As a fan of the original stage version of this grimly Gothic tale, going into Sweeney Todd was bittersweet in my hopes and expectations. However, I'm pleased to announce that I did find Burton's latest effort impressive and intentional. Fans of the original won't be disappointed with a top-notch cast and the wonderfully dark overtures that haunt every minute of Sweeney Todd. Tim Burton, one of the masters of ambiance, sets his atmosphere in the grisly streets of a depressed London and his artistry punctures through every scene of screen time. I would have to clarify that, while Johnny Depp is a skilled actor, fans of the original will find it hard to believe that Depp has the ability to transform into the George Hearn "Sweeny" we've come to know. This is in fact true and recognized by Burton. In this respect, the character of Depp is not played as the same manner as the deep-voiced, towering Todd from the musical adaptation. Depp's is more of a less boisterous and thoughtful one. The vocal performances are great but have a different approach and feel to them. It was a refreshing adaptation and I feel a triumph on the part of Burton for making a stage-to-screen experience that captures you from it's bloody introduction.
933 Reviews
Attend the tale
blanche-230 January 2009
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, is based on the Stephen Sondheim musical from the 1970s. I remember sitting stage right, down front, in the theater when I saw this musical with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou and being completely, utterly blown away. As a stage show, it was jaw-dropping, with some of Sondheim's most beautiful music: "Johanna" is perhaps my favorite of all Sondheim's songs, but the score also includes the beautiful "Not While I'm Around" and "Pretty Women."
Seeing the film is a different experience from seeing the musical. Burton does a marvelous with it, blending the macabre grand guignol with the cartoonish and also with reality, overall giving the movie a really murky atmosphere. "By the Sea" was, for me, pure Burton. Depp, Carter, Rickman, Ed Sanders, Jamie Bower, etc., are all excellent, Sacha Baron Cohen does a great turn as Pirelli. Sweeney can be a great singer, as he usually is on stage, but he really doesn't have to be, and Depp and Carter match well. The singers need to be Joanna, Anthony, the judge, and Toby if at all possible. They all sing very well in the film, and the orchestrations are fantastic, "Johanna" and "Pretty Women" being the highlights.
The "gore" looked fake so it wouldn't be too off-putting; it off-put me anyway. More than that, the entire story is sickening - somehow the distance between the audience and the stage makes it more palatable. Plus, the original show has a much lighter touch and, in the character of Mrs. Lovett, a good deal of humor. Burton plays the story much darker. I literally gagged a few times. I would have been better off just listening to the soundtrack.
In the end - not my thing, but this extravagant musical may surely be yours.
Seeing the film is a different experience from seeing the musical. Burton does a marvelous with it, blending the macabre grand guignol with the cartoonish and also with reality, overall giving the movie a really murky atmosphere. "By the Sea" was, for me, pure Burton. Depp, Carter, Rickman, Ed Sanders, Jamie Bower, etc., are all excellent, Sacha Baron Cohen does a great turn as Pirelli. Sweeney can be a great singer, as he usually is on stage, but he really doesn't have to be, and Depp and Carter match well. The singers need to be Joanna, Anthony, the judge, and Toby if at all possible. They all sing very well in the film, and the orchestrations are fantastic, "Johanna" and "Pretty Women" being the highlights.
The "gore" looked fake so it wouldn't be too off-putting; it off-put me anyway. More than that, the entire story is sickening - somehow the distance between the audience and the stage makes it more palatable. Plus, the original show has a much lighter touch and, in the character of Mrs. Lovett, a good deal of humor. Burton plays the story much darker. I literally gagged a few times. I would have been better off just listening to the soundtrack.
In the end - not my thing, but this extravagant musical may surely be yours.
Burton does it again...wonderful!
rebecca-turner-214 December 2007
I went into this film very nervous. As a huge fan of Sondheim and the stage show, I wasn't sure that the film would measure up. I was pleasantly surprised. While it certainly does not surpass the stage show by any means, I think that Burton and his cast paid wonderful homage to Sondheim's genius. I almost wish that Depp and Bonham Carter had stronger voices though. However, having never sung before, both of them did wonderfully. I had zero respect for Sascha Baron Cohen before seeing this film, but he was a delight. Alan Rickman was fabulous, as always, and the new faces in the cast are ones I hope to see again. Visually, the film was stunning. A bit gory for my tastes, but the story certainly calls for it. The colors were fantastic, and the contrasts Burton made were eye-popping. Musically, it could have been a lot worse. They cut the opening number, which is one of my favorites, and seriously shortened A Little Priest, which is my all-time favorite song, but the cast really stepped up to the plate with the music, and they did a wonderful job. Helena Bonham Carter is no Angela Lansbury (the original Mrs. Lovett), but she was great. Not a film I could see frequently, just because of all the gore, but I loved it.
Sublime
marcosaguado1 March 2008
As it happens more often than not, greatness is relegated to some obscure angle. In a year of brilliant opuses by the Cohen Brothers and PT Anderson, this Tim Burton film shines as the best from every angle. It's not just that Burton creates another superb, dark universe with Dante Ferretti's complicity or that Johnnt Deep breaks new ground, or that Helena Bonham Carter surprises us with a complex, marvelous realistic parody. The film touches visually a very private cord. Ed Wood managed that but Tim Burton with "Sweeny Todd" elevates it to the purest form of art. He will be punished for that, as Ed Wood was in its day. Disappointing grosses in a world that worship grosses will make it appear as a sort of a failure. My advise to you is run to see it wherever you can find it. Try to see it in a big screen with great sound. You will fly and dream and be taken away by the masterful hands of Tim Burton and the glorious faces of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.
Johnny Depp's greatest movie!!
0U23 February 2020
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is one of the best musical films ever made and probably the last truly excellent Tim Burton effort in directing. It's a romantic and enthralling vision of the dark perspective about life and death for the poor people controled by the privileged, cruel and envious society. It finds a inspired Johnny Depp in probably his best performance of this century. Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall compelte this luxury cast, which is one of the most talented one assembled in a musical!
Gloriously Dark
malleyvoice1 March 2008
Tim Burton has gone beyond himself and anything he has ever done. "Sweeney Todd" is stunningly beautiful. Dark? yes, bloody? sure! but then we're in Victorian London where everything is what it appears to be no matter how turgid. The meeting of Mr Todd and Mrs Lovett is so scrumptiously conceived that I'm sure will be one of those film moments that are used whenever "great film moments" are compiled. Johnny Depp will never cease to amaze me. He is not just the beautiful boy with soulful eyes, but a great actor. How extraordinary that two talents like Burton and Depp should meet at the perfect moment in time. How lucky for us! Mrs Lovett is played by another extraordinary actor: Helena Bonham Carter. She is spectacular! Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman and in particular Timothy Spall add to the perfection of this film. Dante Ferreti, the production designer and Coleen Attwood, the costume designer, deserve all the kudos they are getting and will get. Glorious!
Introducing the new generation Infant Homicides: "Danielle Panabaker & Ed Sanders"
CihanVercan15 September 2008
2007 has passed with 2 tracer bullet psycho-crime movies; Mr.Brooks and Sweeney Todd, with similar endings:
Miss Jane Brooks(Danielle Panabaker) hunted his father(Kevin Costner) and Little Toby(Ed Sanders) overcame his master(Johnny Depp). We'll look forward to see if producers and directors can make good use of these new generation infant homicides, in future.
Tim Burton is having his leading actor killed for the first time, if we consider Beetle Juice as an immortal superhero. Responsibly, Sweeney Todd dies just after he accidentally killed his beloved wife.
