Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
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 Great as a film, but only so-so as a musical There is only 1 reason and 1 reason alone why this movie works- Johnny Depp. He transformed this film from an ordinary bland musical to a superbly acted bloodbath extravaganza. I don't personally have a problem with musicals; some work, some don't. Sweeney Todd actually isn't that great of a musical. Some numbers were pretty catchy and fun, but others just flew past my head without a second thought. However, because the actors really put their heart and soul into this, and you can tell they did, the movie actually comes off as pretty great. For what it is, it works. All the actors do an extremely fine job with their roles and it all comes off very realistic. Alan Rickman, a perfection of a man, does a great, yet subtle job here as the sort of evil Judge. His scenes with Depp are thrilling and suspenseful. The only minor gripe I have is with Helena Bonham Carter. She is an excellent actress, and this is no exception, but she does an only mediocre job as a vocalist. She is the weakest link in the film. But it is not a big offender to truly turn you away. The set pieces, the costumes, they are all exquisite and fit the mood of this gloomy movie perfectly. It is actually quite a bloody and violent film, so even though its categorized as a musical, I would not let young children watch this. It's pretty gruesome at times. But that is also the great thing about this film. Its almost nonchalant about the whole murder issue. It almost feels as if you shouldn't take it seriously. Its sort of fun actually. If you love Tim Burton, this is a perfect film for you, musical lover or not. Quite a few people had the audacity to actually leave 5 minutes into this film in the theaters after realising that it is in fact a musical. Don't people actually research movies before going to see them?  great production design,but... 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?  Finally - A Film Adaptation of Sondheim That Works! 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. Todd's tonsorial tragicomedy 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 | |||||||||||||
