Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Reviews

• The Many Facets of Stephen Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD

  
  By A328S9RN3U5M68 on 2008-04-03
  When it comes to a work of the musical stage it is difficult to imagine a finer one than Stephen Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. For those who saw the original 1979 Hal Prince extravagant production starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou/George Hearn, and then the 2005 revival as condensed so creatively by John Doyle and re-orchestrated by Sarah Travis who placed the orchestral instruments in the hands of the 10 actors who tell the story of the strange Todd, the Tim Burton (screenplay reduction by Josh Logan) film will only enhance the pleasures of seeing SWEENEY TODD resurrected in yet another form. Each of these incarnations has its riches and together they establish Sondheim's work as a masterpiece.
  
  Johnny Depp makes a convincing Sweeney Todd, in looks and demeanor as well as in singing voice, and Helena Bonham Carter's Mrs. Lovett fits right into Tim Burton's vision of the dark, squalid and seedy London. Timothy Spall is perfect as the oily Beadle, Alan Rickman makes Judge Turpin an understandable villain, Jamie Campbell Bower and Jayne Wisener are suitably infatuated young lovers, and Sacha Baron Cohen and Ed Sanders give top flight cameos as Signor Pirelli and Toby. The one advantage of seeing this fine film on DVD is the option of turning on the subtitles so as not to miss a word of Sondheim's superb lyrics.
  
  For this viewer, however, the most successful version of this 'opera' is the John Doyle production currently on the boards in Los Angeles with Judy Kaye as the most satisfying Mrs. Lovett on record. This uniquely economical and endlessly creative production goes to the core of the work better than any other version, and if this traveling company comes anywhere near your home, go see it! It is the essential SWEENEY TODD and a fine adjunct to seeing the film version again and again. Grady Harp, April 08
  
  

• Sondheim's Masterpiece Finally on Film

  
  By AQQFI7YHMRL7S on 2007-12-23
  Although critics have been almost unanimous in their praise of this film, many fans of the show are quite harsh in their appraisal, chiefly for two reasons - one, that the principals are not great singers, and two, the deletion of roughly 50% of the score. I surprised myself in that, having purchased the soundtrack and seen the movie, I am in neither camp, as either of these factors might heretofore have caused me to pronounce most film adaptations of almost any Broadway musical a failure. Instead, I am thrilled far beyond my expectations with this production.
  
  It might not have been so, had I not had so much respect for Stephen Sondheim. As part of the pre-release publicity, he has granted an unusual (for him) number of interviews, and says that he is unequivocally satisfied with Tim Burton's vision. As anyone who appreciates his high level of artistic integrity will agree, Mr. Sondheim would not give praise to this project if he were not satisfied with it. At 77, Stephen Sondheim is considered by many to be the greatest composer in the history of the American theatre, and I have followed him long enough to know that no amount of financial consideration could cause him to declare his endorsement if he were not truly happy with the finished film.
  
  I have listened carefully to what Mr. Sondheim has had to say in those recent interviews, and now understand why so many stage musicals previously transferred to celluloid haven't worked. To begin with, time passes very differently in a theatre than it does on film. That which takes several minutes in a Broadway theatre (i.e. a full-blown production number) is apt to seem like a small eternity on screen. Therefore, the very thing that keeps most audiences clamoring for more in live theatre is apt to make many movie audiences run screaming from the auditorium. Then there is the problem of what Alfred Hitchcock once termed "suspension of disbelief"; that is, in real life, no one ever bursts into song during one of life's dramatic moments, no less accompanied by a full orchestra, and many moviegoers who are accustomed to a certain amount of reality therefore find musical films particularly hard to take. Thanks to some of the theories on musical film voiced by Mr. Sondheim in the past week or so, I finally understand why so many previous attempts to film Broadway musicals fall flat - in short, the theatre and film are two entirely different mediums, with two entirely different audiences. Although many theatre lovers, myself included, would be happy to sit through an entire musical transferred to screen exactly as produced on stage, most movie audiences demand something different. And something different is what they surely get with Sweeney Todd.
  
  Then there is the score. Tim Burton has said that he has been a fan of Sweeney Todd since its original run. I believe that, as disappointing as it is for many fans to accept how much of the score has been cut, it was probably even more agonizing for Mr. Burton to decide what pieces to remove. The original ran over three hours, and at least 75% of the story was sung, making Sweeney Todd one of the few genuine operas to ever come out of Broadway. The film runs only 117 minutes and, judging by the length of the soundtrack CD (a mere 72 minutes) easily 40% of the score has been removed, chiefly the ensemble pieces. Mr. Burton apparently judged (probably correctly) that the choral numbers which worked so well on stage, although containing some of the wittiest lyrics, would be clunky and ponderous on film, and he made the prudent (if, I'm sure, difficult) decision to let them go. This is likely to be the sorest point for many fans of the show. And had I not been paying careful attention to Mr. Sondheim's recent interviews, I may not have been able to get past that point myself.
  
  But what has been excised is more than compensated for in Mr. Burton's sumptuous visuals and careful attention to detail. Although Mr. Sondheim has made changes to the lyrics, resolving previously problematic portions of the score and actually improving it, it's amazing how much of what is left of the score is faithful to the original. Though it's a tragic story, Sweeney Todd remains in essence a dark comedy, and many of Mr. Burton's finer touches, especially the staging of the musical numbers, have enhanced the story to the point where I have hardly missed the deletions, and I speak as someone who has loved this piece in almost all of its previous renderings.
  
  And I admit that, although he has never been a particular favorite of mine, Johnny Depp is a revelation. Without detracting from previous interpreters of the role (especially Len Cariou and George Hearn), Mr. Depp's evocation of the character is so fully fleshed out, and so filled with genuine pathos and sympathy, that I was able to immediately excuse the fact that he is not a seasoned vocalist. Besides, to reiterate a point made earlier, this is not Broadway, and there is no need for his voice to reach the back of the house. If anything, the fact that the principal characters are not great singers actually enhances the realistic feel of the film. It is also a pleasure to have both Toby and Anthony (not to mention Joanna) played by actors of the appropriate age, and hear accents that actually invoke pre-Victorian London.
  
  In the end however, the real star (to me, anyway) is the superlative score by Stephen Sondheim. I am not amazed that some feel that there are no "memorable songs" in the score. Good music should be subtle; the absence of "catchy tunes" that one will whistle on the way out of the theatre is only indicative to me of the high quality of the score. Anyone who is previously unfamiliar with Sweeney Todd who doesn't "get it" is urged to purchase the soundtrack (the full version, with the complete libretto included) and follow along with the words and music as the songs are sung. The first thing you will realize is (as with any of Mr. Sondheim's works, whether they be in a film, the theatre, or any other medium) how incredibly witty and sophisticated his lyrics are; on first listen you are apt to miss most of his delicious wit. His use of the English language, his clever rhymes, and above all, his intelligent, deft semantics will amaze anyone who cares to take the time to listen. There are reasons why so many consider Sondheim the foremost composer of the theatre, and so many intelligent theatergoers hang on his every word. But just as important as his words (and I have always admired Sondheim's ability to use words above all else that I treasure in the world of musical theatre), you will find, especially if you listen long and hard enough, that his delicate, subtle music will, in time, work its way into your heart and conscience as some of the most beautiful music ever composed. This is NOT top-forty pop music, the type that is so often mistaken for excellence in theatre these days. In his ballads especially, Sondheim writes genuine, heartfelt gorgeous melodies; that is, real music. Once you open your heart and mind to Sondheim's glorious words and sumptuous airs, you may just become a fan for life.
  
  
  

• Revenge is a dish best served in a nice hot meat pie with lots of gravy! (4.5 stars)

  
  By A3AVJCB1ZD6ZY5 on 2008-01-01
  Barber Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly), and their baby daughter live happily in their tiny upstairs rooms off Fleet Street until Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) takes a fancy to Lucy. His Honor sends Barker off to Australia on a false charge.
  
  15 years later, Barker returns a much changed man. He's Sweeney Todd now and set on getting regaining his old life. When Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) advises him that Turpin raped his wife, Lucy, causing her to take poison, then took his daughter Johanna as his ward, Todd swears vengeance.
  
  And a bloody vengeance it is. It begins with the 'necessary' killing of a man who recognizes Todd for who he is and wishes to blackmail him. But, Todd's silver knives are hungry for blood--and so is he.
  
  Meanwhile, Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower) falls in love with Johanna (Jayne Wisener) as he passes beneath her window. The pair plan to elope. He takes Sweeney into his confidence, little knowing that Sweeney is not as sympathetic to the cause of young love as he seems.
  
  The tale is filmed dark as only Tim Burton can do it and accompanied by Sondheim's glorious compositions, full of ironic humor and just plain gorgeous orchestration. But don't let that fool you, "Sweeney" is not a musical you could take your choir class to on a field trip. It's a story that'd put Upton Sinclair off his feed.
  
  Warnings:
  
  Blood and guts--if you have a hard time with these, "Sweeney" may not be your kind of film; however, the blood's been tinted strawberry red, so the effect is greatly lessened.
  