I don't know why, but lately in all psycho movies, all the bloody grim killers turn into mother's pet at the end. Since when? Since Mary Harron's "American Psycho"(which had Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, the man of the dark nights, had become Christopher Nolan's Batman afterward). This way or another, every psychopathic killer is completely bewildered and is repented at the end. Yet before, there was no repentance. For instance, Beetle Juice was never repented, Addams Family were never repented, Reservoir Dogs were never either. Somebody please tell me: Who put this repentance law to psycho movies?
Anyway, Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a musical film-noir from Tim Burton with his original style of bearish and abominable bugs'n beetles movie.
Miss Jane Brooks(Danielle Panabaker) hunted his father(Kevin Costner) and Little Toby(Ed Sanders) overcame his master(Johnny Depp). We'll look forward to see if producers and directors can make good use of these new generation infant homicides, in future.
Tim Burton is having his leading actor killed for the first time, if we consider Beetle Juice as an immortal superhero. Responsibly, Sweeney Todd dies just after he accidentally killed his beloved wife.
I don't know why, but lately in all psycho movies, all the bloody grim killers turn into mother's pet at the end. Since when? Since Mary Harron's "American Psycho"(which had Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, the man of the dark nights, had become Christopher Nolan's Batman afterward). This way or another, every psychopathic killer is completely bewildered and is repented at the end. Yet before, there was no repentance. For instance, Beetle Juice was never repented, Addams Family were never repented, Reservoir Dogs were never either. Somebody please tell me: Who put this repentance law to psycho movies?
Anyway, Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a musical film-noir from Tim Burton with his original style of bearish and abominable bugs'n beetles movie.
Johnny and Tim forever
katiemeyer19792 March 2008
What an extraordinary treat this bloody dirty tale of vengeance and gore is. The exquisite way Tim Burton presents it to us makes it so. Stephen Sondheim's stage masterpiece becomes a film masterpiece of unequaled stature. Everything about it reeks of genius of magic. Once again, Johnny Depp fills, Burton's macabre universe with overwhelming humanity. He can slash as many throats as he wants if we look into Johnny's eyes we see the struggle, the human winning in despair. I know I'm not making too much sense but I just want to urge you, if you love cinema, to rush and see it as God intended, on a big screen and Dolby surround sound.
A fine musical... ruined.
bgrot26 December 2007
The duet of Tim Burton & Johnny Depp is always a pleasure to behold. Unfortunately, this time the creepy fairy tale for adults has gone too far with superfluous gore, blood, and neck-slashing. Wonderful cinematography, spectacular costumes and strong acting in the first part of the movie are eclipsed by the fountains of blood in the second half. The gore is hardly necessary, as it doesn't add anything to the movie, but it seriously detracts. More than once, we found ourselves turning our heads away from close-up shots of necks slit open by a razor, and with each time we were less inclined to look back at the screen. It's sad to see an old master like Burton caving in to what appears to be the norm in Hollywood with respect to graphic violence and high body count.
A refreshing and brilliant film
roquedog50413 December 2007
Contrary to the many comments I have read and heard about the film thus far, I thought it was absolutely wonderful. After what some could term a "dry spell" for Tim Burton, it is such a breath of fresh air to see this new offering, Sweeney Todd. The movie showed Tim returning to his roots of the dark, the sinister, and the macabre. All were blended together in the setting he is so very well-known for, the dark streets of London.
In addition, I thought the fact that he maintained the musical aspect of the film/play worked in the movie's favor. I know Johnny Depp has said that he can't sing, but he sang rather well if you ask me. Keeping the cockney accent, whether singing or not, it made the film that much better. While I was surprised to see Danny Elfman not included in this movie, I believe the music was performed and carried out beautifully, nonetheless. Indeed, the accents can at times make it hard to discern what is being said, but that's not always a bad thing, considering the circumstances. Were they to all of a sudden not speak or sing with their cockney tones, it may provide a problem with consistency. Overall, I loved the movie and have no complaints. A very refreshing return to the realms and themes that Tim Burton is so very amazing at capturing. Top notch!
In addition, I thought the fact that he maintained the musical aspect of the film/play worked in the movie's favor. I know Johnny Depp has said that he can't sing, but he sang rather well if you ask me. Keeping the cockney accent, whether singing or not, it made the film that much better. While I was surprised to see Danny Elfman not included in this movie, I believe the music was performed and carried out beautifully, nonetheless. Indeed, the accents can at times make it hard to discern what is being said, but that's not always a bad thing, considering the circumstances. Were they to all of a sudden not speak or sing with their cockney tones, it may provide a problem with consistency. Overall, I loved the movie and have no complaints. A very refreshing return to the realms and themes that Tim Burton is so very amazing at capturing. Top notch!
Some brilliant moments...some awful moments...
SMicali25 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Let me preface this by saying Sweeney Todd is one of my all-time favorite Broadway shows and Sondheim my favorite composer. I am a HUGE fan of this show. (Most people will probably disagree with my complaints of this movie.) I sat through this movie with great expectations and was disappointed by a number of things, but enjoyed some aspects of this movie.
The good points are: the costumes and sets are incredible. With the exception of Helena Bonham Carter, I thought the rest of the casting was excellent. (I personally don't like HBC and her singing was so bad that I barely could get thru her songs without groaning or laughing at how bad she was singing.) Sondheim is hard enough for trained singers to perform, but relatively untrained singers like HBC have zero chance of making it work. Johnny Depp's singing was slightly better and not nearly as horribly distracting as HBC. Brilliant performances by Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Jayne Wisener, Sacha Baron Cohen (surprisingly!), Jamie Campbell Bower and Ed Sanders. Huzzah for getting that supporting cast!
The bad points: poor direction by Tim Burton! After Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton's directing has gone straight down the tubes and with Sweeney Todd, he really has hit the bottom of the barrel. The production was "Burton" stylized (been there, done that...OVER IT) and the acting always ends up taking a back seat to Burton's over-stylization. I really feel that there was little empathy in the character of Sweeney Todd. Not really Johnny Depp's fault if the director doesn't allow the character to develop properly. By the end, you're not sure if you should love or hate Sweeney Todd. Particularly when he realizes that he's killed his wife, you should feel something. I mostly felt disinterested. The movie ends up being about Tim Burton's "creativity with darkness" and less about the emotional baggage that all of these characters have and how they deal with it. I always feel that Burton doesn't think the acting is very important. Another disappointment was the cutting of so many great songs. I get why it was done, but I really miss hearing the entire score.
All in all, it was a fairly enjoyable movie, but not the next thing since sliced bread that people have been raving over. I'm glad I saw it, but I won't be purchasing the DVD and probably won't feel the need to see it again.
The good points are: the costumes and sets are incredible. With the exception of Helena Bonham Carter, I thought the rest of the casting was excellent. (I personally don't like HBC and her singing was so bad that I barely could get thru her songs without groaning or laughing at how bad she was singing.) Sondheim is hard enough for trained singers to perform, but relatively untrained singers like HBC have zero chance of making it work. Johnny Depp's singing was slightly better and not nearly as horribly distracting as HBC. Brilliant performances by Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Jayne Wisener, Sacha Baron Cohen (surprisingly!), Jamie Campbell Bower and Ed Sanders. Huzzah for getting that supporting cast!
The bad points: poor direction by Tim Burton! After Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton's directing has gone straight down the tubes and with Sweeney Todd, he really has hit the bottom of the barrel. The production was "Burton" stylized (been there, done that...OVER IT) and the acting always ends up taking a back seat to Burton's over-stylization. I really feel that there was little empathy in the character of Sweeney Todd. Not really Johnny Depp's fault if the director doesn't allow the character to develop properly. By the end, you're not sure if you should love or hate Sweeney Todd. Particularly when he realizes that he's killed his wife, you should feel something. I mostly felt disinterested. The movie ends up being about Tim Burton's "creativity with darkness" and less about the emotional baggage that all of these characters have and how they deal with it. I always feel that Burton doesn't think the acting is very important. Another disappointment was the cutting of so many great songs. I get why it was done, but I really miss hearing the entire score.
