Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
| release date | December 21 2007 |
| studio | DreamWorks (Paramount) |
| director | Tim Burton |
| writer | John Logan, Stephen Sondheim |
| starring | Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Laura Michelle Kelly, Timothy Spall, Anthony Stewart Head |
| site | sweeneytoddmovie.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
3 Comments
one of the best movies of the year
you’ve got blood, burton, and depp
it just can’t go wrong
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Directed by the one and only mesmerizing man who can create beauty in pain, gore, and eccentricity; Tim Burton
Actors: The chameleon of quirk Johnny Depp,
Fight Club junkie vixen and Burton’s personal muse Helena Bonham Carter
Creepy and cultured Alan Rickman
UK and frat boy fave Sacha Baron Cohen
Who Will Love It: Musical geeks that aren’t afraid to be one, vagabonds, sinners, meat pie lovers, Burton’s mafia of admirers, the jaded but romantic, and fans of the straight razor in all its’ glory
Who Will Hate It: The simple minded, ADD males who have a fear of seeming homosexual in watching a musical, Disney fans who won’t expect the immense amount of blood and gore, people I don’t like, and specifically, those I hate with no skill of analyzing and seeing the gray in the western / Christian held black evil and white right.
Who Should Hate Themselves: The Hot Topic tweens that attach their distress in not receiving a Mercedes for their sixteenth birthday to all that is dark and brooding or perceived as so, in angry care bears, ridiculous black and red cartoons, and heavily defended emo music as something more than souless pussy bullshit from Suburban, USA.
Ok, off that rant, this movie surpassed my expectations. I know many of you feel this way too, in that this movie was made for me. I immediately texted my dear tattoo artist with my infatuation of the most grotesque and romantic, fluidly inspiring film I had seen in a very long time and my need to have Sweeney added to the in-progress Burton sleeve. The songs were pounding and burned into my brain; a criticism I had with Danny Elfman in Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The costumes, make-up, and sets were Burton-esque, but progressively so; making a new mark in stripes, spiders, and twisting. And the blood, good God, the blood, was kissably red and flowed through every scene, dying in a splatter nothing short of gallons. The story is, “a barber and his wife” are torn apart by a jealous, sexual sadist Judge Turpin. The barber, Benjamin Barker, is sent to a far off prison, and returns with a young sailor friend as Sweeney Todd. He reunites with the worst pie maker in London, Mrs, Lovitt, and together they slash through Fleet Street’s finest leaving only human meat pies in their midst. Todd is missioned by revenge to kill Judge Turpin and see his daughter, Johanna, Turpin’s ward and kept pet.
Fantastically told, the story of Sweeney Todd is nothing short of renaissance, a much needed turn I needed a film to take to cement my confidence in eccentric and original, beautiful, and horrid.
I thought this movie was fantastic. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it far surpassed anything I could have expected. The acting was fantastic (what else could you expect from Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman?), the songs were amusing and well-done, and the gore was great.
I’d recommend this movie to everybody, even though I’m sure that there are people out there who refuse to enjoy a musical, but it’s their loss.
Fantastic movie all around. Hooray for Tim Burton!
Now I really dont like musicals at all but this one is just awesome. I loved almost everything about this movie. I mean it has Tim Burton directing it and has Johnny Depp playing a killer barber. Come on thats a sweet story right there lol. Ya some of the songs I thought were corny and gay but the overall movie was fantastic. Some of the songs were really good and catchy too. The best part of the whole movie is watching Depp turn into this crazed monster hellbent on revenge. This was a musical made for me, I loved it. I wish there were more messed up musicals like this around. Now all I got to do is wait for Repo! The Genetic Opera.
There will be spoilers in this review…:::
I wouldn’t techinically call this a horror movie. Yes, it is quite qory. (Rated R for strong bloody graphic violence, alone.) But I would actually call it a Drama/Romance/Musical/Thriller. The songs, and the singing, are fantastic, the gore is stylized, but amazing. The story follows a revenge obsessed man named Benjamen Barker, now know as Sweeney Todd, who is obsessed with locking away the Judge who framed Barker, to seduce Barker’s wife. He comes back to London, fifteen years, just released from prison, with another sailor, named Anthony Hope, and the two part ways. Sweeney meets a woman named Mrs. Lovett, who owns ‘the worst pie shop in london.’, she admits that his wife killed herself, and that his daughter is locked away as a ward in the Judge’s manor. She helps him open a barber shop, hoping that the ‘great’ judge turpin will come for a shave. He then decides to kill anyone who comes for a shave, after brutally killing David Collins, or Signor Adolfo Pirelli, by beating him with a pot of tea, then slitting his throat. Mrs. Lovett gets the idea to use the dead bodies to make meat pies, and the story gets better, and better from thier. The acting is top-notch, Helena Bohnam Carter, Alan Rickman, Johnny Depp, all terrific. And Ed Sanders, as Tobias “Toby” Ragg, did a well job. A fast paced movie that builds up to an unforgettable climax. Whatch this movie, you won;t regret it.
