Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2-Disc Special Edition DVD Set/DreamWorks/Paramount)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: B+     Film: B-

 

 

It is very difficult to transform a hit Broadway stage production into a hit Hollywood theatrical release.  In recent years musicals have been making a come back in theaters with such hits as 2002’s adaptation of Broadway’s Chicago and the original Beatles inspired Across the Universe, just this past year.  The general publics’ desire to see musicals on film has gone through phases over the past 75 years with many highs and lows and now in 2008 has once again (seemingly) embraced the idea of bolstering vocals and charged musical scores.

 

Recognizing upfront that musicals are not an easy undertaking by any means, Tim Burton’s venture into the unknown with his musical directorial debut on Sweeney Todd was nothing to be taken lightly.  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street originally premiered on Broadway in the spring of 1979 with mixed reviews, but later became a smash hit, winning a plethora of Tony Awards.  The complicated music and lyrics were written by Stephen Sondheim and to this day song writers borrow inspiration from Sondheim’s amazing scores.  The adaptation from Broadway hit to theatrical hit, however, did not go so well.  Many critics and people (critics aren’t people) found Burton’s version of Sweeney Todd to be amazing with a great cast, solid musical scores and a dark edge that audiences have become accustomed to from Burton; this reviewer, however, feels that the film just slid by as passable and it is the reputations of Depp, Burton, and Sondheim that gave the film any form of validity.

 

For those unfamiliar with the back story to Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street, here is a brief synopsis.  Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) was a bright eyed barber with a lovely wife and a child on the way; when an evil Judge named Turpin (Alan Rickman), lustful for Barker’s wife, wrongfully sentenced Barker to life imprisonment at a penal colony, never to return.  With Barker out of the picture, Judge Turpin raped Lucy (Barker’s wife) and then stole his daughter.  After being banished from London for 15 years Barker returns under the assumed identity of Sweeney Todd.  Returning to his old flat above Lovett’s Pie Shop on Fleet Street, Todd discovers that the world is quite a different place.  In the festering pie shop Todd finds the unkempt Nellie Lovett who tells Todd that Lucy had been raped and the committed suicide, at which time Judge Turpin adopted Todd’s daughter (Johanna) as his ward.  Todd swears revenge on Turpin and all those who were involved in destroying his world. Lovett, who has a secret love for Todd, reunites Todd with his silver blades that she had been hiding beneath her floor boards for all these years.  With his blades in hand Todd states that his arm once again feels complete and is now ready for revenge.

 

A young sailor that found and returned Todd to London named Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower) while wandering the streets sees a beautiful girl sitting in window and swears that is the girl he shall marry.  Caught admiring the girls beauty, Judge Turpin and his associate Beadle Bamford disapprovingly approach the boy and assure him that if he shows his face again he will surely find untimely end.  The girl was none other than Todd’s Johanna.  The young boy later returns to Todd’s shop hoping for help, but unwittingly gives Todd the chance and inspiration to get his revenge on Turpin and reclaim his daughter.

 

The film is solid music from beginning to end, though not every scene necessarily has singing.  Sacha Baron Cohen also makes a brief appearance in the film as an ‘Italian’ street peddler named ‘Signor Adolfo Pirelli’ selling ‘magic hair tonic.’  Todd suspicious of the hair product calls Pirelli out with a shaving contest, of which Todd quickly wins.  It is later revealed that Pirelli is more than he originally seems and could bring Todd’s plans of vengeance crashing to the ground.

 

The film centers on Todd’s need for revenge, but quickly shows Todd’s transformation into merciless monster fueled by primitive rage.