All in all, it was a fairly enjoyable movie, but not the next thing since sliced bread that people have been raving over. I'm glad I saw it, but I won't be purchasing the DVD and probably won't feel the need to see it again.
Dark Humor Done Right
ShellyA2275 December 2007
Despite the grim expectations from the story synopsis, the film delivers gore in a surprisingly tasteful way. There are no screaming teenagers running from a lunatic; instead we get a somewhat British blend of satire, slapstick and just "wrong" humor. Although I'm not much of a Johnny Depp fan, I enjoyed his performance as well as Helena Bonham Carter's. Even the portrayal of the common clients was stunning.
Despite being generally familiar with the story, I fell into some traps expecting specific twists, yet something different (and better) being delivered. This is a model of how to do dark humor that filmmakers should and probably will follow. It is most refreshing. Don't read the story and don't read any spoilers until you've seen it.
Despite being generally familiar with the story, I fell into some traps expecting specific twists, yet something different (and better) being delivered. This is a model of how to do dark humor that filmmakers should and probably will follow. It is most refreshing. Don't read the story and don't read any spoilers until you've seen it.
If Disney were Emo
dieseldemon856 October 2023
I enjoy watching Depp as he has honed playing disturbed characters at the level of Christopher Walken ,Jack Nicholson, or even Kinski. I enjoyed the dark humour and the murders were quite graphic although the first doesn't happen till nearly an hour in. The story of a wrongfully imprisoned barber set on revenge of the judge who sent him away hatches a devilish plan with a meat our baker. I enjoy thrillers and this film did deliver in that genre. However I have never seen a musical before and likely never will again. For me it didn't quite work and as a result had to give it a slightly lower rating. 3/5.
Burton slits Sondheim's throat.
Cinemadharma24 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sweeney Todd" explores moral dualism -- the belief of the coexistence or conflict between the "benevolent" and the "malignant", such as a conflict between good and evil. Sondheim expresses this in many ways, chief among them is his extensive use of counterpoint. Counterpoint is "the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony". The term comes from the Latin 'punctus contra punctum' or "note against note". Counterpoint is often used in musicals, especially in songs that try to compare or contrast two or more characters' views. As written and originally conceived and staged, the musical counterpoint in "Sweeney Todd" mirrors not only the difference of views between the characters, but the conflict of views within each character.
Tim Burton's film "Sweeney Todd" fails because it has eliminated the emotional and psychological counterpoint, and with it any and all depth of character. Instead of "note against note", Burton offers "one note only".
One of the key elements to what makes the musical so powerful and dynamic is the counterpoint between and within Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. On the outside, Sweeney is dark, brooding, vengeful and single mindedly violent. On the inside, he is a wronged man, in complete and spectacular anguish over the loss of his daughter and the death of his young bride. This dual conflict of morality is illustrated during Sweeney's powerful "Epiphany" when he sings "I will have vengeance... I will have salvation!" His underlying basic human goodness is the reason we care about Sweeney and what makes him a tragic character.
Mrs. Lovett is his mirror opposite. On the outside, (originally embodied by Angela Lansbury) Mrs. Lovett is bright, quirky, colorful and upbeat. She reminds you of your sweet ol' grandma. Hiding away on the inside however, is the real demon of Fleet Street - she lies and manipulates Sweeney into committing bloody murder, then comes up with the ghastly idea of baking the dead bodies into meat pies.
Burton's Sweeney is nothing but vengeful, his Mrs Lovett is as dark, brooding and humorless as Sweeney, his Judge Turpin shows no conscience (due to the cutting of Turpin's one musical number in which he expresses his personal morality battle), his Toby is a cute and clever Oliver-esquire street urchin, rather than the original 'mentally-challenged' Toby who is smarter than he appears. This theme is everywhere in the Sondheim musical - Sweeney Todd is really Benjamin Barker, Adolfo Pirelli is actually a Brit masquerading as the Italian UberBarber who disguises pee and ink as hair tonic, Anthony rescues Joanna from an insane asylum by disguising himself as a wigmaker, Joanna is then disguised as a male sailor, dead bodies are disguised as meat pies... it goes on and on... and in the end, the Tim Burton film is disguised as the Stephen Sondheim musical, but is ultimately revealed to be the empty, shallow film it is.
Tim Burton's film "Sweeney Todd" fails because it has eliminated the emotional and psychological counterpoint, and with it any and all depth of character. Instead of "note against note", Burton offers "one note only".
One of the key elements to what makes the musical so powerful and dynamic is the counterpoint between and within Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. On the outside, Sweeney is dark, brooding, vengeful and single mindedly violent. On the inside, he is a wronged man, in complete and spectacular anguish over the loss of his daughter and the death of his young bride. This dual conflict of morality is illustrated during Sweeney's powerful "Epiphany" when he sings "I will have vengeance... I will have salvation!" His underlying basic human goodness is the reason we care about Sweeney and what makes him a tragic character.
Mrs. Lovett is his mirror opposite. On the outside, (originally embodied by Angela Lansbury) Mrs. Lovett is bright, quirky, colorful and upbeat. She reminds you of your sweet ol' grandma. Hiding away on the inside however, is the real demon of Fleet Street - she lies and manipulates Sweeney into committing bloody murder, then comes up with the ghastly idea of baking the dead bodies into meat pies.
Burton's Sweeney is nothing but vengeful, his Mrs Lovett is as dark, brooding and humorless as Sweeney, his Judge Turpin shows no conscience (due to the cutting of Turpin's one musical number in which he expresses his personal morality battle), his Toby is a cute and clever Oliver-esquire street urchin, rather than the original 'mentally-challenged' Toby who is smarter than he appears. This theme is everywhere in the Sondheim musical - Sweeney Todd is really Benjamin Barker, Adolfo Pirelli is actually a Brit masquerading as the Italian UberBarber who disguises pee and ink as hair tonic, Anthony rescues Joanna from an insane asylum by disguising himself as a wigmaker, Joanna is then disguised as a male sailor, dead bodies are disguised as meat pies... it goes on and on... and in the end, the Tim Burton film is disguised as the Stephen Sondheim musical, but is ultimately revealed to be the empty, shallow film it is.
Tim Burton's most dramatically satisfying film so far.
Boris_Day17 December 2007
I approached Sweeney Todd with trepidation, having been underwhelmed with most of Tim Burton's recent output and every screen musical of the last decade. The biggest problem I have with Burton's films is that his screenplays rarely manage to pull their disparate elements into a satisfying whole. Here, despite adapting the material to his own sensibilities and shortening the play by an hour, he adheres closely to Sondheim's book, resulting in the most dramatically satisfying film Burton has ever made.
I liked the adaptation of the off-off Broadway Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but have been left underwhelmed by all the recent big budget film musicals, so I'm glad to say that Sweeney Todd, wipes the floor with every major screen musical of the last decade, including the likable if over extended Hairspary. Most surprising is how shockingly gruesome the the film becomes in the second half. This must be the most blood drenched film since Shogun Assassin, with arteries spurting blood like like fountains as throats are cut, with the violence escalating towards the end leading towards a climax that is exhilarating, heartbreaking and satisfyingly bleak.
Unlike the dreary dirges Danny Elfman supplied for Burton's stop frame musicals, Sondheim's score is a joy to listen to from beginning to end, its dark romanticism sometimes reminding me of Bernhard Herrmann, perfectly fitting what is both a musical and a horror film in equal measures.
