Musical film "The further into the forest": actors and roles, plot, photo

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

A screen adaptation of the famous Broadway musical "The Farther Into the Woods", the actors and roles in which do not require additional introduction, was released in 2014. This gave a chance to those who do not have the opportunity to go to New York to plunge into the fabulous world of secrets and mysteries.

Storyline

In one fairy-tale kingdom lived - the modest Baker did not grieve. He married a woman whom he loved very much, but they didn’t have any children. For a long time they tried to understand what was the matter. The problem, as it turns out, goes back to the Baker's childhood, when his father stole the magic beans from a witch neighbor. Then the sorceress herself was punished so that it would be disrespectful to treat magical things so carelessly. The witch, now under a disfiguring curse, took revenge on the Baker's family and made him the last of his kind.

And now, having found out the cause of his misfortune, the Baker and his wife go to the forest in search of ingredients for a disenchanting potion. Fortunately, the same elixir can also remove the spell from the witch herself.

Engaged in the fairy tale "The further into the forest" the actors perfectly played a colorful story about the adventures of two heroes in a mysterious forest, not for nothing that was called magical. As if at the behest of a good fairy, the paths of the Baker, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Wolf, Rapunzel and Jack will cross. Each of them dreams of something different and must fulfill a certain mission in order to achieve what they want. And in the end, as usual in good fairy tales, all heroes must forget their disputes and grievances in order to defeat the enemy in the person of the Giantess.

Actors

The well-chosen actors of the film "The Farther Into the Woods" make up a whole stellar galaxy. The main roles in it were given to James Corden (who has a Tony award) and Emily Blunt, who had already won her Golden Globe earlier.

An equally important character, the villain-witch, was played in the film by the brilliant Meryl Streep. Perhaps this woman does not need a special introduction: it is enough just to mention her nineteen Oscar nominations, three of which were crowned with victory. The other antagonist, Wolf, was played by the flamboyant and eccentric Johnny Depp, who was nominated for an Oscar three times.

Speaking of villains, we can't help but mention Christine Baranski's Stepmother (two-time Tony winner in addition to one Emmy) and charming Giantess Francis de la Tour (previously awarded the Laurence Olivier Award and Tony).

Company in the forest adventures of the main characters were Anna Kendrick (Cinderella), Lilla Crawford (Little Red Riding Hood), Mackenzie Mauzy (Rapunzel) and Daniel Hattstone(Jack).

It should be especially noted that in the film "The Farther Into the Forest" the actors themselves sing, showing talent not only in stage skills, but also in vocal art.

Meryl Streep on her role

Of the many great experienced actresses, among whom were Penelope Cruz, and Nicole Kidman, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and even Kate Winslet, film director Rob Marshall chose Meryl Streep for the role of the witch, which she was incredibly happy about. The actress considered it an honor to play in a production that is so significant in the theatrical culture of America.

Meryl Streep was especially attracted by the film's musicality. According to her, the melodies give her inspiration and seem to inspire, even if she is tired or feels unwell. Previously, when she saw the stage production of the musical of the same name, it was the Witch's song that made the biggest impression.

Meryl Streep considers parental love to be the main motive of the film. For her heroine, this topic is of particular importance: in order to protect her daughter Rapunzel from troubles and misfortunes, the witch locks the girl in the tower. The desire to protect their own child is close and understandable to any parent.

The actress calls The Three Little Pigs her favorite fairy tale.

Emily Blunt on her role

For the young but already famous Emily, this is the second film where she starred with Meryl Streep (the first was The Devil Wears Prada, in which the actresses played the boss and assistant). And although in both films the heroines of Meryl Streep torment the heroines of Emily, the actresses themselves managed to make friends.

During filming, Emily, who plays the Baker's dreaming wife, was pregnant herself. To prevent this from being noticeable, the director and the film's team had to resort to various tricks. The costumes of the heroine Blunt became more and more voluminous, with many details. During the course of the film, her character often hid behind the trees.

According to Emily Blunt, Into the Woods is a film about the importance of relationships and the lengths people are willing to go to make their dreams come true. She found it interesting and realistic to look at women as strong and leading, which is not so common in fairy tales.

The fact that in "The Farther Into the Woods" the actors sang themselves, it seemed to Emily an interesting experiment, because before that she was embarrassed to sing in public. But the music of the production, created by Stephen Sondheim, is simply breathtaking.

Chris Pine and Anna Kendrick on their roles in the movie

One of the most romantic and famous fairy couples is Cinderella and her Prince. In the movie Into the Woods, the actors who played them are Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine.

