8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
A baker and his wife journey into the woods in search of a cow, a red cape, a golden slipper and some yellow hair — all necessary to lift the curse that has kept them childless. They meet up with a cast of characters drawn from classic fairy tales in a modern re-imagining of those stories. From the original Broadway production of the musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
Starring: Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien, Joanna Gleason, Tom Aldredge, Robert WestenbergMusical | 100% |
Comedy | 56% |
Fantasy | 20% |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p (upconverted)
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 1.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
Into the Woods is probably the most popular work from the later phase of songwriter Stephen Sondheim's career, which began in 1984 with the quasi-autobiographical Sunday in the Park with George, Sondheim's first collaboration with playwright James Lapine. Sunday in the Park was respectfully received but generally regarded as rarefied and "artsy", which is not surprising for a play devoted to the 19th Century French painter Georges Seurat. (Later productions have revealed unexpected depth in both Lapine's book and Sondheim's score.) But the team's second collaboration, Into the Woods, was an unqualified hit in its first Broadway production in 1987. Successfully revived on Broadway in 2002, performed internationally, and now about to be released as a major holiday film adaptation by Disney, Into the Woods has become one of Sondheim's most beloved scores. No doubt hoping to capitalize on the upcoming Disney film, Image Entertainment has dusted off its previous recording of the original 1987 production taped for the American Playhouse series on PBS and first broadcast in 1991. Image previously released this edition on DVD in 1997. Featuring the superb original cast under author Lapine's direction, this production of Into the Woods has been, for anyone lucky enough to see it, the yardstick by which all subsequent productions are measured. The crew who taped the performance for American Playhouse did an unusually fine job of capturing the texture of the live performances by a cast led by Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien and Joanna Gleason, who won a Tony award for her work in the show. Unfortunately, good as it is, the recording reflects the technology of the era: It is standard definition and has been upconverted for Blu-ray. Although the upconversion provides a marginal improvement over the previous DVD, there is little reason for owners of the DVD to replace their disc. For those new to the experience of Into the Woods, the Blu-ray would be worth checking out simply because the performances are as good as they come, except for audio issues that have come to light since this review was published (see the updated audio discussion below).
The most noticeable artifacts of the upconversion from the standard definition source on Image's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray are minor aliasing at the foot of the stage in long shots, especially when the full stage is lit. Otherwise, the 1080p rendition of a standard-definition source looks reasonably good, with the caveat that upconversion cannot supply detail that wasn't there to begin with. The imaginative lighting design, which takes full advantage of the fairy tale setting to bathe the stage in strong colors or veil portions in darkness, is well conveyed by the Blu-ray format, as are the distinctive colors of the characters' costumes, which, except for Cinderella and her family, rarely change. If SD sources are to be upconverted, let them be done this way.
The live stereo recording has been encoded on the disc as DTS-HD MA 2.0. It sounds very good, with clear and distinct rendition of the actors' vocal delivery both when singing the often tongue-twisting lyrics ("A thicket's no trick. Is it thick?" "It's the thickest!" "The quickest is pick it apart with a stick." "Yes, but even one prick—it's my thing about blood." "Well, that's sick!") and in delivering the dialogue that slides subtly between storybook and contemporary idioms. The Broadway orchestra has been carefully mixed to serve its appropriate purpose as accompaniment so that it never overwhelms the lyrics or interferes with comprehension. If there's any criticism of the track, it's that the original recordings are somewhat limited in their dynamic range, with neither deep lows nor intense highs, and one cannot hear the kind of detail that Sondheim's long-time arranger, Jonathan Tunick, typically incorporates into his scores. Here again, Image cannot be blamed for the inherent limitations of thirty-year-old technology. UPDATE on Dec. 16, 2014: Thanks to the prompting of a member of the Blu-ray.com forum, I have been alerted to the fact that the audio track used for the Blu-ray is not the same one that Image used for its DVD released in 1997. The DVD, which I did not have when I wrote this review but have since obtained, has distinct stereo separation, whereas the Blu-ray is essentially a mono mix, with just enough reverb and phase-shifting to prevent a DPL2 decoder from identifying the left and right channels to the center. On direct comparison, the DVD's track is immediately superior, even though it is a lossy encode. Inquiries to Image Entertainment are pending, but for now I have reduced the audio and overall scores accordingly.
The disc has no extras.
Into the Woods is a magical work, and the original Broadway cast was a magical ensemble. Image's Blu-ray presentation isn't magic,but it's the best record we have of that remarkable production. Recommended for the content. and until we have word about a better audio track, I cannot recommend this disc.
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