Depp and Bonham Carter are both excellent and it's down to their performances that I never quite lost sympathy with them in their descent into madness, blood lust and cannibalism.
Musical haters may not be converted as 75% percent of the dialogue is sung, but this completely dispatches any notion of cloying sentimentally the genre is often associated with.
I liked the adaptation of the off-off Broadway Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but have been left underwhelmed by all the recent big budget film musicals, so I'm glad to say that Sweeney Todd, wipes the floor with every major screen musical of the last decade, including the likable if over extended Hairspary. Most surprising is how shockingly gruesome the the film becomes in the second half. This must be the most blood drenched film since Shogun Assassin, with arteries spurting blood like like fountains as throats are cut, with the violence escalating towards the end leading towards a climax that is exhilarating, heartbreaking and satisfyingly bleak.
Unlike the dreary dirges Danny Elfman supplied for Burton's stop frame musicals, Sondheim's score is a joy to listen to from beginning to end, its dark romanticism sometimes reminding me of Bernhard Herrmann, perfectly fitting what is both a musical and a horror film in equal measures.
Depp and Bonham Carter are both excellent and it's down to their performances that I never quite lost sympathy with them in their descent into madness, blood lust and cannibalism.
Musical haters may not be converted as 75% percent of the dialogue is sung, but this completely dispatches any notion of cloying sentimentally the genre is often associated with.
Burton and Sondheim: a match made in heaven
DramaQueenKate17 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, this is about a barber who kills people. Yes, this is a musical.
I have been excited about this movie since last December, when I first heard about it. Having been a Burton fan since my four year old self was quoting "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" and a Sondheim fan since middle school, I had faith that Tim Burton was the perfect director for Sondheim's masterpiece. So you can imagine how lucky I felt to be able to see a screening of this.
This movie is all I could ever hope it would be.
I walked in the theater with my best positive outlook. I had shed my mournful tears over the cut songs (the Ballads, Kiss Me) and wanted to be as optimistic as possible, and I was not disappointed at all.
Johnny Depp's performance in this is one of his best by far. He stole every scene he was in. He has toned down Sweeney for the screen, so those used to George Hearn or Len Cariou may have to get used to, but I think the important thing to remember is that this is a movie, not a stage show.
Helena Bonham Carter gives a great performance as Mrs. Lovett. Though she is different from Angela Lansbury, her portrayal still works marvelously, and she and Johnny make a great pair.
The supporting cast is all amazing. Alan Rickman could make "High School Musical" entertaining. He is so deliciously evil in this movie, and you can tell his sidekick, Timothy Spall's Beadle Bamford, is having a great time with his sniveling character. Sacha Baron Cohen is, of course hilarious as Pirelli. The three young supporting actors (and unknowns), Jamie Campbell Bower, Ed Sanders, and Jayne Wisener, are all perfect in their roles. I hope to be seeing them in more films to come. Another unknown to Hollywood but acclaimed London stage veteran, Laura Michelle Kelly, is chillingly creepy as the beggar woman (and gives a naive sympathy as Sweeney's wife, Lucy, in the flashbacks.
Now, for the blood. There's a lot of it. A whole lot. Just a warning. However, the blood is so immense that at times it is, as Richard Roeper said, almost Python-esquire. I think audience are supposed to laugh as fountains of blood gush out of Sweeney's unlucky costumers. It is also brutal the way they land on their head on the way down to the bakehouse.
All in all, this is an amazing film even if you have never heard of Stephen Sondheim (though you really should, but that's not the point.) I can't think of a better way that theater lovers' beloved Sweeney Todd could have been brought to the screen than in Tim Burton's own unique mind, and I know that I could not be more content with this film.
I have been excited about this movie since last December, when I first heard about it. Having been a Burton fan since my four year old self was quoting "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" and a Sondheim fan since middle school, I had faith that Tim Burton was the perfect director for Sondheim's masterpiece. So you can imagine how lucky I felt to be able to see a screening of this.
This movie is all I could ever hope it would be.
I walked in the theater with my best positive outlook. I had shed my mournful tears over the cut songs (the Ballads, Kiss Me) and wanted to be as optimistic as possible, and I was not disappointed at all.
Johnny Depp's performance in this is one of his best by far. He stole every scene he was in. He has toned down Sweeney for the screen, so those used to George Hearn or Len Cariou may have to get used to, but I think the important thing to remember is that this is a movie, not a stage show.
Helena Bonham Carter gives a great performance as Mrs. Lovett. Though she is different from Angela Lansbury, her portrayal still works marvelously, and she and Johnny make a great pair.
The supporting cast is all amazing. Alan Rickman could make "High School Musical" entertaining. He is so deliciously evil in this movie, and you can tell his sidekick, Timothy Spall's Beadle Bamford, is having a great time with his sniveling character. Sacha Baron Cohen is, of course hilarious as Pirelli. The three young supporting actors (and unknowns), Jamie Campbell Bower, Ed Sanders, and Jayne Wisener, are all perfect in their roles. I hope to be seeing them in more films to come. Another unknown to Hollywood but acclaimed London stage veteran, Laura Michelle Kelly, is chillingly creepy as the beggar woman (and gives a naive sympathy as Sweeney's wife, Lucy, in the flashbacks.
Now, for the blood. There's a lot of it. A whole lot. Just a warning. However, the blood is so immense that at times it is, as Richard Roeper said, almost Python-esquire. I think audience are supposed to laugh as fountains of blood gush out of Sweeney's unlucky costumers. It is also brutal the way they land on their head on the way down to the bakehouse.
All in all, this is an amazing film even if you have never heard of Stephen Sondheim (though you really should, but that's not the point.) I can't think of a better way that theater lovers' beloved Sweeney Todd could have been brought to the screen than in Tim Burton's own unique mind, and I know that I could not be more content with this film.
Burton does better than anyone else . . .
JohnDeSando14 December 2007
"At last, my arm is complete again." Sweeney Todd as he admires one of his efficient razors after a long absence.
I'm not sure Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd is "grand," but I'm confident it's in the best Grand Guignol tradition of sensational stage horror given its name from that little theater in early 20th century Paris that specialized in sensationally ghoulish productions. I am also sure that no one in film is better able to play the titular butcher than the shape-shifting, ever-naughty Johnny Depp.
The opening song "No Place Like London" hints to Anglophiles like me that it won't be my usual tour of West End theaters, rather a seedy, dangerous place where Mac the Knife would be more at home. Throughout the musical, Steven Sondheim's lyrics expressively revel in the amoral, throat-slicing world that Sweeney and his adoring meatpie lady, Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham-Carter), wallow in as he prepares to take revenge on the equally amoral Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who dispatched Todd to prison early on to get his beautiful young wife. Hence Sweeney's revenge inclination.
Sweeney's lyric best expresses the wildly murderous world, hardly the usual province of musicals: "Alright! You, Sir?/No one's in the chair come on, come on/Sweeney's waiting/I want you bleeders./You sir! Too sir?/Welcome to the grave./I will have vengeance./I will have salvation . . . ." Yes, it's Sleepy-Hollow, Corpse-Bride Tim Burton's movie with blood spouting like red paint from a pressure gun contrasting the somber, almost black and white underside of London. When one of the children bites into a pie with a finger in it (shades of our contemporary law suits!), the audience doesn't even gasp, given the omnipresence of bloody bodies.
There is no more interesting musical this year, even considering the enchanting Once. In the end, it is unsettling, unsavory, and unusual. Burton does better than anyone else in juxtaposing horror with innocence.