  

• Todd's tonsorial tragicomedy

  
  By A37PV5GMP2ILJC on 2008-02-25
  There was a young barber who loved his fine wife
  His wife and his daughter - well, they were his life
  `til one day fair Lucy, Judge Turpin espied
  And vowed he would take her and make her his bride
  
  He called up the Beadle, and trumped up a charge
  Sent him to Australia on a prison barge
  But fifteen years later the barber returned
  With revenge in his heart, `cos he really got burned
  
  He found Nellie Lovett, a baker of pies
  Who was running real low on her filling supplies
  Before long the duo were rolling in dough
  He cutting on top, and she cooking below
  
  One day as he practiced tonsorial slaughter
  He learned of the fate of his beautiful daughter
  He worked out a plan and then stood by his chair
  And waited for those who'd wronged him to appear
  
  This movie sure rocks, but it's not for the weak
  As blood spurts and gushes, and arteries leak
  The Director's amazing, the screenplay surreal
  It'll make you think twice on the whole meat pie deal
  
  Cohen, Bonham-Carter and Spall add some zing
  While Snape and Jack Sparrow prove that they can sing
  This tale of the barber, the baker and judge
  Should give the careers of the actors a nudge
  
  I watched it in awe as the ending drew near
  And I said "This is my movie choice for the year"
  I might be quite biased, I love Johnny Depp
  But I give it 5 stars, and a resounding YEP!!!
  
  
  
  
  Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)
  
  1. Don't mess with a guy who wields a razor
  2. Revenge is meat
  3. There'll be pie from the sky when you die
  4. What goes around comes around
  
  
  
  Amanda Richards
  
  

• Special Collector's Edition Loaded with Extras!

  
  By A21B2TJBWCSK1R on 2008-03-31
  An R rated musical about a vengeful barber who kills his victims only to serve them up as meat pies must've made the studio a little nervous to bankroll a big budget adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's award-winning Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Although, they must've been reassured that Tim Burton would be helming the project with his long-time collaborator Johnny Depp stepping in to play Todd. Burton, with his affinity for all things dark and gothic (see The Nightmare Before Christmas (Special Edition) and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Widescreen Edition)), seems like an obvious choice to take on such dark subject matter and Sondheim agreed, giving the filmmaker his blessing.
  
  The first disc has a featurette entitled, "Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd." Tim Burton had always been a fan of Stephen Sondheim's musical and had contemplated a film version for years. Helena Bonham Carter was also a fan and had always wanted to play Mrs. Lovett. Burton liked the idea of her and Depp as this "weird" couple. The director and his leading man talk about their long-standing relationship in this excellent featurette.
  
  The second disc starts off with the "Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007" which features Burton, producer Richard Zanuck and his main cast answering questions from the press. Not surprisingly, Burton and Depp tend to dominate the bulk of the questions. Both men are very charming and joke good naturedly with each other.
  
  "Musical Mayhem: Sondheim's Sweeney Todd" features Sondheim talking about the origins of his take on Sweeney Todd and what drew him to the story. He also talks about how he adapted it into a musical and speaks eloquently about the story and the predominant theme of revenge.
  
  "Sweeney's London" provides historical background to 18th and 19th century London including the social and economical conditions with historians talking about how harsh life was back then. This is fascinating stuff and excellent insight the world that acts as a backdrop to the story.
  
  "The Making of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" takes a look at how the film came together. This is a pretty standard promotional featurette that mixes cast and crew soundbites with clips from the film. It covers a lot of ground already depicted in other featurettes.
  
  "Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition" examines the tradition of Grand Guignol or horror theatre that came out of France. Academic types trace its origins, define its characteristics, and illustrate how Sweeney Todd fits into this tradition.
  
  "Designs for a Demon Barber" takes a look at the costumes and set design. Burton wanted the film to look like Frankenstein (75th Anniversary Edition) (Universal Legacy Series) and resemble a kind of fable look. He explains that this is why he used sets on soundstages as opposed to actual locations.
  
  "A Bloody Business" examines how they did the film's bloody deaths. We see Burton and his crew running tests on how to get the right bloody sprays and experiment with how to pull of the throat slashings.
  
  "Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp" features the two men asking each other questions submitted by fans. They talk about how they met, how Depp prepared for the role, and so on.
  
  "The Razor's Refrain" is a montage of stills and behind-the-scenes photographs from the film with excerpts of songs from the soundtrack.
  
  Also included is a gallery of production sketches, promotional stills, and behind-the-scenes photos.
  
  Finally, there is a theatrical trailer.
  
  
• Throat Slashing, Singing, and Meat Pies, What more Could You Want?
  By A1AYN3IIUNQCIA on 2008-02-22
  Ever since Moulin Rouge re-energized the then malignant musical genre, we have just been assaulted by a slew of hit Broadway Musicals turned big screen show stoppers, from the highs (Chicago) to the lows (The Producers). And while Dreamgirls was very well done, it really just buckled under its own pressure and did not live up to my expectations. But for 2007, musicals hit an all time high when not one, not two, but three well done films were released. In the Summer, we were treated to the feel good Hairspray. In the Fall, we then experienced the fantasy that was Across the Universe. And finally, they toped of the year with an all time high with Sweeney Todd- The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, one of the best musical adaptations in recent years.
  
  For those familiar with the Broadway play, we are shown the story of the vengeful Benjamin Parker, who for fifteen years has been paying for a crime he did not commit, wrongfully accused by the wicked Judge Tulpin. Now, he has returned to London, with a new name and a thirst for vengence. Aided by his former landlady Mrs. Lovett, he cuts a bloody path across 19th century London in his ulitmate quest for revenge against those who have wronged him.
  
  First off, Tim Burton could not have been a better choice to bring this tale to the big screen. Already one of the biggest directors out right now and a sheer genious of quirky, dark films, there really was no other contender that could have done the job he did. Here, he brings his best work since Ed Wood. The atmosphere, the costumes, the settings, everything just not only screams Burton but also keeps the vision of Stephen Sondheim alive and well. And usually i'm not a person who squirms easily but some of the throat slashings really did just make me shiver slightly in my seat, something I do not experience a lot even with some of the goriest or scariest horror films, so bravo to Burton for letting the blood fly (and believe me, there is a lot).
  
  Now, at first I was a bit apprehensive about Johnny Depp playing Sweeney Todd, cause until then I had no idea he could sing. But luckily, my fears were put to rest as soon as he stepped on screen. As Sweeney, he glowers, he sings, he kils, just once again submerging himself into yet another unique character. Helena Bonham Carter also proves her own as Todd's acomplice, delivering comic wit at just the right time and holding her own on the screen next to Depp and as for Alan Rickman, he just completly took me by surprise. To see the guy most people know as Professor Snape just being up there and singing is just a bit of a shock but he definently pulled it off. And for those who groan over the singing, I mean come on! These are not professional Broadway singers people! So its expected they wouldn't be on par with those who originally played the cast.
  
  I was very dissapointed that this film did not get the realy recognition by the Academy as it should have, especially for Best Picture and Director. But then again, this was a pretty tough year, full of a lot of great films, so the fact it sort of got lost in the shuffle to the likes of heavy hitters like No Country For Old Men or There Will Be Blood. But at least Depp got his just reward with a Best Actor nod.
  
  Definently one of the best films of 2007, Sweeney Todd is a must see for moviegoers but if you are not a fan for musicals, this will most likely not be your taste of film. However, if your a fan or loved the Broadway play, the film will surely not dissapoint.
  
  
• Sweeny Todd - Movie, Musical, Masterpiece - You Will Be Surprised!!!!
  By A17BUUBOU0598B on 2007-12-30
  "Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barbour of Fleet Street" will surprise a LOT of movie-goers. It's a musical about a London barbour who is wronged and returns home looking for revenge.
  
  I'm usually skeptical of film remakes of musicals. Being a fan of Tim Burton was enough to get me through the door. I am really glad I saw it. This is a very good movie that will satisfy a very wide audience, including those unfamiliar with the original musical as well as it's loyal fans.
  
  DISCLAIMER: Not for younger kids or squeemish adults. This is one R rating that is well deserved.
  
  First and foremost, this movie is worth seeing in the theatres. I expected this version to be even less "musical" than it was. Surprisingly, it is VERY true to the original musical, with almost all the original Steven Sondheim score re-sung by the modern cast. Musically, the songs and score are all well done and add to the theatre experience.
  
  Visually, Sweeney Todd is STUNNING. This version is MUCH BETTER than any other previous version. Tim Burton has created a dark and dingy London that deserves to be nominated for an Oscar for almost every technical category. The black and white backdrop make the bright colors stand out when they are used. Color is used artistically and powerfully, as you'll see. :)
  
  The actors will also attract some die hard fan groups. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter have some very different fan bases, but I think both will be satisfied and surprised by the performances. In fact the whole cast does wonderfully, and the director no doubt had something to do with that.
  
  This is also another movie where I will be looking forward to the HD DVD. Hoping for a wealth of deleted / extended scenes and "making of" featurettes. As for the soundtrack, I plan on buying it today.
  
  Go see this movie. You will buy the DVD. And the soundtrack may be on your shopping list soon too. There's a full version, and a "Highlights" version without the background tracks.
  Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street Deluxe - Complete Edition
  Sweeney Todd Soundtrack Highlights
  
  Enjoy!!
  
  
  
• Unsavory
  By A3EE0H0NWQ9QVL on 2007-12-29
  I've never seen `Sweeney Todd' before. Touted in high school and offstage by Angela Lansberry who played Mrs. Lovett and lovingly reminisced over her role in an interview, I decided to take a pass. The thought of a musical about the bloody (demon) barber of Fleet Street seemed too unsavory and too discordant. Excerpts showed its potential audience scenes with beautiful music matched with too much gore. I kept picturing something like murder done to Rossini's "Barber of Seville;" something that seemed like a bizarre and comic mismatch. Trying to bring a `Green Eggs and Ham' (sorry) mentality to the cinema, I did get a shock; more than one to be exact. Somehow it all came together.
  
