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Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [2007]
from Warner Home Video
starring Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall
directed by Tim Burton

Features:

• Box set
• PAL

Editorial Review:

After years of rumours, it turns out that Tim Burton was the perfect visionary to film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim's Broadway masterpiece, and the result is a macabre and moving musical movie as enthralling as anything Burton has ever done. The show's mix of gothic horror, Grand Guignol, very dark humor, and witty and beautiful music never was the stuff of traditional musical comedy, but it's a powerful work, and perhaps the richest of the late 20th century. In the movie, Burton's frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp, plays Todd, a wronged man whose lust for revenge drives him to murder (an 19th-century legend who has been traced to a real-life barber). Helena Bonham Carter, another Burton mainstay, is Mrs. Lovett, the barber's partner-in-unspeakable-crime. It's no surprise that Depp is an excellent choice to convey Todd's brooding intensity and volcanic rage, but he can also sing a score that is so challenging it has often played in opera houses (though not with the same style as the Broadway original, Len Cariou, and he occasionally lapses into pop style). Bonham Carter is small of voice and lacks the humour of the original Broadway Lovett, Angela Lansbury, but she sings on pitch, in rhythm, and in character at the same time, which is no small feat for a Sondheim show. Aficionados will regret the loss of certain musical passages--"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" is just an instrumental overture and the chorus is gone altogether, among others, but the reassuring presence of orchestrator Jonathan Tunick and conductor Paul Gemignani ensures that the music feels right and sounds great. And the film's depiction of a Victorian London hellhole, with cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and costumes by Colleen Atwood, also looks and feels right.

The excellent cast is filled out by Alan Rickman as the villainous Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as his seedy Beadle, Sacha Baron Cohen as a rival barber, Jamie Campbell Bower as the young lover Anthony, Jayne Wisener as his object of affection, and Ed Sanders as the young Toby. For fans of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp who don't think they like musicals, Sweeney Todd should be a revelation (though not for the squeamish, as the gore is intense and completely appropriate). For fans of Broadway and Sondheim, it's hard to imagine getting a better adaptation than this. The fact that there's no newly composed Oscar-bait song sung by a Josh Groban-type over the end credits only makes it better. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• How bad was this?
  What a terrible film. Burton can't do musicals. No one can sing properly. The lyrics are dire and it was such a drag to watch. Stuck half way between a stage musical and a film. The movie has those great indulgent Tim Burton touches but even Depp and Carter can't save it. Rickman was good though. Thought it a bit too blood lust in places. Not his best effort.

• Great Sweeney but too bad about Mrs Lovitt
  This is a triumph for Burton and Depp but too bad about Mrs Lovitt. The direction is tight as a drum, and, although I am a fan of the full stage production, I didn't miss the music that was cut because it was not necessary for a film. Depp executes a role-defining characterisation and sings excellently giving the music a modern feel through his pop/rock style. Sacha Baron-Cohen was also nothing short of fabulous as was the young boy.
  For the most part the acting is right on the money. The biggest... more info

• Boring
  It should have been good but it was dull and boring. I'm glad I did not buy this.

• Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd
  Well, well, well, what can I say? After seeing this film the first time I got hooked and I watched it over and over and over again.
  You see, with most films you can watch them two or three times and that's it. But with Sweeney Tood, much like a CD, you can watch more than two or three times as it's the music that captivates you, in the same way you can listen to a CD more than two or three times. It's more like a visual musical concept album, with 70% singing and 30% talking.
  On top of that the... more info

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