"Sweeney Todd" with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp (1 Viewer)

[MatthewA]

Johnny Depp has done a musical before: Cry Baby.

Of course, I don't see why they don't just teach Sacha Baron Cohen to do what Rex Harrison did and talk on pitch.

 

[Dave Mack]

Depp didn't actually sing in Cry Baby though...

from imdb...

"James Intveld did the singing for Johnny Depp..."

 

[DavidPla]

Trailer is out

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809834155/video/4367764

http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplayli...&sdm=web&pt=rd

 

[BrianShort]

Just watched the trailer and I must say this looks like it could be really good!

 

[Sean Laughter]

It definitely does looks gorgeous. I'll reserve judgment for the acting and interpretations of the parts until I see it, but it does seem a bit more "subdued" than I'm used to seeing either Sweeney or Misses Lovett. For example, I'm used to something a bit more crazed and maniacal by the time Sweeney's character arc gets him to "Epiphany," but I'll wait and see. Definitely giving it a chance though.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

I don't really know the musical at all (apart from the barest plot concept), but it is a great looking trailer. It looks like a Tim Burton movie design-wise, and an interesting-looking performance by Depp (insane, but not so much that you would worry about going to him for a shave).

My one problem with the trailer is with the inclusion of the "I will have vengeance" song. I admire that they are actually openly announcing that this is a musical, not keeping it a secret, but in terms of the pacing of a trailer - it really stops the thing dead for a good 20 second, and just makes the thing feel terribly awkward.

 

[ChrisBEA]

Really like this trailer. Looking forward to the film.

 

[Adam_WM]

Yet another musical where they hide the fact that it is a musical... They did it with CHICAGO, Hairspray, RENT, even THE PRODUCERS to a degree... a real shame.

 

[Ron-P]

It looks amazing. I love the dark look to Depp.

 

[Sean Laughter]

Huh? There's singing of a song right there in the trailer - granted, I'd have picked one of the more up-tempo moments to go better with the pacing of the trailer - but it's not hiding it's a musical. I can't really see how anyone could say Hairspray hid it was a musical either. Then again, I didn't pay to much attention to the marketing of those films outside the trailers, so maybe the TV spots were different.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Like Sean said, they weren't hiding the fact that it is a musical. (In fact, in my post that you quoted, I actually state that I admired that "they are actually openly announcing that this is a musical, not keeping it a secret"). The trailer may not be full of singing every second, but it's very clear that there is at least one point where the main character walks around singing "I will have vengeance" while people completely fail to take notice. And if there is one scene like that, there are probably others. And that makes it a musical. You certainly couldn't watch the trailer and still be surprised to find it was a musical.

But you're not the only person to make that comment - I was reading a post on the EW.com website that also suggested that they're trying to hide that it's a musical.

 

[Sean Laughter]

It will be interesting to see how well the film does. It is one of Sondheim's most challenging shows thematically and musically, and definitely isn't everyone's cup of tea. I personally love it and it's by far my favorite Sondheim show, so I'm excited for it, I just can see it being a nightmare figuring out how to market it properly.

I'm actually surprised a film version of Into the Woods wasn't green lit before Sweeney Todd since that show seems infinitely more marketable to many more demographic segments.

 

[Julia]

I'm just excited because I have a crush on Johnny Depp. Imagine that, doesn't every gal? Here's the trailer for Sweeney Todd: http://gloob.tv/movies/trailer_sween...d?article=1976 I signed up for this subscription service where I get trailers and teasers e-mailed to me as they come out. This was the first one I got... was so happy to wake up to a big old still of Johnny in my inbox!

 

[Marianne]

www.sweeneytoddmovie.com

 

[Nick Laslett]

I will never forget seeing Evita at the cinema.

It was obvious that most of the audience did not know what to expect.

The film started and after 20 minutes of continuous music it felt like they had all forgotten to breath and were waiting for the music to stop. The film never did give them a chance to relax, the music just never stopped!

I loved the film, but I think the majority of the cinema audience hated it.

The cinema was practically empty when I saw Phantom of the Opera. For such a big show, the film was a tremendous flop.

I can't imagine Sweeney being a hit, Tim and Johnny between them must have some clout if they can get something like this made.

Although Moulin Rouge was a hit, there is something about the post modern way it uses popular song, that I think made it more acceptable to a non-musical audience. Chicago did the whole frame the songs as fantasy and keep the drama seperate thing.

I thought Rent was great, but that was another big flop for such a high profile contempary show.

Hopefully the huge success of Disney's High School Musicall 1 & 2 will encourage a lot of youngsters to be more open about film musicals.

I'm sure Sweeney Todd will be great, different to the original production, but the source material is strong enough to stand many different intepretations.

 

[Chris Will]

Hairspray did pretty good at the box office and it had quite a bit of singing in it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I got the Blu-Ray cheap recently and just finished watching it, my first time since I saw it in theaters. Still one of the most successful musical adaptations I've ever seen.


Much more so than most musicals that simply filmed the stage show, comparing the stage show to the movie is an apples-to-oranges comparison. But the choices made almost uniformly result in a better film, even if they would have hurt the stage show. The movie really takes advantage of the fact that it can get right up close and personal with the characters to use the songs as a means of externalizing internal thoughts and feelings. A bunch of songs are missing, and a bunch of the songs that are left are radically reworked, but again it all works to the service of the film. If you weren't familiar with a stage production, you wouldn't immediately sense where things are missing or condensed. Depp, Bonham Carter et al. aren't the best voices to have ever sung these songs, but they acquit themselves well and they're excellent performers of the songs. There's a lot to dramatically chew on in Sondheim's lyrics, and the actors do a great job conveying those nuances without pounding the nail too hard. Bonham Carter in particular had the unenviable task of stepping into the shadow of one of Angela Lansbury's career-defined roles, and she does a good job sidestepping the comparisons by giving us a very different Mrs. Lovett that is nevertheless quite satisfying. Johnny Depp deserved his Oscar nomination for the role; you can see Benjamin Barker's fierce, haunted loss and the obsessive hatred it's generated behind his eyes in every shot. The look of the film is gorgeous, and completely sucks you into the story. If I had a complaint, it's that I'd have liked an appearance by the ghosts of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett at the end, commenting on the efficiency of Todd's revenge. Given the stark melodrama of the film's ending, though, I can understand why they didn't go there.


By contrast, Rob Marshall's adaptation of Into the Woods was far more of a mixed bag for me. There was a lot I liked, but a lot I didn't like.

 

[Sam Posten]

Glad you liked it Adam, for me it was just OK, and a far cry behind the Landsbury classic stage performance but better than what I had feared it would be!