Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Widescreen 2-Disc Collector's Edition) (2007)

 

 

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Murder. Cannibalism. Death. Obsession. Revenge. Blood. Goth makeup. And lots of razors -- "at last, my arm is complete again!" Sweeney Todd exults.

Somehow it doesn't come as a shock to me that Tim Burton adapted Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" -- or that he somehow spun it into something so delicious. That dark, grotesque, hilariously melodramatic story is perfectly suited to Burton's style, and Johnny Depp is absolutely stunning as the titular bloody barber.

The malignant Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) lusts after the wife of Benjamin Barker (Depp), so he convicts Barker of a crime he didn't commit, and enfolds his family into his evil hands.

But fifteen years later, the Barker returns to London and sets up a barber shop over Mrs. Lovett's ghastly meat pie store. Of course, he's enraged when he learns that his wife was raped and since poisoned herself, and that his daughter is the ward of the lecherous Judge. Enraged and maddened, Barker renames himself "Sweeney Todd" and vows revenge.

And he finds that he LOVES using his razors for a far bloodier task than shaving. With the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) -- who finds a thrifty use for those bodies -- Todd cuts a bloody swathe through all who have wronged him. And when his daughter is punished for refusing to marry the cruel Judge, Sweeney closes in to get his revenge at last.

There's always been a gothic look to Burton's movies, and he's always dabbled in very twisted, macabre storylines. And he really tops himself with "Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" -- London is painted in black, white and grey, right down to the ghoulish faces of the characters, and their bleak little dens of horror. And songs -- lots of magnificently horrible songs.

But Burton pretty obviously adores the combination of gory grotesquerie and very, very sick humour ("They don't commit sins of the flesh, so it's pretty fresh"). And he doesn't try to make Sweeney or Mrs. Lovett palatable, thankfully. While we sympathize with Sweeney's losses, and the horrors that have changed him into the Demon Barber, you just can't pass over scenes where they sing, "It's man devouring man, my dear!" "Then who are we to deny it in here?"

There are some moments that relieve this gory gothic parade -- there's a sweet love story between Sweeney's daughter and a young sailor. And the plot becomes progressively darker toward the end (yes, it CAN get worse), when the plot throws us some shocking new twists, resulting in a Grecian-tragedy finale soaked in even more gore.

Oh yes, there's blood. Tons of it. It spurts like Monty Python's bloodier sketches, which ends up being more hilarious than yucky -- as is the casual introduction of cannibal meat pies. And there are some spectacularly gross moments, like a finger found in one of the pies.

Burton uses some of his favorite actors in this one, particularly Depp and Bonham-Carter. Depp is THE perfect ideal Sweeney Todd -- his creepy eyes, pallid face and still, almost seductive manner are perfect for the maddened murderous barber. He goes through the movie slashing his razors at the world, and injects a real creepiness into scenes like Sweeney cooing at his "friends."

While she's only a passable singer, Bonham-Carter is eerily wholehearted as Todd's equally amoral partner-in-crime, who is quite happy to assist him.... and make tastier pies in the process. Rickman is wonderfully loathsome as the Judge, and Sacha Baron Cohen has a small but priceless role as Pirello, a huckster acquaintance of Todd's who starts causing trouble. He really steals his scenes.

Most directors would have prettified, sanitized and defanged the grotesque "Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," but Tim Burton and Johnny Depp revel in the gore and madness. Astoundingly great.

This is for certain the most unique and refreshing film I can recall in quite some time. Initially a 19th century urban legend, the story has been applied time and time again in different mediums, including of course the hit Broadway musical. There was a commendable recent film adaptation of the story with Ben Kingsley starring in the title role as well. Tim Burton's version titled Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a direct adaptation of the musical and stars long time Tim Burton collaborator Johnny Depp as the legendary anti-hero. It also stars Tim Burton's real life girlfriend Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. The supporting cast is absolutely outstanding with Alan Rickman playing the film's horrible antagonist Judge Turpin and Timothy Spall playing his toady. Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) is a hilarious stand-out as one of Todd's early rivals in the film. Newer names to look out for in the cast include Jamie Campbell Bower, Jayne Wisener, and especially Edward Sanders.

Suffice to say, there is much to reveal in this film and so much is better left unsaid for the sake of surprise, especially for those not familiar with the story. It's a gutsy production for two reasons. First, it's a musical and second, more throats are slit in this film than any I can recall. Those two facts really seem to narrow the gap in terms of audience appeal. On one hand, it might be fair to assume that the demographic marching like zombies to see shallow gorno like the Saw movies would, for most part, not be the least bit interested in seeing a musical. In fact, I went to see this film with my police officer friend who wanted to see the new Alien vs. Predator movie, what a shame it was sold out as that may have been a far less challenging review to write. On the other side of that coin, the people who may typically be drawn to a musical may find the violence a bit off putting. I was surprised first to see that the film was a musical (shame on me that I didn't even know) and next that the film was a heavy R-rating due to excessive throat slitting or as they say in the marketing initiatives for some films today, pervasive sequences of violent bloody gore and constant maiming. The music actually adds well to the expressions of the characters and is used as a tremendous advantage while the blood, albeit certainly less important, serves to make the film visually shocking and surreal. Nevertheless, the two worlds come together and click together. However, it is a fantastic film for many reasons far beyond its generally unique existence.

