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This is one of the most perfect films I've ever seen. Unfortunate it had to compete with other great films this year like "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood," but I think this is the far greater achievement. The fact that it's a musical may have thrown some audiences, but now on DVD, I hope people will have the chance to really appreciate and enjoy it.
Here's a couple of things to consider as background to this film:
Movie musicals died a long time ago when audiences tired of them. The height were Rodgers & Hammerstein extravaganzas like
Oklahoma! (50th Anniversary Edition)
and
The King and I (50th Anniversary Edition)
. Modern audiences thought the whole conceit of characters breaking into song to be just plain hokey. But some films tried a more sophisticated approach:
High Society
(1956) was a remake of the witty
The Philadelphia Story
(1940) with original songs written for the film by Cole Porter. It's a great movie because the songs were added in small, intimate ways, consistent with the dialogue. There are no giant dance or production numbers. Sophisticated leads Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Celeste Holm were allowed to easily slide from speaking to singing, the transitions were cool and realistic, and the music genuinely reflected the characters and situations.
Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd has taken this approach and refined it further. Other reviewers have given you the story and detail, so I'll skip all that. But a real gift of this film has been Burton's ability, with Sondheim's approval and contribution, to change what was a stagebound spectacle into an intimate film with real, relatable characters. The music seems to slide in as a complement to the action and the visuals. Yeah, people start singing, but the entire drama is personal. There is great subtlety in the relationship of Todd and Mrs. Lovett, and this film focuses on that intimacy, while most musicals pull the viewer *out* of the drama. You see this in the way Burton shot the film: in the old days, songs and production numbers were shot to give an audience the feel of the same scene onstage - showy and unrealistic. More recently, directors unfamiliar with musicals used angles very at odds with the action. A good example is Woody Allen's
Everyone Says I Love You
. In this film, he often shot musical sequences with a different technique than the spoken scenes, but it comes across as out of synch. It's a hard thing to nail, shooting people singing. But Burton pulled it off, and brilliantly: in Sweeney Tood, songs are shot as though characters are simply having a discussion with each other.
Really, everything about this film is perfect: the script, and shortened version of songs work ideally for film; the visuals, with Oscar-winning art direction by Dante Ferretti, are breathtaking; cinematography by Dariusz Wolski is quick, exciting, fresh; editing -- especially the hilarious "Worst Pies in London" -- by Chris Lebenzon is dazzling. The orchestrations are also something unprecedented: this is one of the most beautiful scores ever, but Burton and Sondheim went a step further, beefing up the orchestra from around 35 players in the stage version, to something like 70. The result is an incredible richness and depth, a sound that's so big and so effective, especially against the intimacy of the story and the voices. Orchestrator Jonathan Tunick and conductor Paul Gemignani have created one of the best musical soundtracks in the history of film.
And then of course, is the cast.
Edward Sanders is unbelievable as the boy Toby; he's the right age for the part, and his voice is clear and strong. He's got the right accent and look, and despite playing a tough street kid, his scenes of tenderness with Mrs. Lovett are heartbreaking and convincing. Burton is often portrayed as a gothic/artsy director, but I think people overlook his brilliance at drawing poignancy in the most unlikely places. His selection and direction of this great young actor remind us of that.
Jamie Bower and Jane Wisener are ideal as the young lovers: Bower is literally wide-eyed with yearning and wonder, and Wisener is beautiful, innocent and lovely. Again, Burton sketches the story by selecting these exquisitely perfect unknown actors.
And then you have Depp and Bonham Carter. These are two artists at the height of their powers and they are both extraordinary. Depp is an amazing actor, for all the reasons others enumerate here. He is so gifted: he shows us Todd's hard, vengeful crust for most of the story, but softens and nearly seduces Judge Turpin under the razor. Then, near the end, where he realizes what he's done to the beggar woman and who she is, his madness disappears for a flash, and Depp reveals the man Todd once was, his sudden, tragic realization of what he's done, and then, in a flash, it's gone. Few actors have his ability to show such a range of subtle colors and textures. Like the visuals of this film, the first impression is one of grayness and gloom, but on second and subsequent viewings, the amazing amount of detail and subtlety really reveal themselves.
And finally, Bonham Carter. I think the play's hardcore stage fans have unfairly compared her to Lansbury and others. This is an entirely different performance. Bonham Carter finds the subtle, absurd, dry British humor in this character, as well as her very real and touching sadness. She plays it like a drawing room drama, not a music hall belter. And that is the truer and more realistic approach for the modern musical.
Two other great actresses also tried this to different reaction: Audrey Hepburn sang in her own voice in
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Special Aniversary Collector's Edition)
and audiences were entranced with her lovely but imperfect sound. However, Hollywood would not allow her own voice for
My Fair Lady
, and she was dubbed over. Similarly, Ava Gardner sang her own songs in
Show Boat
but again she was dubbed. If you listen to the reissued soundtrack to
Show Boat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1951 Film)
, you get the original outtakes sung by Ava Gardner, and you know what? They are far better, more authentic and richer than the dubbed versions. It was a mistake not to use Gardner or Hepburn's own voices, and those films seem dated because of it. In Sweeney Todd, Burton was wise enough to have all the actors use their own voices, and Bonham Carter's interpretation in particular is lovely and personal -- and like everything else about this film, appropriately perfect.
