Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

FILM REVIEW : Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

I should start my review by saying this: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of the reasons why I like movies. With the quirky style of Tim Burton, a great soundtrack, and two amazing actors in the leading roles, Sweeney is nothing short of a modern masterpiece.

The film begins in Victorian London, where Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) has been banished by Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) for a crime he did not commit. When he returns, he discovers that Turpin took his wife and child as his own. To avoid his identity being known, Barker changes his name to Sweeney Todd. With the help of the admiring baker Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), Sweeney vows to get revenge by killing Judge Turpin. What emerges is a dark musical/comedy that stands out among other films of its generation.

Director Tim Burton is truly the right man for the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd. Only a director with a knowledge of the twisted and dark could pull off this kind of film. If you know anything about Tim Burton, you know that a film of this nature is up his alley, but a musical? The musical numbers are meticulous in execution but at the same time are not heavy in choreography (these aren't the kinds of songs that should be mixed with stylized choreography). In addition, Burton gets really strong performances out of everyone in the cast, especially his two muses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Both actors fit their respective roles like a pair of gloves. In addition, both can certainly belt out a tune. While I wouldn't exactly call either of them "radio ready" in their vocal abilities, Depp and Bonham Carter have nice singing voices and are perfect for the music penned by Stephen Sondheim.

Along with the music comes a dark yet humorous screenplay. It avoids the depressing and moody essence that could easily befall a film like this. Instead, there is plenty of dark comedy and wit that keeps you entertained throughout the entire journey. Even the side plots are engaging and fun to keep up with.

While I went above and beyond with describing the performances of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, none of the acting is bad. As a matter of fact, the entire cast is terrific! Sacha Baron Cohen is perfect and memorable in an otherwise forgettable role. Edward Sanders gives a surprisingly strong performance as Tobias, holding his own against the very experienced likes of Depp and Bonham Carter. Jamie Campbell Bower and Alan Rickman have both the vocal prowess and intuition to fulfill their roles.

So there you have it: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is one of the classics of modern cinema. A true masterpiece in every sense of the word, Sweeney is an enjoyable film that I expect to stand the test of time.

Highly recommended

Rating: 10.0 out of 10 stars

Julian Stark (pen name)<br />
<br />
Founder/Editor: Movies and Other Things<br />
<br />
http://julianstark-moviesandotherthings.blogspot.com

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007, Tim Burton)

***½
USA

The wit, tension and soaring tragedy of Stephen Sondheim's musical can withstand even Tim Burton's rigid efforts to turn it into a cartoon. The irritating technical quirks, like a silly whirlwind tour of 19th-century CGI-London, are easy to overlook, but it takes concentrated goodwill to get past the miscasting.

When Johnny Depp - looking Botoxed throughout - drones "I will have venn-geance", you want to punch him and his ego that insisted singing lessons would reduce the performance (of a character defined by operatic bloodlust). Helena Bonham Carter fares a little better if only because she pitches her performance according to her (thin) vocals and reinvents Mrs. Lovett as a desiccated, fragile ghoul with a stunted passion (in contrast to Depp's stunting passionlessness).

All the same, enough of Sondheim's melancholy and savagery survives the transition to make even this muted adaptation intensely compelling. Although in butchered form, the morbid yearning and warped genius of the songs comes through.

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Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

People, this is a major must-see film! It's first and foremost a musical, with essentially all the characters singing throughout, but it's also horrific and hilarious. If cheerful musicals aren't your thing, never fear – this is Sweeney Todd – a very darkly comic and tragic tale.



Sweeney Todd is a faithful but unique adaptation of the award-winning and much beloved stage musical by Stephen Sondheim, with few cuts and changes. Contrary to some musicals where the songs aren't necessary to the basic plot, the songs tell the tale in this one. Sweeney Todd is a throat-slashing barber (which is actually a true story!) obsessed with revenge after a man of power took everything from him. He returns to London and cooks up a very disturbing plot for revenge with his diabolical accomplice Mrs. Lovett.



Tim Burton is at his best, artfully meshing the powerful and beautiful music with stunning visuals. In this movie, he joins Johnny Depp, his partner in film and partner in real life, Helena Bonham Carter to successfully create a much more intimate atmosphere than can be achieved on stage. Although none of the actors are professional singers, each character is portrayed very effectively with the acting and singing combined.



The cinematography, set designs, costumes, and makeup portray the Gothic side of London. The horrific moments where Sweeney kills his victims are graphically brutal and gory, and yet hilarious for no apparent reason.



Burton does not skimp on the blood, and it even becomes intentionally over-the-top. But it does not seem gratuitous in that it is the reality of the story, and it also has a metaphorical role. The violence is disturbing, but you can cover your eyes if you're squeamish (it's only a few scenes).



