Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
September 8th 2008 12:32
First post. Let's get into it.
I wanted to start out with a recent movie I liked. I wanted to give a big glowing review to one of the pleasurable times I've spent in a theatre lately. But instead I decided to write about the 2007 Tim Burton film Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman. It is a limited adaptation of the famous Stephen Sondheim musical. It has every element of what makes Burton films recognizable. The dark overtones, a demeanor of sharp wit hiding behind something horrible, and, of course, Mr. Depp himself. Suffering from the stigma of modern times (the New Hollywood Musical), it does its best to be true to the original material. But there are problems.
First of all, it is so washed out and devoid of colour that it could have been filmed in black and white and probably not lost any overall effect.
Secondly, Burton has made the decision to edit the story and original songs down, or completely out of the film adaptation. The age old tradition of cutting content for pacing and run time is a necessity in the film world, one we have all come across at some time or another. But Burton was pretty faithful to the stage version in everything that was put on the screen. The total run time of the film is 116 minutes. I could have dealt with a longer run time for a fully fleshed out story. The editing of Sweeney Todd is choppy at best and only serves to destroy the overall effect of the film.
The acting on the other hand is quite good. Not the greatness we've seen from Depp in such films as the Pirates Trilogy, Finding Neverland, or Ed Wood, but he does spend the majority of the film singing or staring intensely. Bonham Carter on the other hand has managed to screw herself into another one of her boyfriends movies only to prove how easily miscast she always is.
But I am not going to rest the blame of the heads of the scum aboard the sinking vessel that is Tim Burtons career. Remember back in the 80s when Burton was seen as the new auteur of Hollywood? 1989s Batman was hailed as the dark turn the caped crusader needed, right? Too bad that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight make Burtons Batman look like the 1960s TV show. I'm sure that Tim Burton is the reason that parents take children to see the Dark Knight, expecting it to be like the old ones. Burtons design is horribly childlike, and not in a good way. He is all about darkness. He is all about movie magic and fantastical views. He is a goofball and I think that it's about time that everyone wakes up to his stale line of bullshit movies.
Every now and then he will make something good. Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. These were good movies. But they were also colourful, and delightfully charming. None of his other films seem to have the charm to win me over. The good films are the ones where he strays from his usual bent of making everything stylized with shadows and crooked houses. When he breaks the mold, it stands out.
Thank God that his best trick is continually casting Johnny Depp. But I get the feeling that Burton keeps hiring Depp because he is popular. Burton, quite obviously the social outcast in his childhood, needs popular, good looking Depp around so he can seem more popular by association. Which is why Depp always looks like Burton in the movies. The messy black hair, bags under his eyes, pale presence is a common image in Burton/Depp films. Why does he want people to think he is cool? He is obviously not confident enough in his directing or himself to ever garner respect from me.
I would love to see Tim Burton do something groundbreaking again. He has done it a couple of times in the past, but he has been resting on his laurels too much for the last few years. Stop being a loser and earn your seat back at the winners table Burton. It's what we all want from you.
I would say that Sondheim should draw and quarter you for what you've done to his masterpiece, but he was involved in the making of this horrible adaptation as well. Shame on you Sondheim for waiting 30 years to make this movie and then letting Burton trample it into the grey dirt.
The sound design on the other hand was impressive. The sound of dead bodies thudding into the basement was truly shocking, and deserves the one iota of praise I will give this movie.
The big shame of this film is that the majority of audiences will never know how bad it really is because they don't have the time to see the original because musical theatre is an experience that many in todays dumbed down world will never give a chance to. This is supposed to be a story of heartbreak, moral dilemmas and ultimate tragedy. They got the tragedy right, but not intentionally. It should have been on the screen, and instead resided in my mind.
I am sorry if I have ruined your day with this depressing and hateful review. I wanted the movie to be good. I really did. But once again, my high expectations have been let down by Tim Burton and his ever expanding resume of goofy crap.
