Reddit reviews Into The Woods: Stephen Sondheim

Check out "Into the Woods". It's a great, darkly comedic musical with a more mature take on Fairy Tales. The songs are wonderful and a few of the above mentioned plot lines are carried out unapologetically.

I couldn't find any free full links of the original cast, but this is the one I would ultimately recommend:

I completely understand your concern, because to someone not familiar with the musical, one might look at this as a potentially terrible modern take/mashup of classic Grimm fairytales.

But the reason this movie is so stacked with talent, is because it's the film adaptation to one of the most popular musicals of all time (arguably). Even in the featurette you see Stephen Sondeim and James Lapine, which leads people to think the film will stay fairly true to the musical. And if you're interested I'd suggest watching the 1988 Broadway version: http://amzn.com/B000W0VA3E

It's the Bernadette Peters version, it seems as though it aired as one of the American Playhouse series in 1991. It is on DVD.

The film with Bernadette is available on Amazon to rent. I'm assuming the current release is what knocked it off being a freebie. Still, she's wonderful as the witch, and it's the full deal.

Glad my points didn't come across as snarky. The movie, in my opinion is somewhere between fair and good. The changes they made were alright and I'm glad they got the musical on film, but it does not stand up to the original stage production.

If you ever come across, and are so inclined, you should check out the original cast production with Bernadette Peters and an amazing ensemble cast. If you enjoy musicals, I think you could enjoy it. If you aren't a musical fan, you may want to steer clear.

Take care.

http://www.amazon.com/Into-The-Woods-Stephen-Sondheim/dp/B000W0VA3E

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Woods-Sondheim-Bernadette-Peters/dp/B000W0VA3E

I thought the movie did the actual story no justice. I've been a fan of the musical for a long time now, but this is not the definitive version of this story. Many elements were left out simply because it was a Disney film. The parts that they censored ended up making the entire message of the film completely irrelevant.

The best way to experience Into the Woods is to find the original broadway casts recording of it. Available on Amazon here to rent for 3 dollars

To say that the composer/lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, is a master at capturing the human spirit through his music.,would be an understatement. The movie has many people believing otherwise. So, if you have any interest in experiencing one of the best musicals every created the right way, please look into the Broadway performance.