Firstly, Depp and Carter are both incredible and deserving of their recent Golden Globe nominations (the film has four in all including also Best Picture for a Musical/Comedy and Tim Burton for direction). Many will say it is just Depp's time to win an Oscar and I would imagine he will be nominated for that as well and he may even win, but it won't be because of his lack of the award despite a consistently engaging and unique career. In other words, this isn't Depp's Scent of a Woman. His turn as Sweeny Todd is absolutely his very best performance. His facials expressions are mean but inviting and he helps to make you sympathize with his character despite the horrible acts of brutality he commits. Todd is played as if his one and only goal is revenge. He also sings surprisingly well. He is like a crooner with an attitude. And to think that Carter almost upstages him as Mrs. Lovett, seemingly an equally wrought character who finds love in the eyes of a man driven by bloodlust alone.

However, Tim Burton's direction is the train and the cast is just along for the ride. Depp and Carter's performances are fueled in part by the depth to which they understand or trust Tim Burton's robust imagination and actually try to exist within his demonic and stunning vision of London. The scenes that rain blood during happy songs gave me this unique sort of feeling of fear, disgust, and satisfaction that Todd was able to finally release his welled-up anger or that Mrs. Lovett was able to finally make a decent meat pie. All I could do was muster up a nervous laugh and think a little bit about what I was actually watching. I will say with definite certainty that Burton had an immense passion for this story and to tell it on his terms. He has only strayed from that perspective a few times in his career and it is nice to see him do work like this. Burton is shaping up to be one of the greatest directors of our time and in my view among his many films, Sweeny Todd is the tallest tree in a forest of trees taller than most.

I found great pleasure in watching this movie. It is relieving to see a film that cost $50 Million be so uniquely twisted and surreal. It is a risk and I hope it pays off so we can see something as equally beautiful and experimental get the resources and care behind it again. If there is a flaw here it is the same flaw that exists in all of Burton's movies. He always prioritizes style over substance. This is a visual movie first and foremost but it isn't by coincidence that the film also has heart.

I never thought I would be calling an out-and-out gothic horror movie fantastic and satisfying, but "Sweeney Todd" is just that. While the storyline of the life of the unjustly treated Fleet Street barber of Georgian England and his revenge on his enemies is fairly predictable, it is Tim Burton's well-crafted screen production that succeeds in bringing it to life in a very palpable and chilling fashion. Burton and his crew did something amazing to this tale that went well beyond capturing the macabre. Sure, Sweeney (Benjamin Barker in a former life) and Ms. Lovatt partner up to embark on a disgustingly grizzly, murderous rampage that yields for both pathological pleasure and commercial gain. Their modus operandi, while inventive at the times, has certainly been exceeded since by other celebrated partners in crime. So. if this was all to commend the movie on, one might just write it off as just another gothic flick. So what did I find in this movie that mesmerized me for nearly two hours. To begin with, Burton put together a cast (Depp and Bonham-Carter leading the way)who did justice to the lyrics of the original Sondheim musical. While their voices may not have been of top musical quality, they made up for it in the passion they conveyed. I definitely felt a strong sense of the charming, the seductive and the demonic moving through their lines. Next, Burton developed a set that captures everything that embodies the sense of what evil is: lust,fury,greed, and revenge. Ms. Lovatt's pie shop becomes that chamber of horrors in which evil is worked out in both an assembly-line and operatic fashion. Lastly, both Depp and Bonham-Carter express a real, unconcealed impish and natural delight in the roles they play. No sense of uneasiness or awkwardness here. They and other members of the cast conveyed a sense of having a lot of fun doing a very unpleasant movie, with all kinds of disturbing social implications. After all, it isn't every day one can step into a role and start slashing throats as a way of making a living and piling revenge on one's enemies. For me, this is a movie that effectively combines the elements of obnoxious subject matter with talented acting to produce a stirring rendition of some rather standard gothic fare. Great watch but don't include the kids.

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5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME!!
Sweeney todd, is the most amazing 2 disk special edition dvd i have ever bought and i got it really quickly :)

Published 23 months ago by toddtweaker

2.0 out of 5 stars Horrible
Having been framed for a crime he did not commit fifteen years earlier, Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) returns to Victorian London to exact his revenge. Read more

Published on Dec 12 2008 by Greg Curtis

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