I wanted to start out with a recent movie I liked. I wanted to give a big glowing review to one of the pleasurable times I've spent in a theatre lately. But instead I decided to write about the 2007 Tim Burton film Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman. It is a limited adaptation of the famous Stephen Sondheim musical. It has every element of what makes Burton films recognizable. The dark overtones, a demeanor of sharp wit hiding behind something horrible, and, of course, Mr. Depp himself. Suffering from the stigma of modern times (the New Hollywood Musical), it does its best to be true to the original material. But there are problems.
First of all, it is so washed out and devoid of colour that it could have been filmed in black and white and probably not lost any overall effect.
Secondly, Burton has made the decision to edit the story and original songs down, or completely out of the film adaptation. The age old tradition of cutting content for pacing and run time is a necessity in the film world, one we have all come across at some time or another. But Burton was pretty faithful to the stage version in everything that was put on the screen. The total run time of the film is 116 minutes. I could have dealt with a longer run time for a fully fleshed out story. The editing of Sweeney Todd is choppy at best and only serves to destroy the overall effect of the film.
The acting on the other hand is quite good. Not the greatness we've seen from Depp in such films as the Pirates Trilogy, Finding Neverland, or Ed Wood, but he does spend the majority of the film singing or staring intensely. Bonham Carter on the other hand has managed to screw herself into another one of her boyfriends movies only to prove how easily miscast she always is.
But I am not going to rest the blame of the heads of the scum aboard the sinking vessel that is Tim Burtons career. Remember back in the 80s when Burton was seen as the new auteur of Hollywood? 1989s Batman was hailed as the dark turn the caped crusader needed, right? Too bad that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight make Burtons Batman look like the 1960s TV show. I'm sure that Tim Burton is the reason that parents take children to see the Dark Knight, expecting it to be like the old ones. Burtons design is horribly childlike, and not in a good way. He is all about darkness. He is all about movie magic and fantastical views. He is a goofball and I think that it's about time that everyone wakes up to his stale line of bullshit movies.
Every now and then he will make something good. Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. These were good movies. But they were also colourful, and delightfully charming. None of his other films seem to have the charm to win me over. The good films are the ones where he strays from his usual bent of making everything stylized with shadows and crooked houses. When he breaks the mold, it stands out.
Thank God that his best trick is continually casting Johnny Depp. But I get the feeling that Burton keeps hiring Depp because he is popular. Burton, quite obviously the social outcast in his childhood, needs popular, good looking Depp around so he can seem more popular by association. Which is why Depp always looks like Burton in the movies. The messy black hair, bags under his eyes, pale presence is a common image in Burton/Depp films. Why does he want people to think he is cool? He is obviously not confident enough in his directing or himself to ever garner respect from me.
I would love to see Tim Burton do something groundbreaking again. He has done it a couple of times in the past, but he has been resting on his laurels too much for the last few years. Stop being a loser and earn your seat back at the winners table Burton. It's what we all want from you.
I would say that Sondheim should draw and quarter you for what you've done to his masterpiece, but he was involved in the making of this horrible adaptation as well. Shame on you Sondheim for waiting 30 years to make this movie and then letting Burton trample it into the grey dirt.
The sound design on the other hand was impressive. The sound of dead bodies thudding into the basement was truly shocking, and deserves the one iota of praise I will give this movie.
The big shame of this film is that the majority of audiences will never know how bad it really is because they don't have the time to see the original because musical theatre is an experience that many in todays dumbed down world will never give a chance to. This is supposed to be a story of heartbreak, moral dilemmas and ultimate tragedy. They got the tragedy right, but not intentionally. It should have been on the screen, and instead resided in my mind.
I am sorry if I have ruined your day with this depressing and hateful review. I wanted the movie to be good. I really did. But once again, my high expectations have been let down by Tim Burton and his ever expanding resume of goofy crap.
Director of Sweeney Todd - Tim Burton
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Comment by Chris Low
I'm interested to read successive reviews.
Comment by Anonymous
he's amazing; and your just a little to rude.