Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Stephen Sondheim's wonderful "Sweeney Todd" gets a superbly creepy and gory treatment from Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. My knowledge of musicals goes only as far as "My Fair Lady," "Camelot," and "The Sound Of Music," so I will review this particular musical as a fan of Depp, Burton and Helena Bonham Carter, among others in the production. First of all, Burton sets a dark and gloomy tone for the story as it opens on Todd's return to London. He has been away for fifteen years in a prison for a crime he did not commit. When he arrives on the streets, revenge is in his heart. We also meet a young sailor named Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower), who will play a key role later in the story. Todd returns to his barber shop where his family is no more. He learns from one Mrs. Lovett (Bonham Carter), that his wife has committed suicide and his daughter is being held captive at the home of Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who is the source of all of Todd's turmoil. This sets into motion a brilliant story of revenge, internal struggle, and all-out violence. Todd and Lovett conspire to get revenge not on the judge alone, but any and every person of high importance. From vicar to royal, no one is safe.

The brilliance of this story is built not on just the music and atmosphere, but on the performances of the actors as well. Depp is sinister as the wronged Todd. Bonham Carter plays the longing romantic in love with Todd perfectly. Rickman and Timothy Spall (Beadle) outdo themselves with their characters. Young Ed Sanders plays the highly loyal and overprotective Toby and, in my opinion, delivers one of the best performances in the film. Sacha Baron Cohen (yep, Borat) surprised me with his portrayal of Pirelli, a devious con man out to blackmail Todd. Also of note is a brief cameo from Anthony Head.

There is plenty of blood in this film. Lots of it. Tons of it. Although not as garish as modern zombie films, when the blood flows, it sprays walls, faces, and just about anything within reach. If you cannot handle gore, you may not want to watch this. What's bizarre is that in all of this film, only the bright red color of the blood stands apart from the gloominess of the rest of the story.

I highly recommend this film to fans of Depp, Bonham Carter, Burton or Rickman. Even if you've never watched a musical, sit through this one long enough and you'll see that it really is a wonderful, macabre tale.

This is a great movie, gory, violent, not meant for kids, but a blast to watch. The entire cast has outdone themselves.

I thought this film was just great. I love Johnny Depp, and this movie is a wonderful display for his brooding artistic side. I have never seen the musical, so I have nothing to compare it to ... that being said, I thought it was great all around.

Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen are good, but Jamie Campbell Bower and Ed Sanders are remarkable young talents.

I recommend this film for a different movie-going expereince and especially for fans of Tim Burton (of course!).

Again, Hollywood insists on blowing out our eardrums with overly loud, intrusive scores. Yes, I know this is a musical but one should be able to make out at least some of the lyrics over the music.
I really wanted to like this movie as I truly enjoy Depp's, Carter's, Rickman's and Burton's past works but... it was so boring!!! I couldn't stand to watch the whole thing... shut it off about halfway through. What an annoying waste of my time.

The atmosphere is typically Burton, applied to a deserving work. Depp sings well enough, better than expected, and brings sypmpathy to the monster. Well done and enjoyable.