  Here's why. First of all, Tim Burton, the dark director who gave us 'Batman' and wrote `The Nightmare Before Christmas' was the perfect choice for this musical. The close up shots, the editing, the timing, the wide angles, and the zooming in and out are done to perfection. The macabre atmosphere is perfectly framed without dwelling too long on any one image or scene. In terms of cinematography, I kept thinking of Carol Reed's `Oliver' for getting every frame nearly perfect. Secondly, Johnny Depp's performance is right on. I was expecting the dark side of Johnny Depp--or Jack Sparrow without laughs. This is only partly true. Depp comes to the screen in his own right, creating a familiar, but decidedly different leg in his acting ability. There's the same confidence, but a real, seething vengeance in his performance. He's not a bad singer, either. Certainly, we need just enough of a character voice, which, unsurprisingly, he can do.
  
  The story entails class warfare that I can only describe as the British equivalent of The French Revolution done in miniature. Benjamin Barker (bka Sweeney Todd) is given short shrift by the aristocracy in power. Judge Turpin's (Alan Rickman) unjust sentence takes his dignity away, and his daughter, Johanna, is Turpin's captive love interest. Keeping a long arm is Turpin's weasel servant Beedle (Timothy Spall).
  
  At a traveling elixir show, Todd shows his shaving prowess in a wagered stage contest. Once he wins against Italian purveyor, Perelli (Sacha Baron Cohen, 'Borat'), he gains an enemy as well as a boost in his barber livelihood. The barber of Fleet Street finds his supply of razors his method of revenge. In the meantime, his love interest, Mrs. Lovett, downstairs has a pie shop, including a most bizarre method of recycling corpses released from Sweeney Todd's trap door upstairs.
  
  The supporting cast effectively flanks Depp, including Helena Bonham Carter, who gives us someone both steely and sensitive enough to play the part as Mrs. Lovett. Turpin's and Beedle's villainy are given just the right touch to ally our sympathies with Todd. Again, the timing is awesome for building up such arrogant and loathsome antagonists from the Victorian Era.
  
  While I may prefer the class warfare as it's espoused by Charles Dickens and Ray Davies, I have to take the tale as is. And, as it is, it's a remarkably powerful musical voyage through a dark and grisly chapter of vengeance. I must also note that, although 'Sweeney Todd' is by no means new, it is a part of this year's trend toward cutthroat violence at the cinema. ('Eastern Promises' comes to mind.) Finally, listening to the music, not only do the songs blend, but they add suspense to the story. Any way you look at it, it's quite a feat.
  
  
• Burton's Todd gets a vat of venom, and deserves it.
  By A2JHYW5V7UFIQ2 on 2008-04-08
  
  It would have been nice had Tim Burton produced a "Sweeney Todd" that did a certain amount of justice to Steven Sondheim's masterwork. Unfortunately, what Sondheim wrote and Burton put out bear only the most casual resemblance to each other ... namely, they have a lot of the same words and much of the same music - assuming that you prefer Shakespeare's witches acting like Wagner's norns (Anna Russell: "this dreary set of women"), or prefer Beethoven's 5th taken at the tempo of Chopin's funeral march. Blech!
  
  It should be noted that there are already available 2 other versions of this opera (yes, I know it has spoken dialogue, but so does Carmen when it's done properly). Both star the talented George Hearn as Sweeney. One is the 1982 fully staged version with Angela Lansbury grasping immortality as Mrs. Lovett. The other is the 2001 concert version with the great Patti LuPone. Ms LuPone does an undeniable star turn in this role, but fails to achieve Lansbury's high orbit. Hearn is a tremendous Sweeney, although in 2001 he's showing the 19 elapsed years since the last recording. I would recommend either of these entries, although my recommendation of the 1982 version is unqualified, enthusiastic, and excited.
  
  And now Tim Burton tackles the Demon Barber. Burton is an erratic director who often hits the heights but here sinks to a new low in this thing that is less a performance than a travesty.
  
  The reader may notice I mention none of the other performers. This is done mostly to protect the innocent. They do well enough, but their quality is still leagues from the 1982 version. As in nearly everything that went wrong with this Sweeney, I blame the director.
  
  Somebody must have told Burton that Sweeney Todd is a dark comedy. He seems to have forgotten about the "comedy" and concentrated on the "dark" - to great excess, alas. Practically everything is filmed through blue filters - which may have been considered clever technique 50 years ago but is now just a strain on the eyes.
  
  On first viewing the film, and assuming you know the score, the first thing you will notice is the complete absence of the chorus. Considering the deep relationship between Sweeney and Greek theater, this omission is akin to dropping the witches from Macbeth. It is this omission that robs the work of its dimensionality and causes the ending to fall flatter than last week's soufflé.
  
  Aside from the directorial murder of the chorus and its music, this performance contains a number of omissions, truncations, and abbreviations. The flagellation scene, as I recall, is gone. The Todd-Pirelli contest contains only the shaving part, not the tooth-pulling half. (This omission is fairly common in performance, alas). The Beggar Woman's part is excised by about 50%, including most of the best bits. The "God, That's Good" number is foreshortened to the point of being seen on edge. The wildly funny lead up to Beadle Bamford's murder is gone. And so on and on. Somebody should remind Burton that this is a recipe for hash, not honest roast beef.
  
  Burton's directorial aim seems clearly to rob Sweeney of almost every ounce of its considerable humor. He fails, and there's enough left to cause us to go into deep mourning for the rest. "Hello, my name is Tim. I'm here to make sure you don't have any fun." He seems to desire the players to be a funereal in their acting as possible.
  
  As a result, a great actor like Johnny Depp is converted into somebody you'd never want to see or hear again. Depp, clearly too young for the role, is made up to look like somebody in a 1930s horror flick instead of someone who's spent nearly 2 decades in the penal sloughs of Old Australia. He plays Sweeney as if the man were loopy, which he isn't. He has a detached, dreamy delivery and never, NEVER catches fire. I suppose this approach may be considered interesting in a sort of abstract way, but mainly it's boring and tedious. Despite all the cuts, the film is only about a quarter-hour shorter than the 1982 and 2001 versions ... yet it seems to drag out a lot longer. You do the math.
  
  Perhaps the weakest link in the whole cast is Helena Bonham Carter, who is manifestly too young to play Mrs. Lovett. Her makeup may be intended to age her, but merely gives her a tired and haggard appearance. Lovett's first appearance should wrench the viewer's attention onto her relentlessly. Bonham Carter's first appearance gives us time to see if there are any pictures on the ceiling. The less said about "Have a Little Priest", probably the better. There are a few clever moments, but only in the sense of a convergence of a visual clue to the lyrics ... a technique that doesn't hold up well with repetition. Bonham Carter's motherly effusions over Toby wouldn't convince a 3-month-old puppy.
  
  Speaking of puppies, the staging of this dog omits the original wonderful mechanistic set in favor of a more realistic presentation of London. This can be understood, since films generally try to transcend the limitations of the stage. In this case, however, the relationship of staging with plot is too organic to be so lightly dismissed.
  
  Look, guys ... if you buy this you'll regret it ... maybe not now, but later and for the rest of your life. (Thanks, Rick.) Try the Lansbury.
  
  
  
• "The years, no doubt, have changed me."
  By A2GPEV42IO41CI on 2008-01-14
  Fifteen years ago, Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) was a successful young barber with a lovely wife and baby daughter; then, everything changed: A nasty judge (Alan Rickman) sent him to prison and took the wife and baby for his own. Now Barker's back in London, going by the name of Sweeney Todd, and he's ready for revenge against the judge, his Beadle, and anyone else who crosses him. He is joined by a partner-in-crime, Mrs. Lovett (Helen Bodham Carter) who helps him dispose of his victims by baking them in meat pies.
  
  This musical is almost an operetta, as there is much beautiful singing and little spoken dialogue. It is stylishly-filmed in near-sepia tones, except for the occasional splatter of blood, which is a lovely nail-polish shade of red. The sets, lighting, costumes, and makeup accentuate the feeling of madness and desperation, and create a grim fantasy. Depp sings well and gives a strong performance as the unusual hero, but he didn't fit the role for me (having seen the stage version). He still looked young enough to play Edward Scissorhands, whom he strongly resembles here. Carter is fine as the disheveled pie-maker, but again, I felt there was too much emphasis on the macabre makeup, hair, and wardrobe, and she was too young as well.
  
  Overall, it's an impressive film, full of grand music, comic and sinister characters, and a good story about settling old scores. I didn't find the bloody scenes objectionable, since the whole thing seemed a fantasy and not really scary.
  
  
• great production design,but...
  By A30J0KX6L70X10 on 2008-02-26
  It seems everyone is coming to this film with some preconceived notions about what it should or should not be. Some are too attached to the stage production and others are too eager to consider what was done on stage as irrelevant. Some consider Sondheim a god and others don't. I think I'm somewhere in the middle of all that. I love much of Sondheim's work, but I don't think he is the greatest theater composer and I don't think "Sweeney Todd" is the greatest of all musicals. I've never seen this performed live, but I am very familiar with the video of the stage production starring Lansbury and Hearn as well as the Broadway Cast Recording.
  
  The film is remarkably faithful to the stage production, but given Tim Burton's take on the material and the casting, I think the movie would actually have been more successful if it had been less faithful to the stage play. By adhering so closely to the source material, without retaining certain key elements that made that material work, Burton has made a movie that I found very frustrating and unsatisfying.
  
  The movie looks great. The photography and production design are stunning.
  