Like always, I don’t understand the rave reviews for this movie.
It was hardly anything special. Yes, the acting was amazing. And yes, the style was great. But anything worth giving this movie a perfect rating over stops there.
When I (was forced to) watch The Phantom of the Opera, I couldn’t stop thinking: “I have scars, but do I make a lame musical about it?” With Sweeney Todd, it was: “Revenge is a bad thing, we have seen that in a hundred movies already, why another one?” I don’t get why movies simply can’t just think of some lesser-used moral to center a movie around. (Or the original opera/musical, for that matter.)
My second complaint was the blood. I’m all for over-the-top unrealistic style of blood splatter, but this just didn’t impress me. I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to laugh at it in this movie, or if the makers actually wanted me to take it seriously. It was just one of the most pathetic attempts at the style I have seen in a movie yet.
Finally, I was bored to tears during the first hour. Nothing happens. I about turned it off because the singing was so annoying and typical–I felt like I was sitting through The Phantom of the Opera all over again. When Sweeney slits his first throat things started happening at a much faster pace, though.
Overall, just a typical revenge movie. Nothing more, nothing less. I’d take Death Sentence over this any day, however.
i loved this movie it’s my favorite movie ever i love all the songs and the story is sad with well crafted humor mixed in perfectly must see 4 all tim burton fans
epic@@@@@@
I viewed a DVD rental of this movie.
My first impression when the movie started was, “At least I won’t be cringing because of the singing.” My second impression was, “What are they saying?” Either Depp and Carter have a problem with their diction when singing (fast-paced songs), or they flubbed when they dubbed the music. It sounded muddled, like they were tripping over their words. The duets in which they sung different parts at the same time did not help. It all just left me frustrated; I kept wanting to push the subtitle button on the remote.
But, maybe, it was just my copy.
The story was pretty straightforward. Man loves woman. They have a child. Man is deported by another man who takes woman and child. Man comes back, like, 15 years later for woman only to find that woman is gone. Man takes revenge on, well, everyone. It is done in typical Tim Burton fashion with pale make-up and dark circles around eye, along with dark fashion and darker atmosphere.
The better to make the blood stand out, I guess.
I perked up when the blood started pouring…uh, spurting. We get a high body count as Todd casually takes down people who are just along the way to his single-minded quest for revenge on Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), “another man” in my story synopsis.
As far as the rest of the cast, Cohen as Pirelli was hilarious to me. I don’t know about the costume choice though. It just made me go, now when is this story taking place? Bower as Anthony and Jayne as Johanna (“child” in my synopsis) left no impression on me. For Anthony, it was love at first sight. For Johanna, it was a way out of a bad situation. She seemed as bored and as disinterested in her fate as I was. Aside:How did Burton make a blonde look like one of his goth characters?
Sound quality and diction aside. I enjoyed the visual and story-telling aspects of this movie. If you can appreciate (tolerate?) the quirkiness of Tim Burton, then I say you will like this film.
I watched the DVD special feature Depp+Carter+Burton=Todd or something like that. It was okay. I had seen this making of/before the making of before I had seen the movie. One thing I did get from it was the reason that Burton is with his partner, Carter, is because she is just like one of his characters (i.e., him). What? You actually wear your hair like that? I guess it saved money for the hair stylist. Maybe it was because she was interviewed while on set, except her hair was just as messy when she was in the studio recording her songs. And there was a funny (to me) part where Carter translates “ass” from British to American.
This movie is fantastic!
I always love to watch a good musical and this movie has it all!
10/10
this movie is fantastic.
i love the songs in it and the story is also very good.
Probably the worst of all Tim Burton’s movies (including Sleepy Hollow), but still worth a watch if you’re a fan.
I seriously love this movie, the songs are always stuck in my head! I love it so much.
super movie. one of the best movies ever made.
OUTSTANDING! WINNER Best Actor-Johnny Depp WINNER Best Picture-Musical Dark Gothic Story of Revenge And Revenge gone Wrong!
