Average customer review: 
Product Description
Johnny Depp and Tim Burton join forces again in a big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning musical thriller “Sweeney Todd.” Depp stars in the title role as a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. When he returns to reopen his barber shop, Sweeney Todd becomes the Demon Barber of Fleet Street who “shaved the heads of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard from again.” Joining Depp is Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney’s amorous accomplice, who creates diabolical meat pies. The cast also includes Alan Rickman, who portrays the evil Judge Turpin, who sends Sweeney to prison and Timothy Spall as the Judge’s wicked associate Beadle Bamford and Sacha Baron Cohen is a rival barber, the flamboyant Signor Adolfo Pirelli.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #9 in DVD
- Released on: 2008-04-01
- Rating: R (Restricted)
- Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
- Formats: AC-3, Collector’s Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
- Dubbed in: French, Spanish
- Number of discs: 2
- Running time: 116 minutes
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
After years of rumors, 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 humor 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 (Borat) 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
“No, not Barker. That man is dead. It’s Todd now… Sweeney Todd… and he will have his revenge…”
If you were to tell me that “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” would end up being one of my top favorite movies of 2007, I would’ve told you that you were completely mad. For one thing, I’m not a giant fan of musicals. I can take them in small doses, but for the most part I stay away from them. They always seemed fake and forced to me. Still, I wanted to see the movie. I like Tim Burton, and I like Johnny Depp. The movie seemed twisted and dark enough, so why not? I popped the DVD in and it didn’t take long for me to completely buy into everything this bloody musical has to offer. Indeed, it is one of the best movies to come out of 2007, or at least I think so.
Benjamin Barker was a famous barber with a lovely wife and daughter, but a cruel and sadistic judge was also in love with his wife, so he had Benjamin sent away for life for a crime he did not commit. Many years later, Benjamin returns to London completely dead inside. The color from his skin is gone and everything that once was life inside of him has deteriorated. When he learns that after the ordeal of his sudden “deportation,” his wife had poisoned herself and his daughter was held captive by the judge. Benjamin… no… Todd. Sweeney Todd vows vengeance and payment in blood. Not only that, but he sees all of humanity as being completely worthless in the end, and that everybody deserves to die.
I’m trying to be as brief as possible when describing the story, as you’ll learn secrets and twists along the way. The film is done completely in song with very few moments of actual pure dialogue. I will admit that it took me a little bit to get used to all of the singing, but it didn’t take long. The music isn’t bad at all and the songs will get stuck in your head. I’m impressed by how well this cast can sing. Especially Depp, who proves to not only be terrifying in his presence, but also proves to have one helluva singing voice. The music is what pushes the movie and tells the story, and I have to say that it works splendidly.
Now, you must realize this when it comes to “Sweeney Todd:” It is an acquired taste. You will either love it or hate it. I don’t see much of a middle ground with this one. If demented and morbid subject matter such as throat-slashing and cannibalism puts you off, then you’ll want to find another movie. I would not, however, be put off with the idea of seeing the movie if you hate musicals, because like I said I’m not a big fan of them. The movie is twisted and bizarre enough that it’ll keep your attention throughout. Tim Burton is once again successful at painting a bleak and gloomy environment filled with death and dread, and yet present it in such an ironically beautiful way. The two-disc version includes some neat behind-the-scenes featurettes that are worth checking out.
I have to say it, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is a morbidly fantastic time that puts a whole new spin on musicals. It has the ability to charm those who are not necessarily into musicals. It is a dark and depressing story, but it is so well done that most of us can’t help but stay along for the ride. Not only is it one of my top favorite movies of 2007, but it is also a new favorite in general. I will be a little hesitant when I go to my barber, however… or, at least I will be sure to skip the shave. -Michael Crane
Burton’s Todd gets a vat of venom, and deserves it.
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.
If you like Burton, Depp and Boham-Carter, don’t watch this movie!
After wasting what seems like a lot of time watching this flick I am seriously wondering if:
- Is this a movie that Burton HAD to do because of a contract?
- What was the bad story about?
- Why did I buy it?
I have been a huge fan of Tim Burton for years, but this movie has NOTHING original in it.
The story is shallow, the musical part is weak, there is way too much blood….
