Product Description

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton join forces again in a big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical thriller "Sweeney Todd." Depp stars in the title role as a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. When he returns to reopen his barber shop, Sweeney Todd becomes the Demon Barber of Fleet Street who "shaved the heads of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard from again." Joining Depp is Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's amorous accomplice, who creates diabolical meat pies. The cast also includes Alan Rickman, who portrays the evil Judge Turpin, who sends Sweeney to prison and Timothy Spall as the Judge's wicked associate Beadle Bamford and Sacha Baron Cohen is a rival barber, the flamboyant Signor Adolfo Pirelli.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1783 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2008-04-01
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 116 minutes

Amazon.com
After years of rumors, it turns out that Tim Burton was the perfect visionary to film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim's Broadway masterpiece, and the result is a macabre and moving musical movie as enthralling as anything Burton has ever done. The show's mix of gothic horror, Grand Guignol, very dark humor, and witty and beautiful music never was the stuff of traditional musical comedy, but it's a powerful work, and perhaps the richest of the late 20th century. In the movie, Burton's frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp, plays Todd, a wronged man whose lust for revenge drives him to murder (an 19th-century legend who has been traced to a real-life barber). Helena Bonham Carter, another Burton mainstay, is Mrs. Lovett, the barber's partner-in-unspeakable-crime. It's no surprise that Depp is an excellent choice to convey Todd's brooding intensity and volcanic rage, but he can also sing a score that is so challenging it has often played in opera houses (though not with the same style as the Broadway original, Len Cariou, and he occasionally lapses into pop style). Bonham Carter is small of voice and lacks the humor of the original Broadway Lovett, Angela Lansbury, but she sings on pitch, in rhythm, and in character at the same time, which is no small feat for a Sondheim show. Aficionados will regret the loss of certain musical passages--"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" is just an instrumental overture and the chorus is gone altogether, among others--but the reassuring presence of orchestrator Jonathan Tunick and conductor Paul Gemignani ensures that the music feels right and sounds great. And the film's depiction of a Victorian London hellhole--with cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and costumes by Colleen Atwood--also looks and feels right.

The excellent cast is filled out by Alan Rickman as the villainous Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as his seedy Beadle, Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) as a rival barber, Jamie Campbell Bower as the young lover Anthony, Jayne Wisener as his object of affection, and Ed Sanders as the young Toby. For fans of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp who don't think they like musicals, Sweeney Todd should be a revelation (though not for the squeamish, as the gore is intense and completely appropriate). For fans of Broadway and Sondheim, it's hard to imagine getting a better adaptation than this. The fact that there's no newly composed Oscar-bait song sung by a Josh Groban-type over the end credits only makes it better. --David Horiuchi

On the DVD
On disc 1, along with the movie, is the 26-minute "Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd," consisting of interviews with Tim Burton and the major cast members (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Ed Sanders) talking about a variety of topics, including the challenge of singing the difficult score. Alan Rickman says, "One of the more challenging moments in one’s life is when you’ve got the music in your hand and you’re in a huge rehearsal room and Stephen Sondheim walks across the room and says, 'OK, let’s hear it.' It doesn’t get much tougher than that." Disc 2 is filled with a number of fairly substantial featurettes and other bonuses. Focusing on the movie are a 24-minute making-of featurette, "Designs for a Demon Barber" (costumes and sets, 9 minutes), and "A Bloody Business" (violent special effects, 9 minutes). "Musical mayhem: Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd" (12 minutes) focuses on the score, and to those who complain about the changes the movie made, the composer says "Leave your memories at the door." There's also a light-hearted 20-minute press conference from November 2007 with Burton, Depp, Bonham Carter, Rickman, Timothy Spall, and producer Richard Zanuck, and "Moviefone Unscripted (11 min.) in which Burton and Depp answer caller questions. "Sweeney Todd Is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber" and "Sweeney's London" (20 and 16 minutes, respectively) trace the historical/legendary character Sweeney Todd and his time, and "Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition" analyzes the macabre style on which the play was based. Finally, there are "The Razor's Refrain" (stills set to audio clips, 8 minutes), a photo gallery of stills and drawings, and the theatrical trailer. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Music, Murder, and Mischief
Most of Tim Burton's movies are a lot of fun to watch and amazing to look at. However, a lot of the times the narratives tend to be less than compelling and even though they were amazing to look at, everything else fades from memory quite quickly. Notably exceptions being "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Ed Wood". Now comes, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" which is the most delicious work (pun intended) Burton has delivered in his twenty plus year as a director.

