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Being a well-rounded
individual in terms of entertainment, I
very easily admit to enjoying musical theatre.
Well, theatre in general but I especially
love musicals. Every year I attend the Dallas
Summer Musicals and on those rare occasions
I make the trek to New York, Broadway shows
are inevitably on my itinerary. As such
I have seen a great many shows, but I have
yet to have the opportunity to see Stephen
Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd: The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Oh
I’ve heard the original cast recording
with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou and
of course, relish every moment of it. It
also doesn’t hurt that I have an affinity
for things dark and scary making the experience
all the greater. One of these days I will
make it to a theatre to see it live.
That said I have to call your attention
to the recent collaboration between director
Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp. It seems
that Burton found the subject matter of
“Sweeney Todd” to be right up
his alley of things dark, scary and humorous.
The problem was, how in the world would
he be able to work with his mostly non-singing
stable of favorite actors?
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In the 1940’s there would be no question
of simply hiring in singers to dub over the actors’
songs, but in this day and age it is unheard of
outside of the occasional animated feature.
Making this possibility even more of a challenge,
those of you might not be aware that Sondheim’s
approach to music and lyrics make for librettos
that are much for difficult to sing than your
average musical. He writes songs that often contain
vocally acrobatic movements that often change
style, speed and syntax with every line. These
are not songs for the vocally challenged. However,
Burton charged ahead with this seemingly impossible
task, casting Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in
the leads, and as the film was in production I
waited with baited breath as to the outcome.
My wait came to an end several months ago as I
was invited to an early screening. Interestingly
enough my 14 year old son wanted to accompany
me, even though his only experience with musicals
included “Jekyll & Hyde” &
“The Lion King” before he was 9 and
“Spamalot” last year. I really didn’t
think he’d ‘get into’ “Sweeney
Todd”, but far be it from me to keep him
from experiencing culture. I only hoped that Burton’s
pet project would deliver a film that would properly
capture the medium of musical theatre and his
actor’s could deliver on Sondheim’s
challenging score. Thankfully Burton and company
succeeded beautifully on both counts.
I imagine there are more than a few of you who
aren’t familiar with the story so I can
give it to you in a nutshell (while trying not
to give too much away). “Sweeney Todd”
tells the tale of a young barber who is sent away
to prison, for no other reason that the town’s
judge desire for his wife. The barber returns
15 years later and understandably has desires
of his own. A desire to reunite with his wife
and daughter… and to have his revenge. Once
he learns the fate of his family, his obsession
for revenge turns to more insane endeavors. The
story takes many interesting twists and turns,
most notably with the arrangement made between
Sweeney and Mrs. Lovette (Carter), his only friend
and owner of the meat pie shop beneath his. It
is arrangement that benefits both, and improves
the taste of the meat pies.
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet
Street” is not only the best film that Burton
has directed in the last ten years, but a film
that deserved to be nominated for (and win) more
Academy Awards than it was up for. 2 nominations
and 1 win falls far short of what I feel this
film should have earned. Not being nominated for
Best Picture alone was insulting, considering
some of the films that were. Walking out of the
theatre that night, I was one again excited by
the prospect of going out to see a movie. Of late
I have preferred the comfort (and quiet) of my
own living room, but the experience of seeing
this movie on a big screen was fun, frightening
and exciting. The audience, including my son,
was totally caught up in the events.
As it was a Tim Burton film, I was not at all
struck by the production design as I expected
it to be dark and brooding to the point of gorgeous.
What caught me was how well the music transferred
to the film and how wonderful the actors sang
their respective songs. This is not to say that
Depp, Carter or Alan Rickman are outstanding singers…
admittedly if they were to attempt to sing live
from a Broadway stage they wouldn’t be up
to the task. However, in this medium their acting
overshadowed any lack of singing prowess. They
simply sang better than average, allowing their
characters to take over. And they did an incredible
job. So much so that immediately after seeing
the film I had to get the soundtrack, which both
my son and I listen to almost daily even now.
The musical performances are absolutely mesmerizing.
But again I have to mention the acting, which
above all else, steals all of the audience’s
attention. Depp, who is still shy of an Academy
Award win, completely throws himself into the
character of Sweeney Todd. But this is usually
the case for any role he takes on. He is able
to evoke the madness of grief and the sorrow of
loss, often within the same line of a song. His
is tormented performance worthy of his nomination.
Carter is a delight as Mrs. Lovett, though she
doesn’t seem as demented as the character
really calls for. Alan Rickman’s take as
Judge Turpin is also very complex in that he makes
you feel for the character one moment and delighting
in the possibility of his demise the next. Timothy
Spall as Beadle, the assistant to the judge, is
a despicable little weasel of a man. It is the
type of part Spall is able to embody with ease.
The two big surprises from the film come in the
form of Sacha Baron Cohen and Ed Sanders. Cohen,
whom most audiences know as Borat and Ali G, appeared
as Signor Adolfo Pirelli and nearly stole the
film with his performance. I had no idea going
in that he was even in the movie and loved every
moment he was onscreen as a foppish barber, and
the one person who could give away one of Sweeney’s
big secrets. 15 year old Ed Sanders stars as Pirelli’s
assistant Toby, and though this is his first film
he delivers a professional performance in what
becomes a pivotal character of the film.
Knowing that Dreamworks was releasing a 2-disc
DVD set for “Sweeney Todd” this month
had me pretty anxious for it to show up for review.
After seeing the film in the theatre, I was fortunate
enough to have received an academy screener, but
the quality was a little lower than what I knew
the actual DVD release would be, plus it kept
reminding me that it was the property of Dreamworks.
This didn’t keep me from watching it about
10 times, but now that I have the official release
I am able to enjoy it all the more. Plus, there
are extra features galore.
The first disc has a behind the scenes featurette
that shows quite a bit of the rehearsal footage
and recording sessions. It only runs a little
under 30 minutes, but is a nice introduction to
the features. Once you get to the second disc,
prepare to kick back for a couple of hours. Here
you’ll find an additional making of featurette,
a terrific interview with Sondheim, some film
footage of a press conference for the film, and
a montage of movie stills. But wait folks…
that’s not all!! There is also an interview
with Depp and Burton conducted by Moviephone a
look at the film’s Academy Award winning
design work, and a feature all about London of
the time. But the best two extras feature a look
at the myths surrounding whether or not Sweeney
was real, or based on a real person and another
focusing on the bloody special effects.
After careful consideration, I think “Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
should have been the Best Picture of 2007, nomination
or no. The combination of Sondheim’s music,
Burton’s directorial eye, the cast’s
performance, the garish special effects, and the
film’s overall design delivered a film that
is abounding in dark humor and tragic consequences.
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan
Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen
Extras: “Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd:
a Behind the Scenes Look”, Sweeney Todd
is Alive, Musical Mayhem, Sweeney’s London,
The Making of Sweeney Todd, Grand Guignol, Designs
for a Demon Barber, A Bloody Business, Moviephone
– Unscripted with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround
Studio: Dreamworks
Release Date: 4/1/2008
Region: 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website
We'll give Sweeney Todd: The Deomn Barber of
Fleet Street an A+
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