Personally, I found the film as a fresh contrast to the usual chirpy, cabaret Broadway adaptations like Hairspray. And can Johnny Depp sing? OH GOD YES! Not only does he sing the songs well, he stayed 100% in character throughout.



He plays Sweeney with such a subdued feeling and yet come out as an intense character. Carter's voice is a bit thin, but she creates a very adorable and lovable Mrs. Lovett. She is a wonderfully colorful and humorous contrast to the dark and gloomy Sweeney. The show also introduces the voices of Alan Rickman (Severus Snape from Harry Potter) and Timothy Spall (Peter Pattigrew in Harry Potter).



What I think the musical was trying to say was, "What would you do when someone who took everything from you was now at your mercy?" Sweeney was overwhelmed by vengeance for 15 years, he forgot what was most important to him, his wife and child. In the end, he got his revenge, but he lost so much more. All this leads up to a bloody and tragic finale which I will not spoil.



If you are a musical hater, Sweeney Todd may be too much to take in as 75% of the dialog is sung. But if your in for some Burton-Depp magic, the film will leave you in utter stunned-silence, I guarantee you that.

RATING: 7/10

NicholasC

Sweeney Todd

This isn’t Tim Burton’s masterpiece. He made that nearly twenty years ago. It was called Edward Scissorhands. Everything that Burton brings to cinema was there in that movie; the kitschy gothic aesthetic; the lonely girl; the misunderstood male lead. Burton is not a great director (he doesn’t have intellectual ambition for his movies), but he’s so idiosyncratic that maybe there’s room for him among the greats.Sweeney Todd could have been made by David Cronenberg (and it would have scared you) or Sam Mendes (and you would have swooned), but only Tim Burton could make a movie about throat-slitting into a fairy tale.

Sweeney Todd is based on a Steven Sondheim musical. It’s a revenge story. Johnny Depp plays the eponymous Sweeney, formerly Benjamin Barker, a barber in Victorian London. Wrongfully sentenced to twenty years in exile by a wicked judge (Alan Rickman) with designs on his missus, Sweeney returns to murder the judge and re-connect with his severed family. All set to music. Along the way, Sweeney meets the owner of the worst pie shop in London (Helena Bonham Carter) and conducts what must be the bloodiest romance in movies (let alone musical theatre).

Quite what the audience for this movie is, I have no idea. The score will doubtless appeal to the Chicago crowd, the visuals to Batmanadmirers, and the blood will keep even the most ghoulish Saw fans happy. But will any one of those demographics want the other two thirds? Why would blood-hounds want to watch a musical? And vice-versa. The movie is a success, in that it is a real Tim Burton movie anda faithful adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s work, but isn’t that kind of a Pyrrhic victory? I can see Burton might convincingly argue that Sweeneyneeds that much blood (S.T. is a serial killer after all) but is it what the West End/Broadway mob are baying for?

Johnny Depp does well, but he’s not at his best. Something about having to sing his lines seems to dull him a little. He’s muted. Though Burton dolls him up with a white-streak in his hair and six layers of black (plus pasty white skin), there isn’t enough to Sweeney for Depp to make an Edward Scissorhands out of him. He’s good when Sweeney turns psychotic (a history as a hotel-smasher helps), but he looks stiff most of the time. It’s as if everyone else raised their game because Depp had the most exciting character, but the net result was that everyone else got interesting, and Sweeney faded away.

Helena Bonham Carter does better. She was born to play a retro-Goth in a cannibalistic musical. In a nice way, I mean. Ever since she married Tim Burton their union has seemed more and more apt. Ok, so maybe Lucy Honeychurch wouldn’t have fit into the Burton universe, but Helena Bonham Barter would. She’s small, she’s pale, she dresses like the lights are out in her bedroom… there’s a haystack where her hair should be… and she’s crazy. Could Burton have picked a better bride? As Mrs. Lovett, Carter plays a woman who wants to marry Johnny Depp even if he is a serial killer. She is a one woman argument in favour of nepotism.

Sweeney Todd gets by on casting and one hell of a score. I’m not a huge musical fan, but there are at least three songs in this one that work as songs, not just as songs in a musical (yes, I do hate most of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s oeuvre). It might not scale the heights of imagination that Edward Scissorhands does (it doesn’t have Edward’s perfect allegory) and it doesn’t have the commercial savvy of Batman, but there is drive and passion in Sweeney’s story and you feel his hate, even if you never know him. Tim Burton’s best movies are about outsiders, but they’re also about forgiveness. Revenge just isn’t enough to make a Grand Guignol a great film.

