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Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5060009239677
Format: NTSC
Number Of Discs: 1
Theatrical Release Date: March 20, 1991
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video:
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
Amazon.com:
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - awesome!!
Absolutely love this production! We've watched it over and over and over... highly recommend it to others! It should be in your video library!
Rating: - Top show
As a qualified Sondheim fan/freak getting Into the Woods on DVD with the original cast is a dream come true. I've seen one staged production of this show and one concert version, but the original staging is a treat. Worth every cent.Bloody Ham
Rating:  - Into the woods
Liked it. Familiar with story/music/etc, but enjoyed re-viewing it. Unable to see a local live performance, but this was almost as good.
Rating: - Great Broadway Show!!
I bought this DVD after my daughter was in her middle school drama production of the show. "Into the Woods" is a great life lesson story which is based on many familiar fairy tale characters. It interweaves the classic fairy tales but continues on after the typical "happily ever after" to show what happens when you wish for too much. My daughter and I enjoyed watching this Broadway show very much!!
Rating: - Fabulous
This is my absolute favorite musical. The acting is superb. Extremely funny, even moving. Can't go wrong with this one!
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