Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

There are two kinds of people who are going to see this movie, and they will have two differing opinions about it. Please skip to the appropriate portion of the review.

IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THE STAGE VERSION OF "SWEENEY TODD:"

You will thoroughly enjoy this movie, as long as you can get over the fact that it's a musical (this is something they glossed over in the advertising, and is something you need to be aware of if you're going to enjoy the film). The story of the wronged barber Sweeney Todd, who returns from years in prison to find his wife dead and his daughter adopted by the corrupt judge who locked him away, is a fascinating study of one person's descent into madness. What begins as a quest for revenge eventually becomes a grisly tale of murder that involves the disturbing notion of killing someone and then baking them into meat pies.

As Todd, Johnny Depp brings his typical depth to a complex and challenging role. He manages the deceptively tough task of simultaneously acting and singing, doing an admirable job with Sondheim's notoriously difficult and haunting score. Helena Bohnam Carter plays his parter in crime, the scheming and amoral Mrs. Lovett, who does the dirty work of cooking the victims and serving them to unsuspecting customers. Both play their roles in such a way that while you may not like or agree with what they are doing, you will totally understand their motivations and even emphathize with them as their dreams spiral out of control.

There are also excellent turns by Alan Rickman as the corrupt Judge Turpin, the man Sweeney is ultimately after, and Timothy Spall as the seedy Beadle Bamford. Tim Burton's trademark style is a perfect fit for this incredibly dark tale, and the art direction is exquisite. The movie is never boring, always well executed, and one of the boldest artistic statements to come out of Hollywood in quite some time.

IF YOU KNOW AND LOVE THE STAGE VERSION:

You will be angry. You will lament the fact that the movie removes all of the gloriously complex ensemble music, leaving us with only an instrumental version of the thrilling "Ballad of Sweeney Todd" and a rendition of "God That's Good" that's butchered more than Sweeney's victims. You will likely be so busy complaining about these omissions that you will fail to realize that the only way the producers could get non-fans to take this seriously is to cute down on the large groups of people bursting into song and focusing on the core characters and plot points.

You will at best tolerate Depp as Sweeney, and at worst complain that his thin-voiced singing robs the music of its guttural impact. You will think Helena Bohnam Carter totally mishandles her opening number "Worst Pies in London," and if you're really familiar with the stage show you'll notice Mrs. Lovett is the only character not to have a note of music cut, and then wonder if this is because Carter is sleeping with the director. You will contend that Sondheim's approval of the movie is motivated by money and obligation, and that when he goes home at night the famed composer despises the movie adaptation as much as you do. In short, you will hate this movie, and probably want to run home and listen to the original cast recording to remind yourself how the show is supposed to be done.



As for myself, I fall in between the two camps. I love the stage version (it is my favorite musical of all time), and acknowledge the truth behind many of the flaws my fellow thespians see in this film. However, I think this adaptation manages to convey the heart and spirit of the stage version, and is probably the best way to transfer such an inherently theatrical piece to the big screen. I think Depp and Carter do an admirable job in their roles, although I wish they had better voices and think Carter is unaware of the enormous amount of fun to be had with the character of Lovett. Burton goes overboard with the blood, and the movie is so devoid of color that when the bright blues of the "By the Sea" sequence show up it is truly jarring.

I think (and I would argue that the objective theatre fan would agree) that this "Sweeney Todd" is as good a movie as we were likely to get, but ultimately Sweeney and Lovett belong on the stage. It is the mark of a work of art that it can only truly work in its chosen medium, and the stage version of "Sweeney" is unequivocally a work of art.

Most of Tim Burton's movies are a lot of fun to watch and amazing to look at. However, a lot of the times the narratives tend to be less than compelling and even though they were amazing to look at, everything else fades from memory quite quickly. Notably exceptions being "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Ed Wood". Now comes, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" which is the most delicious work (pun intended) Burton has delivered in his twenty plus year as a director.

To me "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" plays out like an evil version of one of those Disney animated musical from the early nineties. Those movies seemed to be composed of two young lovers from different worlds who have to go to impossible ends to be with each other, and the girl often has a overbearing yet loving father, and there is always a villain to make sure the girl and boy are kept apart. In this story the villain interferes with the girls life when she is a mere infant.

As the movie opens "Sweeney Todd(played flawlessly by Johnny Depp), formerly Benjamin Barker is returning to London after fifteen years of exile after being brought up on a false charge. The audience quickly learns that Benjamin Barker had a wife named Lucy who he was madly in love with, but so was the unscrupulous Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who has Barker sent away so he can take the wife as his own. After many rejections by the woman, the Judge takes Mrs. Barker by force, driving her mad. And to make things even better for the family the Judge Turpin adopts Barker's daughter Johanna to raise as his own, and imprison her as she blossoms into womanhood with the intent of marrying her.

Shortly after returning to London Todd returns to his home, which is above a shopped own by Helena Boham-Carter-Burton's Mrs. Lovett, who happens to sell the worst meat pies in London. Mrs. Lovett realizes right away that Sweeney Todd is really Benjamin Barker and takes an immediate liking to him. In the meantime Todd's imprisoned daughter, Johanna, spies a sailor (the same sailor who delivers Todd to London) and the two fall instantly in love.

Now in most Disney animated movies the action is centered on the young lovers while the adults are put in the background. Most of the action here is on Sweeney Todd, a moping monster whose only purpose in life is to have revenge for the wrongs done to him.

This movie is interesting in many ways, namely the relationship between Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett. It's obviously she will do anything to win his affection. However, he is indifferent to her unless she is able to help him get his revenge. There are several scenes in which Todd speaks to Mrs. Lovett as if she is just a distraction. Despite his bitter rage and nastiness Mrs. Lovett still dreams of moving to the sea and getting married to Mr. Todd. One of the best scenes in the movie is when it seems as if Todd is about to open up to Mrs. Lovett and then a clue about how to get his revenge on the judge comes his way, and she is instantly forgotten.

Judge Turpin has to be the nastiest villain in all of Tim Burton's movies. And these are villains that include the Joker, the Penguin, blood thirsty Martians, and the boogie man. This guy not only destroys a family on the whim of his own lust, he intends to marry the daughter. The fact that the daughter falls for the young sailor puts her in a terrible situation.

And there this is Mrs. Lovett. Here is a character with the morals of a half starved alley cat. She thinks murder is inexcusable unless it is justified (A character tries to bribe Sweeney Todd) or if it can be to her benefit (Using the bodies of victims to boost her pie selling business). Part of the greatness of her role is how nonchalantly she reacts to the murders of several people as long as she stands to gain by them.

As great as the story is I can honestly stay Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter can both hold their own as singers. Alan Rickman, great actor, but not so much. The atmosphere of the sets also contribute to the melancholy feel of this movies. Tim Burton has made violent, bloody movies before but they always tended to have an upbeat tone. As I said, it reminded me if an evil Disney movie. After seeing "Beauty and the Beast" I left the theater humming the songs. After this one I walked out feeling like I just had attended a funeral. Still, this is an elegant movie and Burton's best work.

Final note...the blu ray quality is very good, but not great.