Customer Reviews
Tim Burton's greatest film to date...a masterpiece. - By: Moka, 02 May 2008 
I've been a fan of Tim Burton's ever since he weaved his dark visions on the silver screen with the likes of Beetlejuice & Edward Scissorhands. Whilst those aforementioned gems delighted with their darkly surreal undertones, this film goes just for the purely darkly, with a heavy dose of melancholy through in for good measure.
Amongst my favourite scenes are the scenes where Depp (who nails the tortured soul gig to perfection!) & the equallly adept Helena Bonham Carter share screen time in missus Muffet's mislead fantasies of a strangely hyper-real fairy-tale sort of happy-ever-after love life; the post-production team adding enhancements of colour to the scenes to give them a surreal, living-portrait feel of a life that could never be.
Other great moments of cinematic genius include a duet between Alan Rickman & Johnny Depp singing the almost homo-erotic 'pretty women', juxtaposed with a sadistic montage of Todd's throat-cutting antics - bodies dropping down in to the basement in a variety of exotic & painfully graphic ways.
The ending (which I will not spoil for you, don't worry!) is a joy (or even , pain) to behold & has to rank amongst the most striking end scenes in recent memories, rivers of red dropping like tears from Depp's forsaken alter-ego. A contemporary masterpiece, & the greatest musical adaptation since West Side Story!
10/10
The most complete film musical? - By: I. Melvin, 25 Apr 2008 Burton has in Sweeney Todd pulled off a masterstroke. Sweeney Todd in this incarnation is probably the finest adaptation of a stage musical ever made. Everything, from the sets, costumes & design, through to the orchestration & casting are as near perfect as one could ask. The changes to the original, disposing of the stage Chorus etc, only goes to reinforce the drama.
This is without doubt Burton's greatest achievement in the cinema & Depp's finest 2 hours on screen. Astonishing.
could have been a great film,but............................... - By: sm, 07 Apr 2008 
I sat down & looked forward to this film.It creates a great atmosphere & is superbly shot.Johnny Depp looking like a corpse brought back from the dead creates an evil air of mystery.Almost alll the dialogue is badly sung & as we approached the twenty minute mark,we gave up.Quite simply,spoken dialogue would have made this a film you would talk about for years,as it is,i couldn't watch another minute! A fantastic opportunity missed.
Burton and Depp, a class act! - By: Jimmy Stix, 07 Apr 2008 Yet again Tim Burton & Johnny Depp combine to bring us something different & it reallly is marvellous!
I was already familiar with the musical but did not know what to expect from a film version.
It looks wonderful & I loved the look of the dirty, damp & dark streets of London. It's a far cry from the more cosy world of some Victorian London based musicals. The sets were lit so beautifully which helped to create what must surely be a more accurate picture of life in seedy London.
Johnny Depp & Helena Bonham Carter are superb & Timothy Spalll, Alan Rickman & Sacha Baron Cohen turn in great support too.
Yes it is gory, there's lots of blood & it deserves the 18 cert. but if you know the story of Todd already then that should not suprise you.
Care for some pie anyone?
The Best A Sondheim Fan Can Get? - By: Sordel, 07 Apr 2008 Sweeney Todd has a mixed history: loved by critics, adored by Sondheim fans, but never reallly a big commercial success on the stage. Given the 18 certificate that would have been very difficult to avoid given the bloody subject matter, it would have to be a labour of love for any director to bring this musical to the screen, & Tim Burton (with his proven ability to balance horror & comedy) was pretty much the dream choice. Given the starry cast, this film - on paper - ought to be a masterpiece.
The reality is not quite as good as that, but it comes mighty close. While there are notable omissions from the original musical (perhaps the most prominent of which is the Chorus, whose balllad is almost a constant presence on stage) it is a broadly faithful adaptation which is at times almost pedestrian in its storytelling.
Visuallly, this is a typicallly gorgeous Burton movie, with fine art direction & effective sets/costumes. The voices are not bad, with Johnny Depp making up in gusto for a lack of virtuosity in the demanding title role. Helena Bonham-Carter never quite hits the pitch of Angela Lansbury (and others) in the role, underplaying her entire performance & only reallly coming alive on the more intimate scenes where her purity of tone compensates for her lack of a stage voice. As leads, neither is a perfect choice, but they work adequately together as a pair, & the supporting cast is servicable.
The shortcoming, however, is that the comedy is never given room to breathe. Except for Sacha Baron-Cohen (oddly brilliant as Pirelli) no one plays for laughs. There is no glee in Todd & Mrs. Lovett & the insanity is underplayed by two actors who often seem to be lip-syncing rather than playing to an audience. The character of the Beggar Woman is oddly bowdlerised, & Judge Turpin's striking soliloquy is also cut, presumably on grounds of taste. Except in "By The Sea", there is too little fantasy & flair, with the result being as muted as Burton's Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
So, alll is not perfectly well with this film from the perspective of the Sondheim fan ... but ... one has to see this in the context of the fact that this is a very strong production of a very great musical. In lesser hands it would have been a much lesser film. Instead, Burton delivers on enough of the promise of his material for even the most devoted fan of the musical to feel that this is a fine, horrific film.