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Movie Review - Sweeney Todd

When I watch a film based on something from a different medium, I think it's important to ask myself what the movie is doing differently from the other. In Sweeney Todd's case, the medium has shifted from stage to film; it seems similar enough on first glance, but instantly recognizable is the ability for director Tim Burton to create a more ominous, forbidding atmosphere. Burton jumps on it. For a director who has made such films as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, films which turn simple children's stories into nightmarish but moralistic fantasy, Sweeney Todd is the perfect musical/horror hybrid.

In fact, Burton's brooding, angst-ridden Todd is perhaps Edward Scissorhands at his most depressive. This is in part due to Johnny Depp's portrayal of the man; his crazy demeanor is welcomed here, although at times I felt distanced from Todd. In the end, I came to the conclusion that this was on purpose; Sweeney Todd is, for the most part, a mystery who we rarely see in full genuine clarity.

Burton heightens this sense of mystery by adding his touch of surrealistic qualities to the film. Animated effects take the audience out of the world's reality. Deep, dark days drop off into even darker nights. The atmosphere is considerably heavy and dreary, something that builds the sense of dread throughout the film. It is this that gives the film version of Todd that difference from what one might see on stage, something that stuck out to me through much of the movie.

I'm not one for musicals, but the singing didn't bother me; Depp's voice is surprisingly good. The script was engaging enough, most of what kept me interested being the foreshadowing that we get throughout the film. The love story is also kept under raps - it doesn't get out of hand, actually becoming only a minute part of the plot.

But we can't talk about Sweeney Todd without discussing the violence. Are the bloodbaths necessary to the film's plot? Yes and no. On the one hand, they help to provide a gauge of just how mentally broken Todd is. We come to see the violence Todd enacts as the closest we can get to the true Benjamin Barker. On the other hand, the throat fountains are too numerous and similar. We got the point, please move on.

If my thoughts seem unclear, it's because they are. The above portion of the review has been me working through my thoughts of the film. I enjoyed it thoroughly, would watch it again, thought it was a good precursor to Halloween. But it's difficult to point to exactly what parts I like. It's like trying to dissect apple pie. But I know one thing that led to my satisfaction - the conclusion. The well-directed bloody end gets to the heart of the themes expressed in the film. Todd is driven by vengeance and blinded by blood (literally and figuratively speaking). His inability to recognize his own daughter, even referring to her as a man, and his murderous rampage which leads to his wife's death, give a poignant reminder that Todd forgot what his vengeance was for.

Last updated: 2010-01-18 23:39:15 by user01

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street — 9

Ok, first thing to get off my chest is that Tim Burton is either a genius or a total failure whenever he directs a movie (Planet of the Apes vs Edward Scissorhands). As of lately he seems to be making more failures than he has been making glorious ones. However this particularly movie is astonishing, if you can get to the first killing.

See, the thing is that the movie starts off giving you a lot, and I mean a lot of backstory, and also a feel for the characters before it gets into the nitty gritty of the actual movie itself. Now the other thing that immediatly tends to turn people off is that this is a musical. Yes, a musical. This is not your typical scary/gore-fest movie, but rather a musical with a lot of gruesome deaths. Now if you can get past the beginning and get to the point where Sasha Baron Cohen shows up in the movie (yes, Borat makes an appearance) then you are almost there, hang on.

And once the movie gets going, lemme tell you its a non-stop ride of crazy choas, and you love every minute of it. But you need that background of info on all the characters, otherwise the ending will not impact you as much. Seriously though, this movie is sooo great, and the songs are well thought through that its crazy retarded good, especially for a musical. And let me tell you how much I hate musicals. I have been tortured with them all throughout my childhood, so I immediately hate them. Somehow this one got past my defense system and into my heart. I kid you not. The ending of this movie is so brilliantly beautiful and not to mention that you don’t see it coming that its almost a shock, but once you see it, you cannot see it happening any other way.

All in all, as long as you have the patience to sit through the beginning of this movie, then you will be well rewarded. looking back on it now, I can easily watch through the opening again and not be bored. But that’s only after seeing how it all came to be and how it all played out.

Base score = 8
-1 for a long drawn out opening
+1 for Sasha Baron Cohen singing
+1 for Alan Rickman (Severus Snape from Harry Potter) singing
-2 for being a Musical
+1 for gore
+1 for an amazing ending
= 9/10

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Last updated: 2010-01-12 02:01:47 by Tolll

Sweeney Todd

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp join forces for the sixth time to create Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Based on the Stephen Sondheim musical, Burton brings us the darkest and quite possibly the best film of his career. Sweeney Todd is the story of Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), a barber who had a happy life with a beautiful wife and a precious baby girl. But there was another man who sought to remove Barker from the picture and place himself at Lucy's (Barker's wife) side. That man is the corrupt Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who along with his grotesque confidant Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall) places a false charge on Barker, sending him to prison for 15 years. When the barber returns to London, he starts a new life with a new haircut as Sweeney Todd. Upon returning home, he meets Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), the purveyor of the self proclaimed "worst pies in London". Lovett tells Todd that Lucy poisoned herself years ago and his daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener) is now under the care of Judge Turpin. Enraged, Todd begins slitting the throats of his barber shop patrons waiting for the opportunity to get his revenge on the judge and once again be reunited with his daughter.