To me "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" plays out like an evil version of one of those Disney animated musical from the early nineties. Those movies seemed to be composed of two young lovers from different worlds who have to go to impossible ends to be with each other, and the girl often has a overbearing yet loving father, and there is always a villain to make sure the girl and boy are kept apart. In this story the villain interferes with the girls life when she is a mere infant.

As the movie opens "Sweeney Todd(played flawlessly by Johnny Depp), formerly Benjamin Barker is returning to London after fifteen years of exile after being brought up on a false charge. The audience quickly learns that Benjamin Barker had a wife named Lucy who he was madly in love with, but so was the unscrupulous Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) who has Barker sent away so he can take the wife as his own. After many rejections by the woman, the Judge takes Mrs. Barker by force, driving her mad. And to make things even better for the family the Judge Turpin adopts Barker's daughter Johanna to raise as his own, and imprison her as she blossoms into womanhood with the intent of marrying her.

Shortly after returning to London Todd returns to his home, which is above a shopped own by Helena Boham-Carter-Burton's Mrs. Lovett, who happens to sell the worst meat pies in London. Mrs. Lovett realizes right away that Sweeney Todd is really Benjamin Barker and takes an immediate liking to him. In the meantime Todd's imprisoned daughter, Johanna, spies a sailor (the same sailor who delivers Todd to London) and the two fall instantly in love.

Now in most Disney animated movies the action is centered on the young lovers while the adults are put in the background. Most of the action here is on Sweeney Todd, a moping monster whose only purpose in life is to have revenge for the wrongs done to him.

This movie is interesting in many ways, namely the relationship between Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett. It's obviously she will do anything to win his affection. However, he is indifferent to her unless she is able to help him get his revenge. There are several scenes in which Todd speaks to Mrs. Lovett as if she is just a distraction. Despite his bitter rage and nastiness Mrs. Lovett still dreams of moving to the sea and getting married to Mr. Todd. One of the best scenes in the movie is when it seems as if Todd is about to open up to Mrs. Lovett and then a clue about how to get his revenge on the judge comes his way, and she is instantly forgotten.

Judge Turpin has to be the nastiest villain in all of Tim Burton's movies. And these are villains that include the Joker, the Penguin, blood thirsty Martians, and the boogie man. This guy not only destroys a family on the whim of his own lust, he intends to marry the daughter. The fact that the daughter falls for the young sailor puts her in a terrible situation.

And there this is Mrs. Lovett. Here is a character with the morals of a half starved alley cat. She thinks murder is inexcusable unless it is justified (A character tries to bribe Sweeney Todd) or if it can be to her benefit (Using the bodies of victims to boost her pie selling business). Part of the greatness of her role is how nonchalantly she reacts to the murders of several people as long as she stands to gain by them.

As great as the story is I can honestly stay Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter can both hold their own as singers. Alan Rickman, great actor, but not so much. The atmosphere of the sets also contribute to the melancholy feel of this movies. Tim Burton has made violent, bloody movies before but they always tended to have an upbeat tone. As I said, it reminded me if an evil Disney movie. After seeing "Beauty and the Beast" I left the theater humming the songs. After this one I walked out feeling like I just had attended a funeral. Still, this is an elegant movie and Burton's best work.

Final note...the blu ray quality is very good, but not great.

Superb Performances By An All Star Cast
A wonderful dark comedy with an amazing musical score and stellar performances by Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and most of all the talented Helena Bonham Carter who assumes the role of Mrs. Lovett with the ease of slipping into a pair of slacks.

TIM BURTON KILLS ANOTHER CLASSIC!!!!
To my amazement, when the film was over, people in the movie theater stood up and said "I liked it." Meanwhile, I'm thinking, "Of course you liked it, it's one of the finest musicals ever written" But I believe that the love people give this film is only due to Sondheim's genius source material which Burton did not add anything to. Burton could only throw his wannabe Edward Gorey style at it, play up the blood, and tell the actors to perform the whole thing without subtext. This musical is inherently FUNNY. Hello? Where was the humor? This was Depp's least funny role in a musical that SHOULD be darkly HILARIOUS? Explain that!!! And for those people who think a tragedy can't be funny look at Hamlet - that show has tons of humor and is arguably the finest work in western drama. Laughter adds dimension and makes the sad parts sadder. An overabundance of blood does not make up for cutting out the brilliant irony and swelling emotional power of the musical. If it was blood he wanted, Burton should have directed a re-make of Evil Dead. Though he no doubt would have ruined that one too.

Also more evidence of Burton's lack of respect for the musical is the fact that he cast ACTORS WHO CAN'T SING THEIR PARTS. Helena Bonham-Carter was the worst offender and literally butchered one of the greatest female characters of all time. Anything I felt for the characters was provoked by Sondheim's score. The director and the actors brought nothing. SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU TIM!