Crazed Barber Spills Blood, Musically
One wonders how Stephen Sondheim ever thought of a notorious 19th-century serial killer's exploits as suitable subject matter for a Broadway musical.  Yet "Sweeney Todd" opened in 1979 to excellent critical reaction.<br /> It's taken this long for the play to come to the screen.  There were several attempts that never came to fruition, changing public tastes to contend with, and Sondheim's trademark protectiveness of his work.  Now, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" makes the transition from stage to screen surprisingly well, despite heavy pruning of its musical numbers.<br /> The setting is Victorian London.  Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), lives a contented life as a barber with his wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) and infant daughter Johanna until Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), lusting for Lucy, has Barker deported to Australia on false charges and rapes Lucy, who poisons herself in despair.  Johanna becomes Judge Turpin's ward.<br /> Many years later Barker, now calling himself Sweeney Todd, returns to London and visits an old friend, the pie maker Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), whose upper floor used to serve as his barber shop.  He decides to reopen for business, aiming to exact vengeance on Judge Turpin.<br /> Depp is playing a man older than his real age, and convinces with both make-up and a consistently grim expression.  He is not the greatest singer on the planet, but he sells the songs, using his acting skills and relying on the camera's ability to practically see into his soul.  We feel for him because of how mightily he's been wronged, and this balances the on-screen violence.  Though most of his victims are innocent men who simply want a shave, we find ourselves oddly intrigued by his proficiency with the blade and, especially, with how efficiently he disposes of body after body.  Not since Norman Bates has the screen seen such a fascinating serial killer.<br /> Director Tim Burton, who directed Depp in "Edward Scissorhands," "Ed Wood," "Sleepy Hollow," and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," gives "Sweeney Todd" such a feel for the squalid underbelly of London that you can almost smell it.  From the first scene, when we see Sweeney sail up the Thames under Tower Bridge to the crowded, narrow, cobbled streets that pedestrians have to share with rats, the film's atmosphere envelops the bloody tale being unfolded.  The cinematography by Dariusz Wolski uses a very muted color palette, saving bright hues for dramatic effect, such as when Sweeney wields his razor and blood spurts from the necks of his victims.  Yes, these scenes leave little to the imagination, but the bloodletting is extremely stylized.  On stage, there was some stage blood, but on screen, with close-ups, the gore is magnified.<br /> Ms. Carter serves up an interesting portrayal of Mrs. Lovett, who becomes Sweeney's accomplice in crime.  Her skill -- or lack of it -- at baking meat pies, her attraction to Sweeney, and her entrepreneurship make her a fascinating character.  On stage, Angela Lansbury played her broadly and comically as an eccentric floozy.  Carter's interpretation is less music hall, more Grand Guignol, a choice that is wise and fits better into Burton's vision.<br /> Comic relief is provided by Sacha Baron Cohen as Signor Adolfo Pirelli, a pompous barber who is challenged to a duel of barbers by Sweeney.  Cohen is flamboyantly appropriate, neatly stealing his big scene.  Dressed in a royal blue outfit that looks more suitable for the French court than a dingy London lower-class neighborhood, he carries himself like an aristocrat though, at heart, he is just one more snake oil salesman.<br /> Excellent supporting performances are provided by Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford, a cohort of Judge Turpin; Anthony Hope as the sailor who befriends Sweeney on the journey to England and becomes smitten with Johanna when he sees her gazing out her window; Rickman as Judge Turpin; and young Ed Sanders as Toby.<br /> Spall looks like a character directly out of Charles Dickens and is absolutely believable as a toady whose powerful office allows him to bend the law or wield it at his discretion.<br /> Sanders has quite a large role as Toby, the abused assistant of Pirelli who later is taken under the wing of Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett.  He has a great ragamuffin look, and a bright smile that belies the awful treatment Toby's endured first in the workhouses and then under Pirelli's cruel apprenticeship.  He is treated kindly at Sweeney's for the first time in his life.  His rendition of Sondheim's beautiful ballad "Not While I'm Around" is extremely moving.<br /> Other songs that made it into the film include  "Johanna," "Pretty Women," and the darkly comic "The Worst Pies in London," performed by Mrs. Lovett as cockroaches scramble willy nilly across her kitchen counter.<br /> Rated R for its graphic violence, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" succeeds because its strong story forms the substance of the movie, performances are uniformly first-rate and the production design is evocative.
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 {"Genre": "Musicals", "Format": "Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC", "Contributor": "Jamie Campbell Bower, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Ava May, Hugh Wheeler, Stephen Sondheim, Christopher Bond, Timothy Spall, Gracie May, John Logan, Laura Michelle Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Ed Sanders, Gabriella Freeman, Alan Rickman, Jayne Wisener, Sacha Baron CohenJamie Campbell Bower, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Ava May, Hugh Wheeler, Stephen Sondheim, Christopher Bond, Timothy Spall, Gracie May, John Logan, Laura Michelle Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Ed Sanders, Gabriella Freeman, Alan Rickman, Jayne Wisener, Sacha\u2026   See more", "Language": "English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Unqualified", "Runtime": "1 hour and 56 minutes", "Aspect Ratio": "1.85:1", "Is Discontinued By Manufacturer": "No", "MPAA rating": "R (Restricted)", "Product Dimensions": "7.75 x 5.75 x 0.53 inches; 4 Ounces", "Director": "Tim Burton", "Media Format": "Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC", "Run time": "1 hour and 56 minutes", "Release date": "April 1, 2008", "Actors": "Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen", "Dubbed": "French, Spanish", "Subtitles": "English, French, Spanish", "Studio": "Dreamworks Video", "Writers": "Christopher Bond, Hugh Wheeler, John Logan, Stephen Sondheim", "Number of discs": "2"}

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