  The young lovers, a necessary plot device, but quite annoying in the stage production, are well cast, have had their roles judiciously parred down and are quite tolerable here. Although the song "Johanna" has one of Sondheim's most beautiful melodies, it also has the dopiest lyrics he has ever written.
  
  The Beggar Woman is also a little annoying in the play, but in the movie her role has not only been severely parred down but cleaned up and consequently the impact of her ultimate fate is badly dulled, robbing the ending of much of it's drama. Some people in the audience seemed confused about who she was.
  
  My impression from the play has always been that Toby is supposed to be a young man or teenager who is somewhat mentally disadvantaged. The movie has turned him into a little boy who seems to be sharp as a tack mentally, although much of the dialogue still refers to him as being dim witted. Sure, having a little boy makes the ending a little more shocking, but I'm not sure it makes sense dramatically.
  
  Now the big problem. Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett. How misconceived are these characterizations? I might have bought Johnny Depp's take on Sweeney had it not been paired with Bonham-Carter's Lovett, but the two together just don't cut it. They are both so enervated right from the beginning that it's hard to believe they could ever conceive of or carry out a plan like this. Mrs. Lovett's character is the real problem here. Certainly it could not have been played in a movie as broadly as Angela Lansbury played it on stage, however, an adaptation of that characterization would have worked. Mrs. Lovett should be anything but enervated. She is the planner. She's a practical woman and a survivor and is constantly working, conniving, planning, plotting. Sweeney may have dreams of vengeance, but it's Mrs. Lovett who makes it work, she's the muscle in this enterprise. Sweeney may be obsessed with death, but Mrs. Lovett is very much alive. Helena Bonham-Carter seems half dead before the movie starts. At one time Meryl Streep was mentioned as a possible Mrs. Lovett and we can only dream about what that performance would have been like.
  
  I also reject the notion that one has to choose between singers and actors. There are many people who are perfectly capable of doing both, although they may not have the star power of Johnny Depp or the personal relationships of Helena Bonham-Carter. The inability of the principals to actually sing this music means that they are totally unable to invest the songs with any kind of nuance or variety or character. After a while I found the monotone in which the music was performed to be tiresome - making all the music performed by these two sound alike.
  
  And what happened to the humor? At first I thought Tim Burton had made a choice to suck virtually all the humor out of the play, but the more I think about it I've come to the conclusion that he probably didn't get it in the first place. I never dreamed I'd encounter a performance of "A Little Priest" that would garner not one single laugh. This was the fault of both the lackluster vocals and the pedestrian staging. Did Burton really think we needed to actually see a priest, a fop, a green grocer, a runny pie to get the jokes? Also, how are we supposed to enjoy the jokes when the characters making them don't even seem to get them or be amused by them?
  
  
  
• THE GRIMMEST OF FAIRY TALES, BURTON'S VISION OF SONDHEIM'S MASTERPIECE IS AN AWESOME CREEPY-CRAWLY!
  By A3IP0R4JOD4R5G on 2008-02-22
  Tim Burton: Hollywood's undisputed champion of gothic horror.
  Sweeney Todd: a psycho barber and famous purveyor of dodgy pies.
  Hmmmm... what took you so long?
  
  It was screamingly obvious what a gorgeous team they would make. Rarely have we seen a film director so perfectly matched to a musical. And the black magic begins when Johnny Depp's white-faced Sweeney steals up the Thames at the dead of night. As the boat slips under a spooky London Bridge it becomes quite clear that Burton was put on earth to shoot this glorious melodrama.
  
  The film unfolds like the Grimmest of fairy tales. Depp's bitter Sweeney returns to London after 15 years of hurt. His painful story emerges in hollow songs with haunting off-key melodies. He wears his grievances like armour. His plan to murder the men who condemned him to a penal colony in order to rape his wife hinges around the dismal apartment above Mrs Lovett's ailing pie shop. The atmosphere is vintage Hammer Studios. The gleaming monochrome shots of cobbled streets are drained of color. Effectively overwrought and excellent, Sweeney Todd is a movie of bombastic, impossible camera moves and rhapsodic yuckiness. Burton can't resist filling the screen with scuttling vermin or surges of splatterific violence.
  
  Depp's Sweeney is a fiery-eyed, razor-brandishing cadaver with a mad Pagliacci glare. Bonham Carter is comparably corpse-like--a matched composition in bird-nest hairdo, death-pallor complexion, and heavily shadowed eyes. The musical chemistry between Depp and Helena Bonham Carter's genial cockney pie shop mistress is terrific. Sondheim approved the casting, and, surprisingly, Depp has a pleasing, if untrained, tenor. Alongside Bonham Carter's sweetly tentative voice, the numbers are inventively staged. Especially the cannibal waltz "A Little Priest" and the grotesquely wistful "By the Sea". Lovett's unreciprocated passion for Sweeney is the heart of the film and her bright idea of stuffing Sweeney's clients into meat pies seems almost perfectly sensible under the circumstances.
  
  The film's pace is a surprise. Burton has pruned Sondheim's arias to fit the tempo of a real thriller -- brilliant editing - and the villains are far less stocky. Yes, the ghoulishly attractive couple is supported by a suitable gang of gargoyles; Sacha Baron Cohen delivers a priceless cameo as a jealous unisex rival with plans to blackmail Sweeney. Alan Rickman is a sinister pleasure as Judge Turpin. And Timothy Spall is equally effective as his ultra-violent slithery enforcer, Beadle Bamford.
  
  Burton has never been one to spare the gore. The sound of skulls cracking open when Sweeney tosses his victims head first into the basement is not for the faint-of-heart. The director's knack of finding comedy in these ghastly scenes is tested to the limit. And the haunting final shot of the film, the details of which we must keep to ourselves so not to spoil the plot, is a masterful shot, painterly in its composition of framing, detail, and color.
  
  There is so much that can be said about Sweeney Todd, but we must insist that you stop reading and simply experience this wonderous film for yourself. A mad serial killer, a helpful, adoring woman, a vile judge, and a barber's chair - all elements that combine to form much more than this simple review can encapsulate. It is masterful cinema, art and entertainment, vision and sound combined for a truly riveting experience.
  
  
• Long boring parts interspersed with short bursts of horrific violence
  By A2JDR162ARCHHL on 2008-04-06
  I gave this an hour because everyone seems to love it so much. Not me! Be warned. This is a dark, unrelievedly negative film without a hint of humor or anything enjoyable. If you like killing, blood, and lots of incomprehensible, tuneless singing, this is the show for you.
  
  
• Sweeney Todd a great slasher film, why cgi works in a Burton film, and dvd features for the 2 disc version.
  By AN8M401S8Y6DA on 2008-04-05
  Going into Sweeney Todd I did not know any of the back story. I've heard of the musical just didn't know specifics. Being a fan of the horror genre I found Sweeney Todd to be a slasher/fanasy/musical/drama film (notice the slashes) baked with dark humor and bright red blood Argento style that is fueled by longing and revenge. That pretty much sums it up. I'd go as far as to say this could be in with the top slasher films because Sweeney Todd starts with the purpose of revenge and then spirals out of control to the point where no one is safe from his blade.
  
  The story is about an honest barber, Benjamin Barker, who is wrongfully imprisoned by, Judge Turpin, because he wanted to take advantage of Barker's pretty wife. With the help of a sailor, Barker returns to London years later eager to exact revenge on the judge who caused him the loss of his wife and daughter.
  
  When Todd returns to his old home he is informed by Mrs. Lovett (who owns a shop below Todd's old apartment and sells the worst meat pies in all of London) that his wife was defiled, humiliated, and as a result took poison. She also informs him that Judge Turpin adopted Todd's daughter as his own. Soon after, Lovett shows him to his blades which she kept hidden all these years for his return. He then rises inspired not as Benjamin Barker, honest barber, but Sweeney Todd the demon barber of fleet street.
  
  Lovett longs for Todd, Todd longs for his family, Turpin longed for Todd's wife and now daughter, Todd's daughter a captive in Turpin's house longs for freedom and ironically the sailor who helped Todd, and the sailor longs for her as well. Oh, I almost forgot the little gin drinking boy who comes to be Lovett's helper now that her shop is thriving with a new meatier recipe; he longs for Lovett. I think I might have carried on too long.
  
  CGI has it's critics and can look pretty fake. Initially I felt Sweeney Todd looked unreal however my mind soon changed. The reason I forgot about it is because in Tim Burton's films he isn't trying to re create anything. Burton has his own visions, then invites the viewer in, where we soon get caught up in the world he's created.
  
  This was one of Burton's best and one of the best to come out of 2007. Johnny Depp was great as was the supporting cast: Alan Rickman (Judge Turpin), Timothy Spall (Beatle Bumford), Sacha Baron Cohen (Signor Adolfo Pirelli); however it is Helen Bonham Carter who steals the show here with her portrayal of Mrs. Lovett.
  [4.5 Stars]
  
  SPECIAL FEATURES (from the back of the dvd)
  DISC I
  Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd: A behind the scenes look at the collaboration of Tim Burton with Johnny Depp and Helen Bonham Carter featuring exclusive footage from rehearsals, recording sessions and more!
  DISC 2
  Sweeney Todd is Alive: The Real History of The Demon Barber - Musical Mayhem: Soundheim's Sweeney Todd -Sweeney's London - The Making of Sweeney Todd - Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition - Designs for a Demon Barber - A Bloody Business - Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp - And more
  
  
  
  
• "He shaved the faces of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard of again..."
  By A3KEZLJ59C1JVH on 2007-12-23
  As a longtime fan of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," I've been looking forward to this movie for ages. I was not at all disappointed.
  