I'm guessing that in DVD many more people will be struck by how great an achievement this film really is. At least, I hope they will be. Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd may be one of those films that did only moderate box office in original release, but will, upon future screenings, be recognized for the landmark achievement it is in the history of film. Every actor, every shot, every edit, nuance, costume and moment -- is perfection.
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Reviews with images
LOOK WHAT CAME IN ❤️🥳❤️
🎶💈🪒🩸🥧🎶So it all started out in 2005... My GodBrother Timothy introduced me and my suckers & sisters the movie, Jersey Girl with Ben Aflec in it. There was a scene of the two main characters watching what I assumed was just opera with blood in it. And later shows the characters doing a number from it for the daughter's school talent show thingy. Lol. And later that year, my sister downloaded some songs and one of the ones she couldn't stop listening to was🎶I am Adolfo PirelliDa king of da barbersDa barber of kingsE buon giorno, good dayI blow you a kiss!🎶... She never got over it. Lol. Anyway, when the movie Sweeney Todd trailer came out, I assumed it was just horror. And a few days before I scene it, I noticed a number playing. I was like "Oh, a musical?!" Then later, I joined my sister, Jean and two friends at a movie theater, 2007. The moment Adolfo apears in it, I was like "Wait, is that the number my sister kept playing in one of our old homes?!" And when it gets to the Joanna Reprise song, I realized what inspired those scenes from Jersey Girl. After I first gotten Sweeney Todd on DVD, after renting it before, I couldn't stop watching it as much as I couldn't stop watching the movie, Chicago. It's one of the best movie musicals ever. I even still plan to see it on stage one day. Til it finally comes around, I got this. Thank you for getting me into this, Sis<3
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2023
🎶💈🪒🩸🥧🎶
So it all started out in 2005... My GodBrother Timothy introduced me and my suckers & sisters the movie, Jersey Girl with Ben Aflec in it. There was a scene of the two main characters watching what I assumed was just opera with blood in it. And later shows the characters doing a number from it for the daughter's school talent show thingy. Lol. And later that year, my sister downloaded some songs and one of the ones she couldn't stop listening to was
🎶I am Adolfo Pirelli
Da king of da barbers
Da barber of kings
E buon giorno, good day
I blow you a kiss!🎶
... She never got over it. Lol. Anyway, when the movie Sweeney Todd trailer came out, I assumed it was just horror. And a few days before I scene it, I noticed a number playing. I was like "Oh, a musical?!" Then later, I joined my sister, Jean and two friends at a movie theater, 2007. The moment Adolfo apears in it, I was like "Wait, is that the number my sister kept playing in one of our old homes?!" And when it gets to the Joanna Reprise song, I realized what inspired those scenes from Jersey Girl. After I first gotten Sweeney Todd on DVD, after renting it before, I couldn't stop watching it as much as I couldn't stop watching the movie, Chicago. It's one of the best movie musicals ever. I even still plan to see it on stage one day. Til it finally comes around, I got this. Thank you for getting me into this, Sis<3
So it all started out in 2005... My GodBrother Timothy introduced me and my suckers & sisters the movie, Jersey Girl with Ben Aflec in it. There was a scene of the two main characters watching what I assumed was just opera with blood in it. And later shows the characters doing a number from it for the daughter's school talent show thingy. Lol. And later that year, my sister downloaded some songs and one of the ones she couldn't stop listening to was
🎶I am Adolfo Pirelli
Da king of da barbers
Da barber of kings
E buon giorno, good day
I blow you a kiss!🎶
... She never got over it. Lol. Anyway, when the movie Sweeney Todd trailer came out, I assumed it was just horror. And a few days before I scene it, I noticed a number playing. I was like "Oh, a musical?!" Then later, I joined my sister, Jean and two friends at a movie theater, 2007. The moment Adolfo apears in it, I was like "Wait, is that the number my sister kept playing in one of our old homes?!" And when it gets to the Joanna Reprise song, I realized what inspired those scenes from Jersey Girl. After I first gotten Sweeney Todd on DVD, after renting it before, I couldn't stop watching it as much as I couldn't stop watching the movie, Chicago. It's one of the best movie musicals ever. I even still plan to see it on stage one day. Til it finally comes around, I got this. Thank you for getting me into this, Sis<3
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2008
Top reviews from other countries
Sum
Sweeney's Waiting! A Fun Fantastic Film!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2008
Tita Fürst - Koren
Johnny Depp, Tim Burtun - Sweeney Todd
Reviewed in Germany on February 10, 2019