant just added to the disaster.
Rating:
Summary: this was great and i mean great!
Review: i never liked musicals really untill my buddy geoff was like "watch this musical its sooo funny!" so i did and it was bernadette peters is histerical! and the wolf was funny too probubly the best part and then the agaony song! sooo funny best musical ever and it makes me want to watch more of them...wicked perhaps?
Rating:
Summary: It was EXCITING!!
Review: from a five year old boy: it amzaed me and it was fabulous especially for the part when the witch becomes beautiful staring bernadette peters as the witch and the witch is the rapunzel witch and also chip zine who played the baker and the part when the baker said "ah ahh ah ahh" holding his lantern and rapunzel's tower wasn't very high like the normal rapunzel.
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL
Review: This was the first Sondheim musical I had ever seen, and I must say that it blew me away. The fairytale element added a level of appeal to it, and an amazing cast help to boost it to a stellar performance.
The prologue was fantastic. The only gripe I have is that the tiered structure of Jack, Cinderella, the Baker, and his wife makes it a little overwhelming and sends the mind into overdrive. Still, once you get a hang of the musical, a second-time screening makes the prologue more enjoyable. Most of the songs are catchy, and range from comedic (Agony) to tear-jerking (Stay with Me, Lament). There is a great balance of humour, and adventure, and best of all, I love how the characters walk on stage and quote a moral from their individual stories. I was a little disappointed at how the words for Agony was not as clear as it was in the cast recording CD. Westernberg and Wagner seemed a little rushed, and at times cut each other off.
Bernadette Peters put in a remarkable performance as The Witch. She moved me to tears in Stay With Me, and had me in stitches in the Prologue. When she transformed into the beautiful witch, she clearly portrayed the new air of grace came with it. Joanna Gleason played the Baker's wife to perfection. Her strong vocals and marvellous expressive skills portrays the Baker's wife to be as real as any of us - strong at times, weak at others. Danielle Ferland was outstanding as Little Red Riding Hood, adding a tinge of sarcasm to her character. Ben Wright (Jack), seemed a little wooden, but his great vocals shone in Giants In The Sky. I personally thought Kim Crosby was excellent as Cinderella although many seemed to be disappointed with her performance. She did seemed a little off on the DVD but she had a lovely voice in the cast CD. Robert Westernberg and Chuck Wagner were rightly cast.
I couldn't have asked for a better cast for this musical. It is by far, one of the best musicals I have ever seen, and I must admit that I was blown away.
Get this. You won't regret it.
Note: To those who find it shocking that the Stepsisters cut off their heel and toe to fit into the golden slipper, that is the original version by the Grimm brothers. In fact, I think the fairytales in this musical are very faithful to the originals, considering circumstances.
Rating:
Summary: SPOILERS included!
Review: Cinderella: A girl who's real name we do not know for sure. She has a father who is either neglectful or dead. Abused by her stepmother and stepsisters she is pretty miserable until she marries a prince only to find that he is having an affair.
Jack and mother: Jack must sell his best friend, a cow, makes friends with a giantess and proceeds to steal three times from her and kill her husband. When the giantess comes for revenge he kills her also. In the meantime his mother is killed by the steward to the king.
Baker and wife: After sometimes stealing and sometimes not they gather ingredients for a potion so they can have children. The baker, while looking for Jack in the woods, doesn't know that his wife is having an affair at the moment with Cinderella's husband. She dies almost right afterwards leaving behind their baby boy.
Little Red Riding Hood: After killing a wolf with her grandmother she gives her red coat away and in the chaos that ensues both her mother and grandmother die leaving her no one.
Rapunzel: When she finally makes it out of the tower she has been living in most of her life she has her hair cut off, bears 2 children and finds her blinded lover. After they get married it is not a happily ever after, her husband has an affair with Snow White and she has crazy fits.
The Witch: Although she abused Rapunzel mightily as a child she was trying to do her best. She was punished for someone taking beans out of her garden and turned ugly. Although the spell is eventually reversed she loses her power. She ends up fed up and dies (I think) by falling into the earth.
Snow White and Sleeping Beauty: Most likely have unknown affairs with the two princes, thinking they are unmarried but this is not for certain.
What story is this? None other than Into the Woods, a musical. When I rented the movie I was expecting something light hearted and fun and it generally was in the first act although Jack, the baker and wife were into stealing and the stepsisters cut up their feet and had their eyes plucked out. By the time the movie ended I was depressed and soon trudged off to bed hoping to sleep my despair out caused partly by the fact that only 4 of the main characters survived. If you want something light hearted and fun DON'T get this movie!
Rating:
Summary: i wish, more than anything...
Review: Cinderella, Little Red Ridding Hood, The Baker and his Wife, and Rapunzel-- all in one! The opening number "I wish" is when the Baker and his Wife, Cinderella, Little Red Ridding Hood and Jack sing what they want (to sell a cow, a child, to go to granny's house, to go to the festival) and everything and the Witch comes in and stirrs up trouble and due to her all your average day fairy tales turned upside-down and on their big fat magic butts! Now of course, the Witch does something (duh)! she makes the Baker and his Wife in order to get a child to get a golden slipper (Cinderella) a cape as red as blood (Little Red Ridding Hood) a cow as white as milk (Jack) and hair as yellow as corn (Rapunzel). Of course, they get all the things with a lot of obsticals. Duh, I mean come on people it's not like they're really going to get all those stuff easy cheesy in a 3 hour play. That's where they sing their other hit song "Into the Woods". Anyhow, Jack killed the Giant and the wife has come back to find Jack and guess what-- you'll have to find out what happens. So ha! It's so good it's magical. Starring Bernadette Peters (the Witch) Kim Crosby (Cinderella) Danelle Fernland (Little Red Ridding Hood) Pamela Winslow (Rapunzel) Ben Wright (Jack) Chip Zien (Baker) Joanna Gleason (the Baker's Wife) and of course the Narrator, who does do a lot-- (Tom Aldredge) HOPE YOU ENJOY! (I saw the 2001 one, so I can't say which one's better) SEE YA! I GUESS YOU'LL BE ON YOUR JOURNEY!
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