  "Sweeney Todd" is an amazing film, and it's almost an exact replica of the Broadway show, which made me very happy. The story is about Benjamin Barker, a.k.a. Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp), a barber who returns to London after being wrongly imprisoned for 15 years for a crime he did not commit. Benjamin was sent away as a result of Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), an evil man who was in love with Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly), Benjamin's wife, and wanted her for herself. When Benjamin/Sweeney returns to town, he is informed by Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) that his wife is dead and that the judge has taken Johanna (Jayne Wisener), Benjamin's daughter. Sweeney is determined to get revenge on the judge, and he devises a plan with Mrs. Lovett that involves slaying patrons in his reestablished barber shop and sending their bodies down a chute to the basement of Mrs. Lovett's pie shop, where she grinds up the dead to bake into her meat pies.
  
  Obviously, this is a very dark film, and I don't think anyone could have done a better job with it than Tim Burton. He remained very true to the musical version and did an excellent job of bringing this gory tale to the big screen. The music is phenomenal, although I was slightly disappointed that the "The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd" wasn't performed at all (but the music from the song is used throughout the film). Depp's performance as the homicidal barber is by far the best part of this film. I think this may be Depp's finest work to date, and it is definitely Oscar-worthy. (Who knew Jack Sparrow could sing so well?!) Rickman is perfectly cast in the role of the judge, and Sacha Baron Cohen is fantastic in a small but hilarious role as Sweeney's rival barber, Pirelli.
  
  The only performance that I was slightly disappointed with was Bonham Carter's. I've always been a big fan of hers, and it took me a while to warm up to her subtle interpretation of Mrs. Lovett. It could be that I'm being too hard on her and comparing her to Angela Lansbury's brilliant performance in the original Broadway production of "Sweeney Todd," but even so, I think Bonham Carter could have done a bit more with the role, and her singing voice wasn't all that impressive. However, she did improve as the film went on, and she had some very comical moments, especially in the dream sequence depicting Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney at the sea, which is by far the funniest part of the entire movie.
  
  Another gripe I have about the movie is that the ending is very abrubt. It would have been nice to include an epilogue of sorts to let the audience know what happens to the other characters.
  
  Overall, despite a few very tiny flaws, "Sweeney Todd" is absolutely sensational. Those of you with weak stomachs may not appreciate all the blood and gore, but this is a movie about a serial killer barber, so what else do you expect? I highly recoomend this film!
  
  
• "The Closest I Ever Gave" ~ A Musical Walk On The Dark Side
  By A141HP4LYPWMSR on 2008-04-17
  Well I must say the highly touted `Sweeney Todd', the musical romance about a wronged man turned cannibalistic serial killer is a rather tough review for me. On the one hand I want to reward the film high marks for its creative approach, imaginative sets and gothic flair. I'm also an admirer of Johnny Depp and his bizarre body of work so that would suggest a possible 4 ½ or 5 star rating.
  
  However on the other hand, I'm not a fan of the new CGI techniques ala `Sin City' and `Beowulf' so that definitely was not a plus for me. The storyline and violent visuals were also a bit too graphic for my particular tastes and the main characters though well developed and expertly portrayed were not likeable thus making the establishment of a personal, emotional connection with their plight rather difficult.
  
  Furthermore, since this is a musical one's like, or dislike of the performance numbers must be taken into consideration as well. I found the music to be somewhat tedious for the most part, lacking any real memorable songs that one would care to listen to outside the confines of the film.
  
  `Sweeney Todd' is definitely one of those movies you either fall madly in love with, or don't "get" at all. I guess I just didn't get it. My Rating: 3 ½ Stars-.
  
  
• JUST TERRIBLE
  By AF83ROU09VDFI on 2007-12-22
  I am going to keep this very simple-I thought the film was terrible, boring & stupid-and I can't believe I wasted $8 on this junk!!!!!
  
  
• The awsome threesome in some awfulness
  By A3NH7PYU4AD5GA on 2008-02-09
  As much as I liked some previous productions of the Burton/Bonham/Depp cooperation, especially the delicious chocolate factory, this new product left me more bewildered than amused. Also a little disgusted, I do not enjoy so much blood.
  The story is a gothic tale set in the world of Charles Dickens, it could have been written by Roald Dahl. The revenge motive is what holds it together, but the black humour direction takes over and gets out of hand.
  And then, honestly, I dislike most musicals. The music here is particularly boring, and the singers are respectable amateurs that I would not jeer on an amateur stage.
  On the other hand, Helena Bonham Carter is getting better all the time. She tempts me to notch up the star count to 4. But no, must resist temptation.
  
  
• Vocals completely swamped by the sound track!
  By A1615MDR9N12GP on 2008-04-03
  Maybe I'm too much a fan of Sondheim's lyrics and the musical version, but I was disappointed to the extent that the film soundtrack swamps the lyrics. Without subtitles it would have been very difficult to distinguish the words. I also missed the humor and lightness of the stage musical. This film version is much darker, heavier than the musical I remember.
  
  
• "Demon Barber" is wickedly good fun!
  By AZCDCO6KK2T81 on 2008-05-22
  An outstanding film on all counts from costume design and staging to the acting and singing of the cast. Tim Burton is the perfect director for this very off-beat, but not "family friendly" musical.
  
  Other than the film's deviously ironic, but somewhat lackluster ending, this film is flawless. Since most are familiar with this Broadway classic and considering that Amazon has really done an outstanding job with their review and synopsis, I will dispense with any summary here, not even a brief one. I do want to focus what made this film so perfect in my view:
  
  1) The casting could not have been more perfectly accomplished. Depp was born for this role, and Carter is wonderful as his cohort in crime and gives great subtly to her part. Her soul-filled eyes convey such sincere emotion, even when sarcastic. The supporting cast, especially Alan Rickman as the sick judge, are all spot on.
  
  2) The music of Sondheim is terrific and although much is cut from the Broadway show for the film, his talents are clearly visible and timeless and the cast does very well with their limited vocal ranges.
  
  3)The cinematography is first-rate and the blue tint with the splashes of color are perfect for this genre. The death scenes are admittedly gruesome, but the strawberry red tint against the generally washed out bluish color of the film makes them feel a bit cartoonish. Still, this isn't a film for the "whole family" as some have noted. Any family member below 13 or so really shouldn't see this no matter how much they love Depp from his "Pirates" films, but each parent has to decide for themselves what is appropriate or inappropriate and this is just my humble opinion.
  
  4) The direction is confident, focused, and visionary as most of Burton's work are. He is at his best when working with a cast familiar with his style and approach. He has to be one of the most under appreciated directors around. I consistently enjoy all of his films no matter how bizarre a few of them are.
  
  5) The set designs are outstanding as they look so real. One feels totally transported in time while watching this film.
  
  
  Well, that's about it for me on this one. So, buy or rent this film, sit back with the older members of your family, and enjoy a bowl of popcorn. You may want to avoid any pie while watching this film (sinister laugh).
  
  
• BEWARE - if the quality of the visuals matter to you on this HD release
  By A26ZMEMGD5BCUQ on 2008-08-18
  I really enjoyed this at the movies, and when I bought the English Blu-ray and watched it again, with 2 exceptions.
  
  First, the movie itself (SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT!), if only the daughter had lifted the lid and seen Todd kill the mother the despair would have been even greater - not for her, but for Sweeney. If he knew his beloved had seen him commit the act the tragedy would have been even more intense. (END SPOILER) But that's probably a personal and subjective thing, and not why I didn't mark it higher.
  
  Secondly, the Blu-ray version of the movie. The reason I only gave this 2 stars is because if it's the same as the English Blu-ray, you may want to save your money, because the heinous digital noise reduction rears its ugly head again. DNR is used to smooth out film grain and artefacts and must be used incredibly judiciously. There seems to be a LOT of ignorance around here about film grain as opposed to video noise, and people complaining wrongheadedly about things looking 'clean' and 'HD'. Let me explain:
  
  Visuals are obviously very important to Burton and an integral part of his storytelling. While film stocks have been getting more refined over the last hundred years many directors use higher amounts of grain INTENTIONALLY as a tonal element to literally add 'grit', roughness and a patina of texture to the visuals. It is used to enhance the mood of the movie, and when used by a visually competent director is done with purpose to help sell the tone.
  
  The disgusting thing that happened here however is not as pervasive as the abominable PATTON, but even MORE wrongheaded. O.K., so DNR and edge 'enhancement' (ha!) are used to 'clean up' an image (only stuff shot digitally or cg animated films will be completely without grain) but when they get rid of that grain, they obviously obliterate fine detail - so much for 'high-def'! What happened on Todd, a film where obvious grain which is part of the actual structure of the film stock NOT added on top and therefore inextricable from the detail of the picture (without manually supervised frame-by frame instructions), was that they used the plasticising DNR on the faces of Depp and Carter - but ONLY under the eyes and around the nose and cheeks! Not only that but after obliterating the lines there, they didn't even bother to match the film gain in the rest of the plate back on top! So what you get is a horrible smeary plasticy mess. Which sort of defeats the whole purpose of the film in setting a grimy, lined and depressing world of despair and bloody revenge! They're SUPPOSED to be cracked and worn, literally and figuratively!
  
  Usually I'm annoyed at people who mark a movie down because it was "too dark" or some technical reason apart from the actual story and worth of the movie itself. Here however I think I'm justified as whatever marketing moron approved it - probably the same sort that still puts out pan-and-scan for "Concerned Disney Christian Mothers' Group" types that think for some reason the black bits are put "over the top of the picture" (one question - why would they?!) - obviously didn't realise that he or she wasn't SUPPOSED to make the stars look pretty and unlined. Did they not noticed the black bags under the eyes? The ghostly makeup? The reason that these actors took the roles in the first place??? It wasn't done to Alan Rickman!
  