If you have seen a Tim Burton film in the past, you should know of his keen ability to create a bizarre atmosphere through the use of unusual sets and characters. His work in Sweeney Todd is no exception, as Burton brings a dark and dreary London to life. The streets that are hidden by shadows in the middle of the day is a subtle metaphor for the cruelty and corruption of the men who live there. With brilliant cinematography, Burton entices and disturbs the audience without being too overbearing. The scenes move with fluidity comparable to the blood that streams from Todd's victims throats. Excellent songs placed in the perfect spots during scenes keep the movie at a steady pace without boring the audience.

But Sweeney Todd would not be the great movie that it was without the brilliant performance from Johnny Depp, who plays the titular character. Worthy of an Oscar, Depp epitomizes the vengeful barber with a chilling perfection. The authenticity with which he portrays Todd is almost startling. His stone faced demeanor exemplifies the anger and pain that is swirling around in this character's mind like a tornado. His expressionless eyes are unwavering, showing the bleakness that lies within him. I also must say this his singing is spot on, and his rough voice is perfectly in line with the movies tone. When I heard that Helena Bonham Carter would be playing Mrs. Lovett, I thought "Oh how surprising, Tim Burton cast his wife in yet another of his movies." To my dismay, Bonham Carter actually did a very good job. Perhaps she was cast because she actually deserved it. Although her performance wasn't a knockout, she seemed very fit to play the ever lively Mrs. Lovett. Her vocal range was a bit limited, but she was able to hold a tune well and provide some solid musical numbers. Alan Rickman gives a very strong performance as Judge Turpin. Rickman, who usually has the same facial expression no matter what movie he is in, always manages to put together an entertaining act. Facial expressions mean nothing when he can so vividly show the internal hideousness of this most foul man. Although his voice doesn't seem to be suited for a musical, he only sings one song and it is a duet with Johnny Depp, a favorite scene of mine. Even though Depp gives the best performance in the film, my favorite performance has to be that of Timothy Spall as the Beadle Bamford. A beady eyed, slimy looking man, the Beadle is an outwardly ugly character that mirrors the Judge's inner unattractiveness. Spall is unforgettable and utterly revolting, which exactly what his character was supposed to be. Sacha Baron Cohen also makes an appearance in the film, but it's only for about 5 minutes. Don't worry about it.

When you watch Sweeney Todd, be sure to have the volume up really high so you don't miss a second of the outstanding score. A risk that comes from making a musical is that every song must be good, because one boring song can displace the attention of the audience for an extended period of time. Luckily, Sweeney Todd hits every note and does not bore. One criticism I do have of the film is that the plot itself does begin to wear thin later in the film. You start to feel that anxious feeling that you get when your waiting for something to end, a feeling that no movie ever wants to provoke. This is no matter, as the tragic ending is perfect, capping off a great movie with a surprising end. Watch this film. Twice. In one day. You'll like it. My rating (9/10)

Sweeney Todd

I’ve read reviews about this movie and the one thing they all seem to agree on is that the blood wasn’t believable. WTF?!? First of all, this is a Tim Burton movie. He does things over the top. Secondly, the excessively bright red was in a stark contrast to the gloomy backdrop of London.
There are those that say this is how a musical should be done, since they cut out a good portion of the songs and the ones that were kept were shortened. I don’t know if I agree with that, but it works for this one. This is a very good musical.
Who would have thought Johnny Depp could hold a tune. He’s not the best singer in the world, but he could be a lot worse. My beef with his performance is that he sounds like Capt. Jack Sparrow. Someone said he looks like Edward Scissorhands grew up and went psycho…lol
Helena Bonham Carter does an excelent job in her role. I wonder just how bad those pies were, though. They sure looked wretched!
I didn’t care for the ending, though. Toby comes up out of the sewer and slices Sweeney’s throat and for what reason? I didn’t too much care for that kid. Personally, I think more could have been spent with the sailor and Johanna, but that’s just me.
The music is awesome! The opening credits give you chills, and it just gets better from there.
I thoroughly recommend this to anyone, but if you’re squeamish, be warned, this film is up there with horror films in terms of blood spilled.

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