I'm not sure Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd is "grand," but I'm confident it's in the best Grand Guignol tradition of sensational stage horror given its name from that little theater in early 20th century Paris that specialized in sensationally ghoulish productions. I am also sure that no one in film is better able to play the titular butcher than the shape-shifting, ever-naughty Johnny Depp.
The opening song "No Place Like London" hints to Anglophiles like me that it won't be my usual tour of West End theaters, rather a seedy, dangerous place where Mac the Knife would be more at home. Throughout the musical, Steven Sondheim's lyrics expressively revel in the amoral, throat-slicing world that Sweeney and his adoring meatpie lady, Nellie Lovett (Helena Bonham-Carter), wallow in as he prepares to take revenge on the equally amoral Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who dispatched Todd to prison early on to get his beautiful young wife. Hence Sweeney's revenge inclination.
Sweeney's lyric best expresses the wildly murderous world, hardly the usual province of musicals: "Alright! You, Sir?/No one's in the chair come on, come on/Sweeney's waiting/I want you bleeders./You sir! Too sir?/Welcome to the grave./I will have vengeance./I will have salvation . . . ." Yes, it's Sleepy-Hollow, Corpse-Bride Tim Burton's movie with blood spouting like red paint from a pressure gun contrasting the somber, almost black and white underside of London. When one of the children bites into a pie with a finger in it (shades of our contemporary law suits!), the audience doesn't even gasp, given the omnipresence of bloody bodies.
There is no more interesting musical this year, even considering the enchanting Once. In the end, it is unsettling, unsavory, and unusual. Burton does better than anyone else in juxtaposing horror with innocence.
The best musical in years!
Smells_Like_Cheese27 December 2007
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of the year's most talked about films, it's getting big Oscar buzz and of course, what could be better than Tim Burton taking on this dark musical? With Johnny Depp starring along with beautiful Helena Bonham Carter by his side, this movie just screams terrific. My mom and I saw the movie today and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street lived beyond to my expectations. Tim Burton hasn't exactly released a classic lately that would be remembered for all time, but Sweeny Todd is sure to make it's way into one of the most memorable films of 2007. Johnny Depp and Helena both have incredible voices, they were so hauntingly beautiful and magical together, it's like these roles were made for them. Along with an equally strong cast as Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron Cohen who were also incredible, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a new memorable musical for years to come.
Sweeney Todd has come to London on a mission, a mission for revenge! His wife was taken by the evil judge for his own pleasure's with her and Sweeney's daughter. Now Sweeney's daughter is grown and is being held by Judge Turpin and he has been informed by his lover, Mrs. Lovett that his wife has died. "At last my arm is complete!" Sweeney says as he raises his faithful razor and wishes to kill the vermin of the world as well. Mrs. Lovett comes up with the clever idea to create a tasty meat pie of the victims and makes quite the popular business. But Sweeney is determined to find his daughter who is being wooed by his young friend, Anthony, and kill the judge who has taken everything from him.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was so beautifully shot. The reason why I love Tim Burton so much is because he knows how colors and contrasts work in a film. He knew how dark Mrs. Lovetts and Sweeney Todd are, in a picnic scene where everything is supposed to be bright, Sweeney and Lovetts are the only dark figures in the lovely setting. The music is triumphant, the songs were so memorable and almost hypnotic, I felt like was in a real Broadway audience. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of the best films of the year, I guarantee it, this was a terrific musical that was a bloody good time! Tim Burton is back and he's better than ever with Johnny.
10/10
Sweeney Todd has come to London on a mission, a mission for revenge! His wife was taken by the evil judge for his own pleasure's with her and Sweeney's daughter. Now Sweeney's daughter is grown and is being held by Judge Turpin and he has been informed by his lover, Mrs. Lovett that his wife has died. "At last my arm is complete!" Sweeney says as he raises his faithful razor and wishes to kill the vermin of the world as well. Mrs. Lovett comes up with the clever idea to create a tasty meat pie of the victims and makes quite the popular business. But Sweeney is determined to find his daughter who is being wooed by his young friend, Anthony, and kill the judge who has taken everything from him.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was so beautifully shot. The reason why I love Tim Burton so much is because he knows how colors and contrasts work in a film. He knew how dark Mrs. Lovetts and Sweeney Todd are, in a picnic scene where everything is supposed to be bright, Sweeney and Lovetts are the only dark figures in the lovely setting. The music is triumphant, the songs were so memorable and almost hypnotic, I felt like was in a real Broadway audience. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of the best films of the year, I guarantee it, this was a terrific musical that was a bloody good time! Tim Burton is back and he's better than ever with Johnny.
10/10
The Butcher of Broadway
wes-connors7 February 2010
After fifteen years in the Australian pokey, barber Johnny Depp (as Benjamin Barker) returns to his nineteenth century Fleet Street, London flat and assumes the name "Sweeney Todd". Wrongly imprisoned, Mr. Depp is in a vengeful mood. He learns his wife has poisoned herself, and left teenage daughter Jayne Wisener (as Johanna) in the clutches of lusty Alan Rickman (as Judge Turpin) and Timothy Spall (as Beadle Bamford). Depp's sailing companion, young Jamie Campbell Bower (as Anthony Hope) hears Ms. Wisener singing, and falls in love at first listen. And, she is similarly smitten.
Meanwhile, acting like "Aladdin Sane", Depp showers himself with the blood of throat-slit victims. His new co-dependent companion, dark-eyed Helena Bonham Carter (as Nellie Lovett), sells meat pies made with the human carcasses Depp provides. "And baby makes three" when Depp and Ms. Bonham Carter "adopt" gin-swigging young teenager Edward "Ed" Sanders (as Tobias "Toby" Ragg), after making tasty mince meat out of his swarthy guardian, Sacha Baron Cohen (as Adolfo Pirelli).
Subtitled "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", director Tim Burton's "Sweeny Todd" is more horror opera than Broadway musical. The promotional material says it "has been hailed as a masterpiece by critics and audiences everywhere." Now, that's going too far, in this case - but, you know Burton and Depp are going to be attached to something visually arresting, and is certainly so. There is, at least, masterpiece-caliber work from the likes of Colleen Atwood, Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo, and Dariusz Wolski, who will hopefully continue to be seen among the outstanding Burton/Depp crews.
******* Sweeney Todd (12/3/07) Tim Burton ~ Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Jamie Campbell Bower, Ed Sanders
Meanwhile, acting like "Aladdin Sane", Depp showers himself with the blood of throat-slit victims. His new co-dependent companion, dark-eyed Helena Bonham Carter (as Nellie Lovett), sells meat pies made with the human carcasses Depp provides. "And baby makes three" when Depp and Ms. Bonham Carter "adopt" gin-swigging young teenager Edward "Ed" Sanders (as Tobias "Toby" Ragg), after making tasty mince meat out of his swarthy guardian, Sacha Baron Cohen (as Adolfo Pirelli).
Subtitled "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", director Tim Burton's "Sweeny Todd" is more horror opera than Broadway musical. The promotional material says it "has been hailed as a masterpiece by critics and audiences everywhere." Now, that's going too far, in this case - but, you know Burton and Depp are going to be attached to something visually arresting, and is certainly so. There is, at least, masterpiece-caliber work from the likes of Colleen Atwood, Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo, and Dariusz Wolski, who will hopefully continue to be seen among the outstanding Burton/Depp crews.
******* Sweeney Todd (12/3/07) Tim Burton ~ Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Jamie Campbell Bower, Ed Sanders
Awesome, dark and funny. Classic Tim Burton stuff.
metalbot-111 December 2007
Good dark fun.
