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List Price: $29.99 | | Label: Dreamworks Video
Salesrank: 803
Released: April 1, 2008 |
| Our Price: $8.99 |
| Used Price: $5.49 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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.System Requirements:Running Time: 116 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR/PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER Rating: R UPC: 097363500643 Manufacturer No: 350064
Description of Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street:
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
Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Reviews:
What a waste of time and money 
2008-09-05 - The original 1936 black and white making of this film certainly left something for your imagination and leaves Tim Burton's film in the dust. I'm surprised Johnny Depp fell for the discusting and poor taste of the film's direction and it's too bad Mr. Burton doesn't have the film making skills to leave something for your imagination as the original version. Hitchcock would have directed this movie in a way that would have you leaving the theatre feeling better than then when you arrived, not feeling like you need to take an antacid tablet. Instead Tim goes for the easy. It's amazing how actor's/director's taste have gone downhill. He ruined this film with his Hollywood slasher theme and was a waste of money to see.
Blood and gore and upbeat songs 
2008-08-31 - Johnny Depp certainly got himself another hit on his hands with this one, much to the delight of his considerable fan club and every other Broadway baby out there. While I don't know if Johnny Depp is the world's greatest singer (he won't be doing opera anytime soon) he proves that he can carry a tune well enough to make this a musical worth seeing, and fans of prior versions of the show should be pleased. Helena Bonham Carter keeps up her pace as his consort with that flair of hers we all know and love.
But it ain't just Mr. Depp and Ms. Carter. Even without him and his gifts "Sweeny Todd" is art, a sensitive version of the old legend of the killer that speaks of his personal tragedy even as it recognizes his darker and, dare I say, it comedy. Simply put, "Sweeny Todd" is a great story in every sense of the word. It has it all: comedy, tragedy, romance, cannibalism. What more do you need? Visually it is a gem, from the river of blood that opens it to the scenes that vary between the streets of London and the cramped spaces of the homes and pie shops. It does not sweep broadly, but pulls you into claustrophobic conditions that force you to examine the characters. Every one of them is real. Every one of them, good or evil, earns your appreciation in a character-driven story that refuses to be two-dimensional.
This is not about a barber that kills people. This is about what people will do when they are desperate in their passions of love and hate. We see goodness, innocence, love. We see revenge, evil, pain. We see everything in between, serious and funny alike.
The songs are incredible and do their part to move the story along in their lyrics of passion and black humor.
Isn't it great that musicals are back in vogue?
Gorgeous - but disappointing storytelling 
2008-08-28 - The desaturated Gothic graphics are stunning. Which they should be, since Tim Burton's been honing his ability to portray them for fifteen years. Perhaps he should try sepia tones instead of desaturation for his next film.
The performances were good - but there were two tragic flaws that kept this from being a good film. The first was the plotting. Although this is supposedly a story about Mr. Todd, his character is stagnant, an iconic force of revenge. All of his change has already taken place offstage. The most change he goes from is "Kill a few select people" to "kill everyone" - and that change happens in a most contrived and unsatisfying way. Helena Bonham Carter's character, however, does change - but her storyline, her conflicts are glossed over to provide more time for the supposedly "main" storyline. This would have been a much better story had it been told from her character's viewpoint, centering on her conflicts and internal struggles on what - and whom - to serve.
The second flaw is, unfortunately, the main trope of the story. The songs. With only two exceptions - both duets involving Helena Bonham Carter's character - the songs do little to advance the story or show character. They are set pieces that simply exist for thier own sake. This would be forgivable if they were memorable - but they're not. Every line - sung or not - must advance the plot or show character. Too many lines - both sung and not - are instead included simply to exist, and it shows.
In short, this film adaptation of the musical would have been a hundredfold better had it shed the music and used that time to instead explore the characters within it. Would it still be an adaptation of the musical? Perhaps not, but it would have been a lot better story.
Love The Movie But The DVD .... 
2008-08-28 - I'm a huge Johnny Depp fan & I had to replace my old copy of Sweeney Todd. So I purchased a new copy. In the description it said DVD was brand new & when I recieved the DVD it was in wrap but the DVD it self had scratches. When I played the DVD it skipped about three times. Thank God I have a DVD scratch cleaner if not I would have sent it back. Shipping was very fast also.
Geeeeee Beeeeeeee (G B) 
2008-08-24 - GRUESOMELY BEAUTIFUL. . .This movie is gruesomely beautiful. The storyline is bizarre, the scenes grotesque, the costuming and make-up are magnificently dark, the score is morbidly complex, the actors are macabre-ly on the money. These elements combined to result in a work of art that is gruesomely beautiful.
