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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Posted: Dec 20, 2007 in Movies
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'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is the quintessential Tim Burton movie, even though it springs from somebody else's celebrated mind.
Everything about Stephen Sondheim's revered musical, which provided the inspiration for the film, seems tailor-made for the director's sensibilities. Truly, what other filmmaker could tell the story of a vengeful barber (Johnny Depp) who slits his customers' throats and a lovesick baker (Helena Bonham Carter) who grinds up their bodies for her meat pies?
It's strangely beautiful and beautifully strange, with horrific subject matter that produces plenty of wicked humor and characters who initially seem ghoulish but ultimately reveal themselves as sympathetic and deeply sad.
Burton's vision of 19th-century London, created with help from cinematographer Dariusz Volski and production designer Dante Ferretti, is vividly gritty, full of blacks and grays punctuated by splashes of blood.
It sprays from the necks of the victims, who are then dumped down a chute and into Mrs. Lovett's meat grinder. Watching Sweeney do this over and over is at once harrowing and hilarious.
Sweeney goes on his killing spree after spending 15 years in an Australian prison on false charges.
Bonham Carter is no Angela Lansbury, who originated the role on Broadway, or Patti LuPone, who did it in a 2005 revival, but she has the right look for the part, and a touching tinge of melancholy.
Depp has been immersing himself in challenging roles like Sweeney Todd his whole life, and is just as snug a fit for the material as Burton himself.
Christy Lemire / Associated Press
I'm incredibly excited to see this.
One of my answers to an old Question of the week -What would you write a play about?- , was "A demon barber that kills his victims and turns them into meat pies... no wait that's been done."
I was really curious if anyone knew what I was referencing.
Anyway if the movie is as good as Tim Burton tends to make his movies we'll have a hit. I'll miss Angela Lansbury, I loved her performance in the musical.
I LOVED IT!! It was fantastic! I've been a huge Sweeney fan since they released the broadway cast recording. This film rendering is SO bloody, SO grotesque... AWESOME! Try not to compare it to the Broadway cast recording, because that stands on its own. The film is much more intimate and creepy, like they're singing right in your ear, and the tension is suffocating, but GAWD does it THRILL! Ultimately, its the combination of Sondheim/Burton brilliance. I found myself laughing at the tsunami-like bloodletting - I mean, who knew murder and cannibalism could be so beautiful and poignant? I would like to see this become a huge cult hit, complete with Friday/Saturday midnight showings, where we all come dressed as our favorite characters, sing along, do a floor show. Anyone?
I want to see this, but unfortunately I am incredibly biased from listening to the 2005 revival recording almost constantly. Johnny Depp is horribly nasally; I don't know if I could get passed it...maybe I'll rent it when it comes out.
Some questions, though. Why is Toby appear to be 10? Why does Anthony look like a woman x]? How does Johanna have a slight Irish accent? I guess they just wanted to be different from the stage versions. No harm in that, I guess....I just hope people figure out that Stephen Sondheim's the one who wrote the songs, not Tim Burton. Maybe it'll get people interested and they'll become Sondheim fans! That would be lovely....=]
I saw Sweeny Todd tonight and thought it was sort of a mixed bag. I was immediately hooked by the monstrous Phantom of the Opera-esque pipe organ music that started the intro. It rattled every bone in my body and sent chills down my spine. I was also immediately impressed by the Tim Burton atmosphere of London.
However, fully realizing that this started as a musical and was ported to the big screen, I almost feel like the music and the atmosphere weren't really intended for each other. Often, the music sounded far to cheery for the subject matter, taking any sense of horror with it. Sometimes the cheeriness/comedy worked, such as the song about what different social classes would taste like in a meat pie, but other times I was left thinking "This could have been a really creepy scene if only he wasn't singing to his razors as if they were people." Overall, the music was enjoyable, with the exception of one song where the cadence of the vocals were completely off from the tempo of the accompanying harp. It was schizophrenic to the point of being unlistenable.
For those concerned about the gore, it's "Kill Bill" kind of gore that, at least for me, is outlandish enough that my normally week stomach can handle it. Overall, it was enjoyable enough, but I don't think I'll ever have the desire to see it again. I WOULD like to see the Broadway show though.
I am a theatre person. I love the thteatre, I love it so much I decided to become an actor. And I love movies, I love Johnny Depp, I love a good Steven S. score. I have done this show on stage and love it. I LOVE TIM BURTON. I even love the woman playing Miss. Lovett. What I wasn't a big fan of was the movie.
Yes it is pretty much just like the stage show, yes it is good, yes it is Tim Burton who is a master. But I thought maybe too much gore was added to the show. And I thought some of the comedy was lost. Maybe it is just me, maybe I have done the show and know the score and know every line after doing the show so I am just over it. But I just thought it was just ok. I wanted more humor and less gore. And I love gore! But I thought it was a little too much and took away from some of the music. Oh Well! Plus...Miss Lovett and Johnny Depp, couldn't sing that well....all and all it was just ok.
Jason.
All I can say is "wow." And not in a good way. I saw beautiful art direction, solid performances, great costuming and make-up, and I'm a HUGE fan of the original musical. BUT... what a yawn-fest. I can't pinpoint what fell so flat for me, but I just walked away wishing I'd seen the movie the trailers promised. There was no soul to the film at all, it just sort of rolled onto the screen then right out of my head as soon as the credits rolled.
I think if you love Sweeney (and I do), you'll want to miss this valiant but failed attempt.