I knew nothing of this movie except Tim Burton and Johnny Depp had something to do with it, and that, as the executive director put it, there was "lots of blood". I don't think of myself as liking musicals, although I should probably reconsider now.
I had a moment of dread when the movie started and there was a mention of Sacha Baron Cohen being in it. However his performance was in fact quite good. While his acting has a few things in common with his over-the-top Borat character, it somehow fits rather well within the movie.
Some elements of the plot are rather predictable, in a Greek tragedy sort of way, but it doesn't really detract from the movie. We get to enjoy the downward spiral even though we know its shape.
All in all, the movie was awesome, filled with damned and hopeless characters that still made you laugh at every turn.
I knew nothing of this movie except Tim Burton and Johnny Depp had something to do with it, and that, as the executive director put it, there was "lots of blood". I don't think of myself as liking musicals, although I should probably reconsider now.
I had a moment of dread when the movie started and there was a mention of Sacha Baron Cohen being in it. However his performance was in fact quite good. While his acting has a few things in common with his over-the-top Borat character, it somehow fits rather well within the movie.
Some elements of the plot are rather predictable, in a Greek tragedy sort of way, but it doesn't really detract from the movie. We get to enjoy the downward spiral even though we know its shape.
All in all, the movie was awesome, filled with damned and hopeless characters that still made you laugh at every turn.
Very good, but....
neil-47627 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Tim Burton's take on Stephen Sondheim's Broadway show, probably the most explicitly gory grand guignol musical ever made, has a lot going for it: great songs, excellent performances, very good singing (unexpectedly so from Depp), and Burton's strong visual sense at work.
I confess to being irritated, as more than once before, by Burton insisting that he knows better than the source material. Having said that, he makes a fair fist of this particular project.
It is extremely grisly, and that may matter to you: I found that the blood was fairly comic book-ish, and easy to not take seriously.
More critical is the fact that the protagonists are essentially unsympathetic. While one sympathises with why Todd becomes this character, and while one is saddened by the tragedy of what happens, the absence of any redemption (or hope thereof), unleavened by an actual resolution for Johanna, means that there is little satisfaction for an audience to hang onto at the end (even Toby settles matters by dropping to the same level of those he has learnt he despises).
Does this outweigh the good things along the way? For me, it was a close thing, but my enjoyment just about outweighed my disappointment at the absence of humanity at the end.
I confess to being irritated, as more than once before, by Burton insisting that he knows better than the source material. Having said that, he makes a fair fist of this particular project.
It is extremely grisly, and that may matter to you: I found that the blood was fairly comic book-ish, and easy to not take seriously.
More critical is the fact that the protagonists are essentially unsympathetic. While one sympathises with why Todd becomes this character, and while one is saddened by the tragedy of what happens, the absence of any redemption (or hope thereof), unleavened by an actual resolution for Johanna, means that there is little satisfaction for an audience to hang onto at the end (even Toby settles matters by dropping to the same level of those he has learnt he despises).
Does this outweigh the good things along the way? For me, it was a close thing, but my enjoyment just about outweighed my disappointment at the absence of humanity at the end.
A Conventicle of Geniuses Came Together Here
AnneOBrienRice20 December 2007
And this conventicle has brought us a glistening and irresistible nightmare. There are delicious Dickensian overtones throughout, and the look of the film itself is poetically potent. The entire mix is shockingly seductive with an unforgettable ending. Burton's humor is part and parcel of his sheer brilliance, as always, and, as always, the great Johnny Depp is intense and positively unforgettable. All performances are electric, the pace and length are perfect, and the film draws us deeper and deeper with every moment into its stunning blend of the grotesque and the undeniably beautiful. Analysing the power of a film like this is no simple matter. The whole is dazzlingly disturbing. You don't want to miss a second of it, even though the film is merciless to us and to its protagonists. It sings, it glows, it enchants, it horrifies. I want to see it again. And again. It's a brutal and shattering masterpiece.
Good, but not perfect adaptation of the classic musical
Reef-Shark22 December 2007
Alright, I went to see the movie adaptation of 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' and thought it was amazing, but being a fan of the original Broadway stage versions I do have some complaints. The bloods levels were necessary is some parts, but some just ruined the moments. During the song 'Johanna' which is one of my favorite songs in the show, Sweeney will be slitting some throats. The thing that makes the stage version better for that song is that the blood isn't a distraction. You only see like a red line go across their throat, then down the chute they go. When the movie had blood flying everywhere in a real sort of way it was extremely hard to concentrate on the song. Another part was that they cut out some of the songs and lyrics to cut down the 3 hour musical into a 2 hour movie, another disappointment for a guy who loves the play like me. Now of course the big thing is how Depp was able to portray Sweeney and SING! Alright, shut up Depp fan-girls. He is not some sort of miracle singer. He's an alright singer, but a much better actor. His voice has menace, though pirate fans may have to hold back a snicker at the fact that when he says certain lyrics he sounds like Captain Jack Sparrow live on Broadway. I think in a movie musical he was well cast as the tormented barber who has lost everything near and dear to him, except his precious razors. Helena Bonham Carter did well as the sociopath Mrs. Lovett whose good idea is to turn Sweeney's victims into pies for her own profit. Sacha Baron Cohen who did well last year in his surprisingly critically well received 'BORAT' comes back to the big screen with a marvelous portray of the flamboyant street barber Signor Adolfo Pirelli, and I myself wouldn't have wanted to cast anyone else, the character seems like him. Finally Alan Rickman provided a truly menacing portrayal of Judge Turpin; Sweeney's nemesis and reason why he wants revenge. All and all the 1982 Broadway performance (On DVD) starring George Hearn and Angela Lansbury will always be my favorite musical version of this tale of revenge. Aside from me finding some parts a bit too violent I will give it a high rating. I give Burton's Sweeney a 10/10 instead of a 9/10 just because Sweeney Todd is my 2nd favorite musical, and the scenery, costumes, and atmosphere of the movie was brilliant.
D for Dreadful (some spoilers)
lori-1696 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Tim Burton missed the point of this one. I'm sorry. He just doesn't get it.
Yes, this film is Sweeney Todd through Tim Burton's eyes, that is one thing for sure.
Tim Burton's direction is just way, way too heavy. This material is very dark. It doesn't need the heavy, dark hand of Burton to make it any darker.
I was not a fanatic of the musical before seeing the film. In fact I had only seen one version of the musical before, the most recent Broadway production directed by Jonathan Doyle, with the incomparable Michael Cerveris as Sweeney. So I am not a traditionalist, and I am certainly open to new interpretations. If they are good.
This interpretation simply wasn't. It's not only the fact that Burton changed around major plot points (like how three of the major characters are killed). It's not only Helena Bonham Carter's wooden acting skills (except for when she is screaming as she's burned to death). Burned to death? Wait, that's not in the script. Oh, it is now! And I could be wrong but I don't believe for a second that she is the one singing her role.
I was pleasantly surprised by Johnny Depp's singing, although it took some getting used to. I thought it would be awful, and it wasn't. But his acting, which I usually love, was simply awful. Academy Award? Please. Stop kidding around. Maybe I just had a hard time seeing past all the teased up 80s style hair on his head, but a few eyebrow raises, forehead crinkles and blank stares are not my idea of Oscar-worthy acting.
But speaking of jokes, where were they? This script is supposed to be damn funny. Many funny bits sprinkled throughout, from the Worst Pies in London through the silly interludes in Pretty Women to the hilarious double meanings in By the Sea, A Little Priest (I'm sorry, why were they looking out the window in this scene instead of interacting with each other over the pies? I must have missed this. Oh, that's right, they didn't interact in the WHOLE FILM - except for that one part when Sweeney tells her to get out, loved that).