Anna celebrates the film's new, more modern take on the girls' favorite heroine. In her opinion, Cinderella here is far from ideal and has its own shortcomings. At first, her story develops according to a scenario familiar to all of us: a meeting with the Prince at a ball, falling in love, a wedding. But the famous fairy tale does not say what happened after she became a princess, what difficulties she has to face after marriage.

Chris Pine advises others to stop dreaming about being Prince Charming. This is only at first glance an exciting and interesting role. In fact, the character he played turned out to be a very flat type, superficial and, to put it mildly, not smart. His dazzling appearance captivates and does not immediately notice the narcissism hiding behind the brilliance.

How was the shoot

Even before filming began on Into the Woods, the cast and crew were brought together by director Rob Marshall. He did this in order to introduce everyone to each other who will have to work in the same team for a long time. At the meeting, they discussed the future process of filming. This approach helped to get rid of awkwardness, find a common language, and the actors better get used to the role.

The camera crew made a markup in advance of how the cameras would move, so that the actors would have an idea about this. John Beebe and his assistants decided not to use the techniques that are considered traditional in camera work. The main difficulty for them was the abrupt transitions from dialogue to songs and the need to make these transitions organic and natural.

The film crew about the director

Rob Marshall is not only a talented director, but also an Emmy award-winning choreographer. He built his production in such a way that it is impossible to imagine it without songs - they reveal part of the plot, according to composer Stephen Sondheim.

The Farther Into the Woods cast speaks of Marshall asa man who knows his business. Tracey Ullman says that his willingness to lead this project is beyond doubt.

According to the screenwriter of the film and the musical of the same name, James Lapin, Marshall is excellent at maintaining the dynamics and tension of the narrative, skillfully building scenes and shots of short duration.

Producer John de Luca notes Marshall's sensitivity. During filming, the director behaved like a caring mother hen, individually discussing with each of their tasks and emerging problems.

Filming Locations

Which is the best place to bring a fairy tale to life on screen? The filming team of "Into the Woods" decided that England, with its mysterious forests filled with magic, ancient castles and estates, could be ideal for this purpose.

In the film "the further into the forest" the actors interact not only with each other, but also with the forest, which seems to have become a full-fledged character. It's so easy to lose yourself here or discover something new in your soul, faced with hidden fears.

The first scene filmed was Jack's song "There's Giants in the Sky" where he watched giant magic bean sprouts grow. It all took place on the grounds of Ashridge Manor, not far from Berkhamsted.

Several locations were located in the vicinity of Henley-on-Thames, more precisely in the village of Hambleden. But the main find of the film crew was Windsor Great Park with its ancient oaks and mysterious atmosphere. This is where most of the outdoor forest scenes were filmed.

Costume and decorations

The main difficulty in the work of production designer Dennis Gassner was the need to combine several fairy tales with completely different styles, bringing something of their own, original. It was decided to start building a unique atmosphere with the search for the Angel Oak, which is the center of the production.

Although most of the filming was done on location, the artists had to work hard to create scenery for some of the scenes in the pavilion. It was necessary to make the transition of characters from the ordinary world to the magical one imperceptible and natural. English changeable weather also made adjustments to the filming process.

Costume designer Colin Atwood has previously won Oscars for Alice in Wonderland, Memoirs of a Geisha and Chicago. She was inspired by the forest itself, the style and texture of which she tried to transfer to the outfits of heroes and heroines. At the same time, she took into account the nature of each character.

Music

Transferring a Broadway musical to the screen had its own peculiarities and difficulties. It was necessary to naturally beat the transitions between dialogues and musical parts. To do this, part of the songs (and sometimes completely) the actors performed live right on the set, and only then, if necessary, the sound was corrected in the studio.

When voicing the Russian version of "The Farther Into the Forest" dubbing actors - G. Chiginskaya (Meryl Streep), A. Bordovsky (Johnny Depp), M. Gladkaya (Emily Blunt) and others - recorded only dialogues, themselves it was decided to leave the songs in the original, providingsub titles.

Opinion of viewers

Of course, the audience could not help but appreciate how great the actors in "The Farther Into the Woods" are. Even before the premiere, the photo of the cast excited the imagination. The stellar cast did not disappoint, and while their vocal abilities are not up to the level of their Broadway counterparts, the acting more than compensates for everything.

"The further into the forest" is clearly not a children's fairy tale. To small viewers, it seems drawn out and boring (especially towards the end), but adults like the songs and the morality inherent in the plot. And while the film is more like a theater production transferred to the screen, it is definitely worth watching.