 

The best manner in which to describe the film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is ‘just ok.’  The newest Tim Burton gamble is in line with his usual dark and stylized sense of direction, yet for the most part falls flat.  The acting throughout the film was excellent, but this reviewer feels the film may have faired better with a cast of unknowns with outstanding musical skills.  It is a difficult task to sing and act at the same time and the cast of the film did an excellent job, but the singing talents of Depp and Carter don’t even come close to their acting talents.  Both Depp and Carter made a valiant effort in the singing department and whereas by no means were they bad, overall they were just ok.  The singers/actors who stole the film were the young sailor (Jamie Campbell Bower) and Sacha Baron Cohen’s assistant boy Toby (Ed Sanders), who both have excellent voices and a wonderful screen presence.  The story of held within Sweeney Todd musical was never one of great depth, but enough to get by with the main focus being on the singing and musical scores.  Burton’s version of Sweeney Todd, however, did cutout some of Sondheim’s musical numbers (mostly due to time constraints) and in turn made the film, whereas already almost 2 hours long, feel somewhat sparse as far as storyline.  The film seemed to jump too quickly from event to event without any true causation.  It seems Burton’s recent troubles may lie in the editing department.

 

The film received three Oscar nominations, winning for Best Art Direction.  This reviewer feels that was the appropriate win for the film, with the singing and storyline just being on the level of adequate Burton’s dark and dismal portrayal of the Industrial Revolution was the best piece of the film to be rewarded.

 

As you slice and dice your way through the technical features on this 2-Disc Special Edition there is an obvious mixed bag of both good and bad features.  Starting with the 1.85 X 1 image that is enhanced for 16 X 9 televisions the picture quality flip-flops between adequate and just tolerable.  This reviewer’s biggest issue with the picture is the denatured green tone that remains monotone and obnoxious throughout the film; leaving the film with an odd hue that whereas intended to be interesting just becomes distracting.  After Burton took the ‘artistic initiative’ to mess around with the color he created an atmosphere of odd tones and contrast that in no way, shape, or form adds to the film.  The soundtrack for the film is presented in a lackluster Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround format that failed to impress.  Most of the soundtrack’s instrumentals are projected through the surrounds with the vocals coming full blast front and center.  The 96 piece orchestra in the surrounds makes Sondheim’s music fill the room and sounds brilliant, but this is all at the cost of the actors’ vocal performances.

 

The extras on the 2-Disc Special Edition of the film are quite plentiful and well presented.  Extra Features include the following:

 

• Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd; a behind the scenes look a the collaboration of Tim Burton with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter featuring exclusive footage from rehearsals, recording sessions and more! [25 Minutes]
• This extra feature is one of the best and most candid looks into a newer film this reviewer has seen in a long while featuring commentaries, interviews, promotional materials, and a look at the overall creative process.

 

Available on Disc-2:

 

• Sweeney Todd Press Conference
• Sweeney Todd is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber
• A short but interesting documentary on the ‘real Sweeney Todd’ or rather the many violent events that inspired his creation out of the darkness of the Industrial Revolution.  Historians are seemingly unsure if he ever truly existed, but do give great insight the events that surround his mythos.
• Musical Mayhem: Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd
• A short interview with Sondheim about his musical inspirations, his creative process, and his feeling on the film adaptation. [Spoiler: He was pleased with the film]
• Sweeney’s London
• A group of extras are brought together to describe what London was like during the Industrial revolution, while utilizing some period drawings to emphasize certain points. Quite interesting.
• The Making of Sweeny Todd
• The generic ‘making of’ featurette that we find on most DVD discs.  It is better to just stick with the first featurette on this set.
• Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition
• Discusses a gory tradition that existed in a theater in France from 1897 to 1962 and the styles that that particular theater inspired.
• Designs for a Demon Barber
• A Bloody Business
• This feature goes into the special features of the film to a large degree and is very interesting.
• Moviefone Unscripted with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp
• The Razor’s Refrain
• Trailer
• Photo Gallery

 

 

 

This reviewer was eager to finally see a big screen adaptation of Sondheim’s Broadway smash hit, but was only met with a lukewarm film.  Burton managed to sacrifice depth for Depp and it shows.  Ultimately, the film left a bad taste in this reviewer’s mouth and it wasn’t the pies.  No longer do we see Burton creating works of art like Beetlejuice, Batman or even Edward Scissorhands; but maybe it truly is just as Carter sings it ‘times is hard…’

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II