But apparently Tim Burton missed the humor. Not only the humor, but he seemed to have missed the entire point of the whole song A Little Priest (not to mind the whole point of Sweeney's story).
He also took out any sexual references, including a whole song, and made the whole thing very unsexy. I have read reviews saying Carter was very sexy in this, but I didn't see that at all. Yeah, her very shallow cleavage shows through most of the movie, except in one scene during By the Sea when she inexplicably seems to have no breasts or nipples at all, but that doesn't make for sexy.
The only giggle in the entire theater came from me when Sacha Baron Cohen (a breath of fresh air, IMHO) came out in that ridiculous blue body suit reminiscent of the late Evel Knievel.
By making Toby an actual little boy rather than an adolescent or adult who might not be all quite there, Burton took away a lot of the meaning of this part of the script as well, and took away some of the humor from Pirelli's Miracle Elixir as well as one of the most beautiful songs of all, Not While I'm Around.
Oh and don't get me started on the music. Horrible, awful. Taking Sondheim's masterpiece and making it almost unrecognizable. There were three tempos of music in the film: very slow, extremely slow, and super fast. Really it's only two tempos (very slow and super fast) but I'm trying to give a little more credit than is deserved. In parts the usually gorgeous score tended to drag on and on and on and in other parts it was so rapid it was like someone suddenly just turned up the metronome and no one realized it. Almost like little robot people just got their engines revved up.
Yes, robotic. That's how I would describe almost all of the acting. Alan Rickman was good as usual. Sacha Baron Cohen gave some needed spice to the movie. I usually love Johnny Depp and can rarely find fault with him, but this older, not wiser, version of Edward Scissorhands just did not sit very well with me. I usually hate Bonham Carter and she did not disappoint in this regard. Why was she cast in the film again? Oh, right. She's Tim Burton's wife. I almost forgot.
Jamie Campbell Bower was okay as Anthony, seemed a little young for the role and his facial expressions were odd at times, but he held his own. And Jayne Wisener had the best singing voice in the cast (besides Rickman's, which was quite good as well), her acting wasn't bad either.
Timothy Spall was at times bearable, at times awful as Beadle. Does everything have to be visual with you, Burton? Is everyone ugly evil and everyone evil ugly and all is black and white? Seems that way.
The visuals were sometimes interesting, but mostly again very very heavy handed, and unnecessarily so. I didn't see anything interesting or original about them. They were also at times completely implausible. For example, there is no physical way the chute for the bodies could go directly to the basement fro the barber shop. Thet would have to pass through Mrs. Lovett's bakery. This is stupid and unnecessary.
If you're sick of reading my review, then you get a small sense of how I felt at the end of the movie. Except you didn't pay hard earned money to read this, lucky you. I should have left in the first 5 minutes of the film when I had the impulse.
Yes, this film is Sweeney Todd through Tim Burton's eyes, that is one thing for sure.
Tim Burton's direction is just way, way too heavy. This material is very dark. It doesn't need the heavy, dark hand of Burton to make it any darker.
I was not a fanatic of the musical before seeing the film. In fact I had only seen one version of the musical before, the most recent Broadway production directed by Jonathan Doyle, with the incomparable Michael Cerveris as Sweeney. So I am not a traditionalist, and I am certainly open to new interpretations. If they are good.
This interpretation simply wasn't. It's not only the fact that Burton changed around major plot points (like how three of the major characters are killed). It's not only Helena Bonham Carter's wooden acting skills (except for when she is screaming as she's burned to death). Burned to death? Wait, that's not in the script. Oh, it is now! And I could be wrong but I don't believe for a second that she is the one singing her role.
I was pleasantly surprised by Johnny Depp's singing, although it took some getting used to. I thought it would be awful, and it wasn't. But his acting, which I usually love, was simply awful. Academy Award? Please. Stop kidding around. Maybe I just had a hard time seeing past all the teased up 80s style hair on his head, but a few eyebrow raises, forehead crinkles and blank stares are not my idea of Oscar-worthy acting.
But speaking of jokes, where were they? This script is supposed to be damn funny. Many funny bits sprinkled throughout, from the Worst Pies in London through the silly interludes in Pretty Women to the hilarious double meanings in By the Sea, A Little Priest (I'm sorry, why were they looking out the window in this scene instead of interacting with each other over the pies? I must have missed this. Oh, that's right, they didn't interact in the WHOLE FILM - except for that one part when Sweeney tells her to get out, loved that).
But apparently Tim Burton missed the humor. Not only the humor, but he seemed to have missed the entire point of the whole song A Little Priest (not to mind the whole point of Sweeney's story).
He also took out any sexual references, including a whole song, and made the whole thing very unsexy. I have read reviews saying Carter was very sexy in this, but I didn't see that at all. Yeah, her very shallow cleavage shows through most of the movie, except in one scene during By the Sea when she inexplicably seems to have no breasts or nipples at all, but that doesn't make for sexy.
The only giggle in the entire theater came from me when Sacha Baron Cohen (a breath of fresh air, IMHO) came out in that ridiculous blue body suit reminiscent of the late Evel Knievel.
By making Toby an actual little boy rather than an adolescent or adult who might not be all quite there, Burton took away a lot of the meaning of this part of the script as well, and took away some of the humor from Pirelli's Miracle Elixir as well as one of the most beautiful songs of all, Not While I'm Around.
Oh and don't get me started on the music. Horrible, awful. Taking Sondheim's masterpiece and making it almost unrecognizable. There were three tempos of music in the film: very slow, extremely slow, and super fast. Really it's only two tempos (very slow and super fast) but I'm trying to give a little more credit than is deserved. In parts the usually gorgeous score tended to drag on and on and on and in other parts it was so rapid it was like someone suddenly just turned up the metronome and no one realized it. Almost like little robot people just got their engines revved up.
Yes, robotic. That's how I would describe almost all of the acting. Alan Rickman was good as usual. Sacha Baron Cohen gave some needed spice to the movie. I usually love Johnny Depp and can rarely find fault with him, but this older, not wiser, version of Edward Scissorhands just did not sit very well with me. I usually hate Bonham Carter and she did not disappoint in this regard. Why was she cast in the film again? Oh, right. She's Tim Burton's wife. I almost forgot.
Jamie Campbell Bower was okay as Anthony, seemed a little young for the role and his facial expressions were odd at times, but he held his own. And Jayne Wisener had the best singing voice in the cast (besides Rickman's, which was quite good as well), her acting wasn't bad either.
Timothy Spall was at times bearable, at times awful as Beadle. Does everything have to be visual with you, Burton? Is everyone ugly evil and everyone evil ugly and all is black and white? Seems that way.
The visuals were sometimes interesting, but mostly again very very heavy handed, and unnecessarily so. I didn't see anything interesting or original about them. They were also at times completely implausible. For example, there is no physical way the chute for the bodies could go directly to the basement fro the barber shop. Thet would have to pass through Mrs. Lovett's bakery. This is stupid and unnecessary.
If you're sick of reading my review, then you get a small sense of how I felt at the end of the movie. Except you didn't pay hard earned money to read this, lucky you. I should have left in the first 5 minutes of the film when I had the impulse.
Brilliantly executed but highly disturbing
planktonrules23 December 2007
Sweeney Todd is an old story that is not based on a real 19th century murderer--despite some recent rumors that this legend is true. Though the original story has changed a bit over the years, the basic elements remain. A man is wrongly convicted and returns years later to exact revenge--slicing the throats of the wicked (and sometimes innocent) and then having the bodies disposed of in meat pies sold to the unsuspecting public!