  'Cleaning them up" in such a half-finished way or at all subverts the point of the story and the characters! The promise of HD is that we get as perfect a simulation of the theatrical print as possible. NOT to make it look like a video sports event. It's like the fools working at big stores who turn on the 100/120hz scanning on the HDTVs because it's so high-tech and smooth - that's meant for video-based sporting events (and text)! There's a special mode on ALL these sets to display films in their originally projected 24 frames a second. But they do the 120hz thing because it's 'slick' and 'hd'. Same sort of wrongheadedness as this slathering of DNR on Sweeney Todd. It's all about the original intent.
  
  Lift your game, Dreamworks. I'm going to see about a refund on mine - or whether they'll put out a decent update like they did with Fifth Element.
  
  Sorry for the massive post everyone, but this is the stupidest thing I've seen in quite a while. If you're the type who doesn't notice fine detail stuff, DON'T bother with the HD version of this. It's an insult to Burton, Depp, Carter and all who made the film.
  
  
• A little Sondheim
  By A3A8P8IBH7L1WW on 2007-12-22
  It's been more than a quarter of a century since Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller "Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" opened on Broadway, and finally it has been brought to the big screen by Tim Burton, whose morbid wit has devised such movies as "Ed Wood". Based on a horror story from Victorian England, the legend of Sweeney Todd was filmed as a non-musical in 1936, starring the appropriately named Tod Slaughter. The psychopathic barber is played this time by Burton's frequent collaborator Johnny Depp. Sondheim himself is barely mentioned by Marketing; and his score, not unexpectedly, has been diminished, which causes disappointments. All the connecting choruses are gone (so Sweeney doesn't make that hair-raising first entrance he did on stage), and the brilliant ensemble number "God, That's Good!" is so abridged it's pointless. It's not just the cuts: the special effects (including Sweeney's graphic "executions" and the dark-as-Dickens London) nearly overshadow the score. I was apprehensive when I read of Depp's casting in the title role, but he's a revelation. With his sunken eyes and his traumatic mèche, not to mention a strong if somewhat anachronistic pop tenor, he gives his maniac a presence of homicidal fury. Less successful is Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs Lovett. Perhaps she meant to reveal the character's cold amorality, but she's a cipher on the screen. Her "The Worst Pies in London", which should have been hilarious, is flat. Plus she seems too young. It's never mentioned, but the implication is Mrs Lovett is older than Sweeney. If Burton had asked my opinion (alas! he didn't) I would have suggested Meryl Streep as an interesting Mrs Lovett. Depp gets his strongest support from Alan Rickman, a really vicious Judge Turpin, and Ed Sanders, whose treble interpretaion of "Not While I'm Around" is a highlight. While this is not a great version of Sondheim's masterpiece, one can be thankful that in this decade of movies increasingly resembling TV shows (I had to sit through the preview of a "Lost" clone) Burton has created a "Sweeney Todd" that combines music and murder in a diverting entertainment.
  
  
• Burton's Gothic Revenge Musical is his Masterpiece
  By A34D4KCP94ACJZ on 2008-01-04
  This is for certain the most unique and refreshing film I can recall in quite some time. Initially a 19th century urban legend, the story has been applied time and time again in different mediums, including of course the hit Broadway musical. There was a commendable recent film adaptation made for television of the story with Ben Kingsley starring in the title role as well. Tim Burton's version titled Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a direct adaptation of the musical and stars long time Tim Burton collaborator Johnny Depp as the legendary anti-hero. It also stars Tim Burton's real life girlfriend Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. The supporting cast is absolutely outstanding with Alan Rickman playing the film's horrible antagonist Judge Turpin and Timothy Spall playing his toady. Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) is a hilarious stand-out as one of Todd's early rivals in the film. Newer names to look out for in the cast include Jamie Campbell Bower, Jayne Wisener, and especially Edward Sanders.
  
  Suffice to say, there is much to reveal in this film and so much is better left unsaid for the sake of surprise, especially for those not familiar with the story. It's a gutsy production for two reasons. First, it's a musical and second, more throats are slit in this film than any I can recall. Those two facts really seem to narrow the gap in terms of audience appeal. On one hand, it might be fair to assume that the demographic marching like zombies to see shallow gorno like the Saw movies would, for most part, not be the least bit interested in seeing a musical. In fact, I went to see this film with my police officer friend who wanted to see the new alien vs. predator movie, what a shame it was sold out as that may have been a far less challenging review to write. On the other side of that coin, the people who may typically be drawn to a musical may find the violence a bit off putting. I was surprised first to see that the film was a musical (shame on me that I didn't even know) and next that the film was a heavy R-rating due to excessive throat slitting or as they say in the marketing initiatives for some films today, pervasive sequences of violent bloody gore and constant maiming. The music actually adds well to the expressions of the characters and is used as a tremendous advantage while the blood, albeit certainly less important, serves to make the film visually shocking and surreal. Nevertheless, the two worlds come together and click together. However, it is a fantastic film for many reasons far beyond its generally unique existence.
  
  Firstly, Depp and Carter are both incredible and deserving of their recent Golden Globe nominations (the film has four in all including also Best Picture for a Musical/Comedy and Tim Burton for direction). Many will say it is just Depp's time to win an Oscar and I would imagine he will be nominated for that as well and he may even win, but it won't be because of his lack of the award despite a consistently engaging and unique career. In other words, this isn't Depp's Scent of a Woman. His turn as Sweeny Todd is absolutely his very best performance. His facials expressions are mean but inviting and he helps to make you sympathize with his character despite the horrible acts of brutality he commits. Todd is played as if his one and only goal is revenge. He also sings surprisingly well. He is like a crooner with an attitude. And to think that Carter almost upstages him as Mrs. Lovett, seemingly an equally wrought character who finds love in the eyes of a man driven by bloodlust alone.
  
  However, Tim Burton's direction is the train and the cast is just along for the ride. Depp and Carter's performances are fueled in part by the depth to which they understand or trust Tim Burton's robust imagination and actually try to exist within his demonic and stunning vision of London. The scenes that rain blood during happy songs gave me this unique sort of feeling of fear, disgust, and satisfaction that Todd was able to finally release his welled-up anger or that Mrs. Lovett was able to finally make a decent meat pie. All I could do was muster up a nervous laugh and think a little bit about what I was actually watching. I will say with definite certainty that Burton had an immense passion for this story and to tell it on his terms. He has only strayed from that perspective a few times in his career and it is nice to see him do work like this. Burton is shaping up to be one of the greatest directors of our time and in my view among his many films, Sweeny Todd is the tallest tree in a forest of trees taller than most.
  
  I found great pleasure in watching this movie. It is relieving to see a film that cost $50 Million be so uniquely twisted and surreal. It is a risk and I hope it pays off so we can see something as equally beautiful and experimental get the resources and care behind it again. If there is a flaw here it is the same flaw that exists in all of Burton's movies. He always prioritizes style over substance. This is a visual movie first and foremost but it isn't by coincidence that the film also has heart.
  
  
• Todd's tonsorial tragicomedy
  By A37PV5GMP2ILJC on 2008-02-03
  There was a young barber who loved his fine wife
  His wife and his daughter - well, they were his life
  `til one day fair Lucy, Judge Turpin espied
  And vowed he would take her and make her his bride
  
  He called up the Beadle, and trumped up a charge
  Sent him to Australia on a prison barge
  But fifteen years later the barber returned
  With revenge in his heart, `cos he really got burned
  
  He found Nellie Lovett, a baker of pies
  Who was running real low on her filling supplies
  Before long the duo were rolling in dough
  He cutting on top, and she cooking below
  
  One day as he practiced tonsorial slaughter
  He learned of the fate of his beautiful daughter
  He worked out a plan and then stood by his chair
  And waited for those who'd wronged him to appear
  
  This movie sure rocks, but it's not for the weak
  As blood spurts and gushes, and arteries leak
  The Director's amazing, the screenplay surreal
  It'll make you think twice on the whole meat pie deal
  
  Cohen, Bonham-Carter and Spall add some zing
  While Snape and Jack Sparrow prove that they can sing
  This tale of the barber, the baker and judge
  Should give the careers of the actors a nudge
  
  I watched it in awe as the ending drew near
  And I said "This is my movie choice for the year"
  I might be quite biased, I love Johnny Depp
  But I give it 5 stars, and a resounding YEP!!!
  
  
  
  
  Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)
  
  1. Don't mess with a guy who wields a razor
  2. Revenge is meat
  3. There'll be pie from the sky when you die
  4. What goes around comes around
  
  
  
  Amanda Richards, February 3, 2008
  
  
  
• Finally - A Film Adaptation of Sondheim That Works!
  By AQQFI7YHMRL7S on 2008-02-23
  Despite critical acclaim, many fans of the show are rather harsh in appraising the film, for two reasons - one, the singing and two, the deletion of about half the score. I am in neither camp, although either of these factors might previously have caused me to pronounce most film adaptations of almost any Broadway musical a failure. Instead, I am thrilled with this production far beyond expectations.
  
  This may not have been, if I had not had so much respect for Stephen Sondheim. During pre-release publicity, he granted an unusual (for him) number of interviews, stating he is unequivocally satisfied with Tim Burton's vision. As anyone who appreciates his high level of artistic integrity knows, Mr. Sondheim would not give praise to this project if he were not satisfied. Stephen Sondheim is considered by many to be the greatest composer in the American theatre, and I have followed him long enough to know that he would not declare his endorsement if he were not truly happy with the finished film.
  