Not just my favourite horror movie but my favourite movie of all time! Outstanding acting from helena and johnny and everyone in the cast, the music blows you away and the gore is A class!
You have to watch this! HAVE TO!
*****
Out OF
*****
loved this movie. was a masterpiece once again from Tim Burton. humourous with good music too
If there was every one movie that I would remember ten years from now that was made in the 21st century, that movie would be Sweeney Todd: The demon barber of Fleet Street. I just loved this film from the minute it started until the minute it ended. The gore effects are done perfectly and the ending let out a strong bang. The musical numbers were done precisely and the acting was amazing. The art direction was simply beautiful and dark. The chemistry between Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter was simply breath taking. You’ll love Sweeney Todd and will watch every day and still keep talking about. Sweeney Todd: The demon barber of Fleet Street delivers anything a horror junkie could ever dream for.
Great movie
i thought it was ok, slightly dull, first 50 mins o so is incredibly dull, but it picks up after this mark. Johnny Depp is really good though, and plays the part and the anger and sadness of the part extremly well, the kill scenes are really cool aswell, bit too gothic for my personal taste, and im not really a Tim Burton fan, so im kinda biased and i didnt really enjoy this, but if you are a fan of these gothic type movies and you wait excitedly for the next burton flick then you will be in heaven for this movie, but personly its not something i overally enjoyed but was okay i suppose
i hate musicals sooo dont count mine.
It wasn’t bad I heard it was so bloody but it was the norm for horror film….I thought Johnny Depp is good in theses kinds of roles that are dark…it had music too it but it wasn’t that bad actually good story line too….a good one to see.
Visually excellent. The film’s visual effects were excellent, apart from the opening credit sequence, in which the blood was obviously fake. The dark setting’s and atmosphere gave the film a look that fitted perfectly with the storyline. The musical component of the film is although at times laughable, it gives us more detail in what is happening (although sometimes it’s hard to understanhd what they’re singing). The ending wasn’t very good, because it left a major plot hole, which isn’t resolved, or coincided in a deleted scene.
The plot was good, except the ending. I like the fact that the film really was a love story, in another love story. The dark sinister dialogue was also very fresh in memory, and won’t easily been forgotten.
The acting was great, with “Johnny Depp” being the obvious star. Him and “Tim Burton” alwasy seem to make good films and this was no exception. “Helena Bonham Carter” was the alwasy serious “Mrs Lovett” and her acting skills were reallly well, almost as good as “Depp’s”.
Overall “Sweeny Todd” is dark, and although a musical, isn’t easily forgotten. My rating is 3/5.
Maybe it’s cause I grew up with Tim Burton films (as opposed to the new generation that seemingly came out of nowhere and managed to bring Nightmare Before Christmas back from the dead after a decade) but I could not get into this movie to save my life.
I can live with the musical aspect, no problem; though none of the songs were particularly great or even memorable for that matter. I’ve always found Sacha Baron Cohen annoying and this film is no exception. I think all the Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp love is grating on me. Tim, dude, you don’t have to put your wife and the guy that made Edward Scissorhands the instant classic that it is in every one of your movies. Seriously, Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka? Kill me now.
The movie’s tolerable and by no means shitty. It’s just a far leap from the films I cherish.
Vincent
Franken-weenie
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
Beetlejuice
Batman
Edward Scissorhands
Batman Returns
Ed Wood
Mars Attacks!
Sleepy Hollow
Big Fish
Everything else of his, especially as of late, just feels like an abortion.
great acting, great cast, decent story, but i wasnt feeling the whole musical thing. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter make a terrific duo! both creepy and great actors!
This movie was different but tim burton never seems to dissapoint.Johnny Depp does a awesome job. This movie is dark and while yes it is a musical it is one i didn’t mind watching.
This is absolutely an amazing movie!!
surprisingly Johnny Depp did a really good job acting and singing, so did Helena Bonham Carter.
The blood is sadly the wrong color, it’s red but too bright of shade.
The movie is all together very well made and I would definitely recommend it!
Clearly the greatest musical movie ever made.
Extremely brutal for a Tim Burton film and made with such skill. One of my favorite movies of all time and definetly Tim Burtons finest movie to date. Highly recommended.
i really love Tim Burton. every time he makes a movie, it’ll always be dark, quirky and he always turns our modern day world into a fairy tale.
this isn’t my most favourite Burton film, but it’s certainly one to enjoy. seeing Johnny Depp sing really came as a surprise, let alone Alan Rickman, because it’s the last thing anyone would expect Depp to do.