The movie is based on the Sondheim musical. Over the years, there have been other non-musical versions of the fabled story of Sweeney Todd, but Stephen Sondheim has truly popularized this grisly tale of revenge and madness. However, if you are used to the Rogers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe style of musicals, be prepared for a wildly different sort of musical. This isn't just because of the very, very dark subject matter but also the style of singing. Unlike these other famous musical teams, SWEENEY TODD does not offer songs that you will quickly find yourself humming or will hear on an elevator. That's because this production isn't a traditional musical with catchy lyrics, but where the dialog is sung to music--somewhat like the wonderful UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (wow, aside from this, you can't find two films more unalike). And since the emphasis is on dialog that is sung, the style may take a lot of getting used to. Plus, you probably WON'T find yourself tapping your feet and humming to the amazingly fast-paced and somewhat maniacal music. About the only really traditional style song is the lovely "Joanna".
This style singing does take some getting used to, though this film adaptation of the musical is much more approachable to the casual viewer. That's because in the play, many of the songs are sung in a crazy and cacophonous manner--with many singers across the stage singing DIFFERENT parts that generally DON'T harmonize well with each other. This strange and sometimes painful style was done to emphasize Sweeney's madness and I understood the symbolism--I just didn't particularly like it and I was thrilled that these twisted chorusers were absent from the film. Instead, the music was sung by either individuals or in duets (which were ALSO often sung very separately but with much less cacophony than an entire chorus). My daughter, quite the purist and lover of theater told me she missed this aspect of the film--she WANTED the insane chorus. As for me and the average audience member, I am sure this change by Tim Burton is a welcome one. The bottom line is that the stage style was just too annoying and headache-evoking.
While I am talking about the songs, I must point out that despite originally feeling very skeptical about casting Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the leads (after all, they're NOT known for their singing ability), they and the rest of the cast did quite well. I am sure that the modern ability to make practically ANYONE a singing sensation (such as Hillary Duff or Ashlee Simpson) was employed, but it did work. Now this isn't to say that they or the rest of the cast have gorgeous and melodious voices--they don't. But, for this style of film, it worked perfectly. Had they been cast in a remake of THE SOUND OF MUSIC or some other more traditional musical, it probably wouldn't have worked. Oddly, despite their being more than competent in the roles, I have heard some snipes about them and I can assure you they DID do well and were well cast.
Now as for the rest of the film, I must STRONGLY urge caution, as this is one of the most violent films I have ever seen. Sure, some films show many more deaths but the closeup shots of throats being slit and profuse torrents of blood is NOT for the squeamish nor is the sight of seeing the corpses splat onto the floor below as they are dropped through the trap door. I noticed several in the theater covering their eyes during the murder scenes--including my daughter. It's not for the faint-hearted and really is up close and brutal in how it depicts the killings. It worked--the murders looked very vivid and real--perhaps too real. With a little more left to the imagination with the killings, I really think the film might have worked a tad better for the average viewer. I have a very high tolerance for this stuff (probably partly due to my being a human biology minor in college), but most will cringe at all the carnage.
Now as for the aesthetics of the film. As you probably would expect, director Burton did his usual marvelous job. The dankness and awfulness of a Dickensian England is vivid and convincing. The plethora of roaches and rats also heightened this awful realism as did the terrible dental work of the actors. Unlike many films set in this era that featured actors with lovely capped teeth, the actors here abounded with crooked teeth! What I particularly liked about the film and what really jumped out at me was the cinematography--how almost everything was done in sepia and gray tones. There were a few exceptions but these were wonderful and were designed as the occasional and shocking contrast (such as the blueness of Pirelli's clothes or the intensity of the blood). Additionally, the fantasy sequence was extremely colorful and this made it one of the most striking and funny scenes in the film--quite appropriate to the mood.
So overall, apart from the intensity of the violence, this was a great film and a nice improvement over the Sondheim stage production due to its wickedly dark humor and style.
The movie is based on the Sondheim musical. Over the years, there have been other non-musical versions of the fabled story of Sweeney Todd, but Stephen Sondheim has truly popularized this grisly tale of revenge and madness. However, if you are used to the Rogers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe style of musicals, be prepared for a wildly different sort of musical. This isn't just because of the very, very dark subject matter but also the style of singing. Unlike these other famous musical teams, SWEENEY TODD does not offer songs that you will quickly find yourself humming or will hear on an elevator. That's because this production isn't a traditional musical with catchy lyrics, but where the dialog is sung to music--somewhat like the wonderful UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (wow, aside from this, you can't find two films more unalike). And since the emphasis is on dialog that is sung, the style may take a lot of getting used to. Plus, you probably WON'T find yourself tapping your feet and humming to the amazingly fast-paced and somewhat maniacal music. About the only really traditional style song is the lovely "Joanna".
This style singing does take some getting used to, though this film adaptation of the musical is much more approachable to the casual viewer. That's because in the play, many of the songs are sung in a crazy and cacophonous manner--with many singers across the stage singing DIFFERENT parts that generally DON'T harmonize well with each other. This strange and sometimes painful style was done to emphasize Sweeney's madness and I understood the symbolism--I just didn't particularly like it and I was thrilled that these twisted chorusers were absent from the film. Instead, the music was sung by either individuals or in duets (which were ALSO often sung very separately but with much less cacophony than an entire chorus). My daughter, quite the purist and lover of theater told me she missed this aspect of the film--she WANTED the insane chorus. As for me and the average audience member, I am sure this change by Tim Burton is a welcome one. The bottom line is that the stage style was just too annoying and headache-evoking.
While I am talking about the songs, I must point out that despite originally feeling very skeptical about casting Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the leads (after all, they're NOT known for their singing ability), they and the rest of the cast did quite well. I am sure that the modern ability to make practically ANYONE a singing sensation (such as Hillary Duff or Ashlee Simpson) was employed, but it did work. Now this isn't to say that they or the rest of the cast have gorgeous and melodious voices--they don't. But, for this style of film, it worked perfectly. Had they been cast in a remake of THE SOUND OF MUSIC or some other more traditional musical, it probably wouldn't have worked. Oddly, despite their being more than competent in the roles, I have heard some snipes about them and I can assure you they DID do well and were well cast.
Now as for the rest of the film, I must STRONGLY urge caution, as this is one of the most violent films I have ever seen. Sure, some films show many more deaths but the closeup shots of throats being slit and profuse torrents of blood is NOT for the squeamish nor is the sight of seeing the corpses splat onto the floor below as they are dropped through the trap door. I noticed several in the theater covering their eyes during the murder scenes--including my daughter. It's not for the faint-hearted and really is up close and brutal in how it depicts the killings. It worked--the murders looked very vivid and real--perhaps too real. With a little more left to the imagination with the killings, I really think the film might have worked a tad better for the average viewer. I have a very high tolerance for this stuff (probably partly due to my being a human biology minor in college), but most will cringe at all the carnage.
Now as for the aesthetics of the film. As you probably would expect, director Burton did his usual marvelous job. The dankness and awfulness of a Dickensian England is vivid and convincing. The plethora of roaches and rats also heightened this awful realism as did the terrible dental work of the actors. Unlike many films set in this era that featured actors with lovely capped teeth, the actors here abounded with crooked teeth! What I particularly liked about the film and what really jumped out at me was the cinematography--how almost everything was done in sepia and gray tones. There were a few exceptions but these were wonderful and were designed as the occasional and shocking contrast (such as the blueness of Pirelli's clothes or the intensity of the blood). Additionally, the fantasy sequence was extremely colorful and this made it one of the most striking and funny scenes in the film--quite appropriate to the mood.
So overall, apart from the intensity of the violence, this was a great film and a nice improvement over the Sondheim stage production due to its wickedly dark humor and style.
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