  I have listened carefully to Mr. Sondheim in those recent interviews, and finally understand why so many film versions of stage musicals haven't worked. Time passes very differently in live theatre than it does on film; musical numbers, which pass rather quickly on stage, are apt to seem like a small eternity on screen. Therefore, the very thing that attracts live theatre audiences is apt to make many movie audiences run screaming from the auditorium. And there is also the problem of what Alfred Hitchcock once termed "suspension of disbelief"; in real life, no one ever bursts into song during one of life's dramatic moments, no less accompanied by a full orchestra. For some reason, moviegoers who have no problem with giant gorillas or men from Mars find singing on celluloid hard to take. Thanks to some of the theories recently voiced by Mr. Sondheim, I finally understand why so many previous attempts to film Broadway musicals fail. In short, the theatre and film are two entirely different mediums, with two entirely different audiences. Although many theatre lovers would be happy to see almost any stage musical transferred to film exactly as done on stage, movie audiences demand something different. And something different is what they get with Sweeney Todd.
  
  And then there is the score. Tim Burton has said that he is a long-time fan of the stage production of Sweeney Todd. As disappointing as it is for many fans to accept how much of the score has been cut, it was probably harder for Mr. Burton to decide what to remove. The original show ran over three hours; 75% of the story was sung, making Sweeney Todd one of the few genuine operas to emerge from Broadway. The film is less than two hours, and judging by the "complete" soundtrack CD, easily 40% of the score has been removed, chiefly the ensemble pieces. Mr. Burton apparently judged (probably correctly) that the witty choral numbers, which worked so well on stage, would be clunky and ponderous on film, and he made the prudent but (I'm sure) difficult decision to let them go. This is the sorest point for many fans of the show, and had I not been paying careful attention to Mr. Sondheim's recent statements, I may not have been able to get past that point myself.
  
  What has been excised is compensated for in Mr. Burton's sumptuous visuals and fastidious detail. While Mr. Sondheim's changes to the lyrics have resolved previously problematic portions of the score and actually improved it, it's amazing how much of what is left of the score is faithful to the original. Though a tragedy, the story is basically a dark comedy, and many of Mr. Burton's finer touches, especially the staging of the musical numbers, have enhanced the story to the point where I have hardly missed the deletions, and I speak as someone who has loved this piece in almost all of its previous renderings.
  
  Although never a particular favorite of mine, I admit Johnny Depp is a revelation. Without detracting from previous interpreters (especially Len Cariou and George Hearn), Mr. Depp's portrayal of Barker / Todd is fully fleshed out, and I was able to immediately excuse the fact that he is not a seasoned vocalist. This is not Broadway, and there is no need for his voice to reach the back of the house. If anything, the vocal limits of the lead characters actually enhance the realistic feel of the film. It is also a pleasure to have Toby, Anthony and Joanna played by actors of the appropriate age, and to hear accents that actually invoke pre-Victorian London.
  
  To me, the real star is the score, although many moviegoers complain about lack of "memorable songs". I believe good music should be subtle; the absence of "catchy tunes" is only indicative to me of the high quality of the music. Those previously unfamiliar with Sweeney Todd are urged to acquire the complete soundtrack (with the libretto included) and follow along with the words as the songs are sung. The first thing you will realize is (as with any of Mr. Sondheim's works) how incredibly witty and sophisticated the lyrics are; on first listen you may miss most of his delicious wit. His use of the language, his clever rhymes, and his intelligent, deft semantics will amaze anyone who takes the time to listen. There are reasons why so many consider Sondheim the foremost composer of the theatre, and so many intelligent theatergoers hang on his every word. But just as important as his words (and I have always admired Sondheim's ability to use words above all else that I treasure in the world of musical theatre), you will find, especially if you listen long and hard enough, that his delicate, subtle music will, in time, work its way into your heart and conscience as some of the most beautiful music ever composed. This is NOT top-forty pop music, the type that is so often mistaken for excellence these days. Sondheim writes genuine, heartfelt gorgeous melodies; that is, real music. Open your heart and mind to Sondheim's glorious words and sumptuous airs, and don't be surprised if you become a fan for life.
  
  
• An astounding disappointment.
  By ANIUT55MO49TI on 2008-03-24
  This is perhaps the worst bastardization of a stage musical ever committed to film. The hideous truncation of Sondheim's brilliant score is the central flaw, from which the film can't recover. Another serious liability is the astonishingly bland, one-note performance by Johnny Depp. That this talented actor was so utterly miscast in this role--only to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, no less--speaks volumes about what is wrong with Hollywood, circa 2008...and why Hollywood should just stop adapting great stageworks into unfathomably poor film versions.
  
  
• Sweeney Makes it to the Big Screen - Beautifully
  By A1VJ7HYM1EC94M on 2007-12-23
  Visually, the film either met or exceeded what I expected from Tim Burton, beginning with the opening titles and the bloodwork through and across the screen, setting the tone for everything to come. I have to admit that I was wanting to like it more than I was actually was at first, and this definitely had to do with it being my favorite musical. Though I tried to have no expectations of the performances being theatrical, it was difficult if not impossible not to compare it with the stage version.
  
  It also took me a while to get used to the "low energy" of the performances, being so used to over-the-top theatricality in this piece. Then, somehow during the sequence between Judge Turpin and Anthony, EVERYTHING clicked and fell into place for me and I was into it as an entirely separate entity from what I know. The performances were uniformly excellent.
  
  I had some difficulty with Helena Bonham Carters' delivery of "The Worst Pies in London" - and some dialogue more whispered than spoken, but no more quibbles than that.
  
  As a splatter film fan, I thought Mr. Burton's artful gore was as inspired as the great Italian horror maestro, Dario Argento. The impressive arterial sprays and blood soaking everything (especially the opening and closing sequences) was, for a horror fan, great fun! In fact, the entire physical production was stunning and itself seemed to take the place of the chorus. The only choral part I ended up really missing was the "More Hot Pies" sequence, which was nonetheless impressive. Burton's blending of the comic and the horror was perfect, with the touching moments of Sondheim's score achieving an intimacy not possible on stage. The "By the Sea" sequence managed to be both touching and hilarious - and visually magnificent, a wicked splash of whimsical color amidst all the gray and gore.
  
  I worried (unnecessarily as it turns out) about "Epiphany" and how it would work on screen and Burton's solution ended up being brilliant, probably my favorite moment of the film. Brilliant also was the "Johanna/City on Fire" sequence, the brutality, bloodiness and beauty all coalescing into pure cinema magic. Heck, I didn't even mind Alan Rickman's horrid, tuneless singing! (He was pure evil as Turpin - which helped.) The actor playing Beadle Bamford was tremendously effective . . . just pure "ew." Sasha Baron Cohen was great creepy fun as Pirelli.
  
  I loved the treble as Toby - worked far better than having a "teen" for this part in a film. His "Nothing's gonna harm you" got me moist around the peepers and Bonham Carter's reactions were incredible as myriad emotions all played out across her face and through her eyes knowing what had to come next - this was powerful, gut churning stuff and it just wrecked me.
  
  Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were both magnificent. The depth of character was remarkable, especially Depp who, playing Sweeney as one already half dead, yet infusing so much raw emotion into that corpse of a man . . . it was often heart wrenching.
  
  While from Ms. Bonham Carter I might have wished for a little better singing she was simply tremendous as Mrs. Lovett (and looked gloriously bad yet beautiful).
  
  This was an absolute treat - a moving, hilarious, powerful and terrifying movie I plan on enjoying again . . . and owning on DVD the minute it comes out!
  
  Go see it!
  
  
• Finally - A Film Adaptation of Sondheim That Works!
  By AQQFI7YHMRL7S on 2008-02-26
  Despite critical acclaim, many fans of the show are rather harsh in appraising the film, for two reasons - one, the singing and two, the deletion of about half the score. I am in neither camp, although either of these factors might previously have caused me to pronounce most film adaptations of almost any Broadway musical a failure. Instead, I am thrilled with this production far beyond expectations.
  
  This may not have been, if I had not had so much respect for Stephen Sondheim. During pre-release publicity, he granted an unusual (for him) number of interviews, stating he is unequivocally satisfied with Tim Burton's vision. As anyone who appreciates his high level of artistic integrity knows, Mr. Sondheim would not give praise to this project if he were not satisfied. Stephen Sondheim is considered by many to be the greatest composer in the American theatre, and I have followed him long enough to know that he would not declare his endorsement if he were not truly happy with the finished film.
  
  I have listened carefully to Mr. Sondheim in those recent interviews, and finally understand why so many film versions of stage musicals haven't worked. Time passes very differently in live theatre than it does on film; musical numbers, which pass rather quickly on stage, are apt to seem like a small eternity on screen. Therefore, the very thing that attracts live theatre audiences is apt to make many movie audiences run screaming from the auditorium. And there is also the problem of what Alfred Hitchcock once termed "suspension of disbelief"; in real life, no one ever bursts into song during one of life's dramatic moments, no less accompanied by a full orchestra. For some reason, moviegoers who have no problem with giant gorillas or men from Mars find singing on celluloid hard to take. Thanks to some of the theories recently voiced by Mr. Sondheim, I finally understand why so many previous attempts to film Broadway musicals fail. In short, the theatre and film are two entirely different mediums, with two entirely different audiences. Although many theatre lovers would be happy to see almost any stage musical transferred to film exactly as done on stage, movie audiences demand something different. And something different is what they get with Sweeney Todd.
  