Someone really should stop Tim Burton from making this kind of nonsense. He used to be an exciting, innovative maverik…..now he’s just boring. Yes its dark and quirky…but dark and quirky in exactley the same way that all his other films are. The main problem with Burton is that once you’ve got your head round his quirky, silly and actually rather childish brand of darkness theres nothing left for you. His darkness isn’t saying anything or asking difficult questions, it’s just and end in itself, and therefore all his films suffer from being all style and no substance. Sweeney Todd is no different. Johnny Depp goes through the motions again, but seemingly without any real interest, as does Helena Bonham Carter…as though they too know that the game is almost up and one of these days the public is going to realise that Burton has just been recycling the same vision over and over again. And it wasn’t that great to start with. Oh, and the singing is truely terrible. Avoid this and anything else this dishonest trio tries to pass off as a new movie.
One of Burton’s best! Excellent acting, great songs, and a gothic, “dark and quarky” vibe that works on every level. I recommend to anyone who isn’t a crybaby or twat.
My only issue with the movie, is why didn’t Todd have arm straps latch onto his victims right before he killed them?!? He slits their throats, and they just sit there gasping until he dumps them…why weren’t they flailing around and ACTING LIKE THEY JUST HAD THEIR THROATS CUT?!?
Anyways, a minor flaw in an otherwise awesome film. Burton at his finest.
…….
Another brilliant Johnny Depp movie. Especially the mixture between musical and story creates a good atmosphere.
As a lot of others stated too – the movie is dark and gothic
great film
The music is amazing and so is the story!
I loved this movie, the story is amazing and the music is suprisingly good.
My favorite musical, next to Repo and The Phantom of the Opera.
One of my favorite movies too.
Greattt movie, I cant believe I forgot to rate it
This has to be one of my favorite musicals ever!
I love Johnny Depp but the man can’t sing for poop. I was bored and wanting to gouge out my ears with scissors by the time the second song ended.
Really loved it amazing music, great acting, and it was all together awesome
Loved this movie. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, as a Musical Theatre major, but I did! It was great!
Singing wasn’t the best, but the acting was so good I didn’t care.
Probably Tim Burton darkest movie, featuring great music and actors. The only reason why I don’t give it 5 skulls is because it doesn’t really have much rewatch abbility, which is something I consider very important with a movie.
This musical remake adaption has soo much blood it to bleeding spectacular, with the right set of cast member for the roles, as the acting was brilliant with Johnny Depp portraying as Benjamin barker was top notch performance (no wonder he got nominated for an Oscar for this role). The special effect was weirdo usage but was stunning to look at, my favourite was Johnny Depp scene where he singing on the roads of London it just ace and he has a brilliant voice and directing was super as the filming had the right amount of camera angles and the portrays of each of the character was dark, freaky and magnification. The make-up artist and costume design were amazing and the movie was a great musical with lots of blood and darkness (Excellent Horror/Thriller Musical).
Back in 1979,in Chicago,Sweeney Todd had just started a long run at the Ivan Hoe theater.Every 5 seconds there was a commercial on tv for it.It looked stupid. When I saw a preview for Burtons film28 years later,I was unimpressed and sick of seeing Depp in Burton films. IN Dec 2010 I stumbled upon the film on BBCtv. I caught it 20 minutes into the film so the next day I rented the movie and while I was at it,took the cd out at the library.After that first watching of the dvd,and the 1st listening to the cd,I became a convert. IT quickly became my favorite movie of all time and perhaps my favorite collection of songs ever assembled. This is TRULY a MASTERPIECE that few movies ever have or ever will achieve. You have the genius of Burton,Sondheim and Depp and Carter all rolled together,all at their finest.Not only is this an interesting story,and supremely told and acted,as well as spectacular sets (32 in all),but the music itself is simply SPECTACULAR and it makes me so sad and frustrated when so many people I know just won;t bother to give it a chance.I am so glad to see so many people here saying the same things I have been feeling.IT really is sad that,although a critical and commercial success (both the film and the musical from which it came),most “muggles” are either too dense,poor of good taste,or closed minded becasue of the subject matter,to appreciate the genius and beauty of this film in every way.Incredible acting,incredible costumes,incredible sets,incredible directing.incredible songs.I am on a mission to make sure that everyone I know discovers the magic that is made here,for it is rare in this world indeed.
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