  And then there is the score. Tim Burton has said that he is a long-time fan of the stage production of Sweeney Todd. As disappointing as it is for many fans to accept how much of the score has been cut, it was probably harder for Mr. Burton to decide what to remove. The original show ran over three hours; 75% of the story was sung, making Sweeney Todd one of the few genuine operas to emerge from Broadway. The film is less than two hours, and judging by the "complete" soundtrack CD, easily 40% of the score has been removed, chiefly the ensemble pieces. Mr. Burton apparently judged (probably correctly) that the witty choral numbers, which worked so well on stage, would be clunky and ponderous on film, and he made the prudent but (I'm sure) difficult decision to let them go. This is the sorest point for many fans of the show, and had I not been paying careful attention to Mr. Sondheim's recent statements, I may not have been able to get past that point myself.
  
  What has been excised is compensated for in Mr. Burton's sumptuous visuals and fastidious detail. While Mr. Sondheim's changes to the lyrics have resolved previously problematic portions of the score and actually improved it, it's amazing how much of what is left is faithful to the original. Though a tragedy, the story is basically a dark comedy, and many of Mr. Burton's finer touches, especially the staging of the musical numbers, have enhanced the story to the point where I have hardly missed the deletions, and I speak as someone who has loved this piece in almost all of its previous renderings.
  
  Although never a particular favorite of mine, I admit Johnny Depp is a revelation. Without detracting from previous interpreters (especially Len Cariou and George Hearn), Mr. Depp's portrayal of Barker / Todd is fully fleshed out, and I was able to immediately excuse the fact that he is not a seasoned vocalist. This is not Broadway, and there is no need for his voice to reach the back of the house. If anything, the vocal limits of the lead characters actually enhance the realistic feel of the film. It is also a pleasure to have Toby, Anthony and Joanna played by actors of the appropriate age, and to hear accents that actually invoke pre-Victorian London.
  
  To me, the real star is the score, although many moviegoers complain about lack of "memorable songs". I believe good music should be subtle; the absence of "catchy tunes" is only indicative to me of the high quality of the music. Those previously unfamiliar with Sweeney Todd are urged to acquire the complete soundtrack (with the libretto included) and follow along with the words as the songs are sung. The first thing you will realize is (as with any of Mr. Sondheim's works) how incredibly witty and sophisticated the lyrics are; on first listen you may miss most of his delicious wit. His use of the language, his clever rhymes, and his intelligent, deft semantics will amaze anyone who takes the time to listen. There are reasons why so many consider Sondheim the foremost composer of the theatre, and so many intelligent theatergoers hang on his every word. But just as important as his words (and I have always admired Sondheim's ability to use words above all else that I treasure in the world of musical theatre), you will find, especially if you listen long and hard enough, that his delicate, subtle music will, in time, work its way into your heart and conscience as some of the most beautiful music ever composed. This is NOT top-forty pop music, the type that is so often mistaken for excellence these days. Sondheim writes genuine, heartfelt gorgeous melodies; that is, real music. Open your heart and mind to Sondheim's glorious words and sumptuous airs, and don't be surprised if you become a fan for life.
  
  
  
• THE BEST FILM OF 2007, AND WAS CHEATED OF THE OSCAR.
  By on 2008-02-26
  In the wake of movie musicals being the new trend, SWEENEY TODD, is at the top of the list. If you are a fan of musicals, you must, must check this film out.
  
  This by far and away, Johnny Depp's finest performance of his career in the lead title role. Some might argue that is vocals may not be very strong, that might be true but they work beautifully with the score. In his own way, he makes morbid and creepy, yet ironicly passionate, love to the lyrics as they flow from his mouth. Is performance as Sweeney, is magnificent and jaw dropping.
  
  Sweeney Todd is the story of a humble barber in the turn of the century London, named Benjiman Barker, who is happily married to a beautiful woman and has a little baby girl. Little does he know that his life is about to drastically change, due to a sadistic and cruel judge named Judge Turpin(Alan Rickman best known as Snape from the HARRY POTTER films), whose lust for Barker's wife is unquenchable. Turpin has Barker sent away to prison on false trumped up charges so that he may finally conquer the body of the wife in his on diabolical way. In the film this is told mostly through flashbacks.
  
  Several years pass and Barker has escaped from prison, which has drastically changed his demeanor, and his appearance. He returns to London under the name of Sweeney Todd, and seeks vengance on those that wronged him.With the assistance of Mrs. Loveitt's who is the owner of a pie shop, which was previously the home and dwelling of Barker and his family. Mrs. Loveitt's is not all quite there in the head, but she joins Todd in his plan to avenge his wife and daughter. Todd/Barker's wife is now dead, and his daughter, now a budding teen is the ward of the Judge Turpin and his new object of lust.
  
  Helena Bonham Carter, is outstanding, utterly perfect in the role of Mrs. Loveitt. She is actually the wife of the director Tim Burton, but once viewing the film, you realize that she earned the part because of her enormous talent and witt. Her character tries to boost the sells of her meat pies buy cooking in the dead bodies killed by Todd.
  
  The cinematography of the film is atmospheric and creepy, which is done in the common style of Tim Burton films.
  
  Burton should have recieved an Oscar nod for his brilliant directing but was also snubbed.
  
  If you do not like the typical musicals, still check this out, the music is not your run of the mill Rodger's and Hammerstien's music. Nevertheless, the music is complex, real, full of truth and emotion, and exceptional.
  
  In many ways, SWEENEY TODD, is like a Shakespearean tragedy in the line of TITUS ANDRONICUS or KING LEAR.
  
  It has some low points in the film, but is very funny with the dead pan humor and jokes.
  
  My favorite songs in this film are JOHANNA, PRETTY WOMEN, LITTLE PRIEST, NOT WHILE I'M AROUND, THE WORST PIES IN LONDON.
  
  I suggest this film to everyone. BUY THIS MOVIE, BUY THIS MOVIE, BUY THIS MOVIE!!!
  
  IF YOU ARE DEPP FAN, A MOVIE BUFF, A MUSICAL LOVER, A MUSICAL HATER, A TIM BURTON FAN, OR IF YOU LOVE A GREAT FILM!!BUY THIS MOVIE!!
  
  THERE IS MINIMAL BAD LANGUAGE, NOTHING THAT YOU DON'T HEAR IN A PG RATED FILM. THE FILM IS NOT OVERLY VIOLENT AND I WOULD SUGGEST THAT IT BE VIEWED BY 13 YRS OR OLDER. THERE ARE SOME BLOODY PARTS BUT NOTHING ON THE LEVEL OF FILMS LIKE SAW OR HOSTEL. NOT AT ALL THIS IS A THRILLER DONE IN THE STYLE OF CLASSIC HORROR FILMS/THRILLERS.
  
  ADD THIS FILM TO YOUR COLLECTION!!!
  
  
• Attend The Tale Of Sweeney Todd
  By AVBYKD2BL04LT on 2008-03-10
  I've been a fan of Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd for a long, long time. It's one of the few Broadway musicals that appeals directly to my sensibilities and pulls no punches. No sappy love story this; though love certainly plays it's part in a twisted fashion. This show has none of the typical trappings of musical extravaganzas. It is a show ripe with daring escapes, lust, revenge, duplicity, mischief, and murder...lots and lots of murder! Even the dietary elements of the show have a machismo that cannot be denied: greasy meat pies served with generous quantities of ale.
  
  I was thoroughly delighted when Tim Burton was named as the director of the screen version of this great show, and hopefully expectant when Johnny Depp was chosen for the title role. The rest of the casting was masterful - brilliant choices throughout. Notable actors rounding out the cast included Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovitt, Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin and Timothy Spall as Beadle Banford - all familiar faces from the Harry Potter movies. Some key roles were filled by relative unknowns: Jamie Campbell Bower as Anthony, the gorgeous Jane Wisener as Johanna and perhaps most impressively, a very young Ed Sanders as Toby. The casting coup of the entire movie was Sacha Baren Cohen as the smarmy, vile barber Pirelli. He quite nearly stole every scene he was in - anybody less charasmatic than Depp would certainly have been overshadowed.
  
  I admit to being somewhat concerned that Depp and Bonham Carter wouldn't have the necessary singing chops to carry off such powerful roles. Truth be told, if this were a play on Broadway they probably wouldn't have been able to pull it off. But this is a movie and projecting their voices to the third balcony wasn't a concern. Their somewhat quieter voices worked remarkably well in this context, especially since Burton shot many of the shots in mid to extreme close-up. Mrs. Lovitt's voice seemed a bit whispy at first, but after about ten seconds, it didn't bother me in the least.
  
  As for the look of the movie...perfect in every sense. The signature gloomy groddiness of many Burton films was the ideal setting for this dark and disturbing movie. As would be expected, every detail seemed completely appropriate to the time. From the clanking gears as the Tower Bridge on the Thames river rose, to the imperfect glass panes in the buildings, to the festering sewers under the city, it all seemed real and plausible. Thank goodness they haven't introduced digital smell, as I'm sure it would have stunk to high heaven!
  
  This movie did not disappoint in any respect. This is one of the best movies of the year and quite possibly the best Burton film of all times. I suspect it won't achieve the popular success it deserves (I couldn't get my 16 year old son to go with me. He couldn't imagine a "musical" being any good) but I firmly believe this will be a cult classic forever and will be recognized as one of the great movies of the early 21st century.
  
  

• There Will Be Blood
• Juno (Single-Disc Edition)
• Atonement (Widescreen Edition)
• No Country for Old Men
• The Golden Compass (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition)