[.ca] Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street

From Amazon.com:
Stephen Sondheim's Grand-Guignol blend of opera and musical theater is a perfect match for director Tim Burton's gothic sensibility. The result of their encounter is a superb screen musical that, despite early fears from the show's fans, preserves most of the score ("The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" being the most egregious loss) and, perhaps even more importantly, its spirit (regular Sondheim orchestrator Jonathan Tunick did the new arrangements). And yes, Johnny Depp can sing. Granted, singing in a movie is easier than it is onstage, but still, Depp is at ease with the material, if a little thin-voiced. Helena Bonham Carter is a bit more problematic as Mrs. Lovett (there's a reason this character has been played by the likes of Angela Lansbury and Patti LuPone on stage) and her take on "The Worst Pies in London" tries hard but lacks gleeful gusto (she fares better on "By the Sea"). More convincing are Sacha Baron Cohen, appropriately outlandish as Pirelli ("The Contest"), Jayne Wisener as Johanna ("Green Finch and Linnet Bird"), and Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin (a good duet with Depp on "Pretty Women"). Sondheim fans won't be disappointed, and the film should also bring new converts into his world. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

It is more acting than singing, but that works with the tale of Sweeney Todd:
As near as I can remember I never saw the "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street Deluxe - Complete Edition" CD when I ordered this "Highlights" CD, because I would have wanted the whole thing. The differences between the two are not that much: the complete version has the Beggar Woman's "Alms Alms" linking Johanna's "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" and Anthony's "Johanna"; the Beadle and the Judge cover "Ladies and Their Sensitivities" before "Pretty Woman"; and the biggest addition is the 10-minute plus "Final Scene." Several of the tracks are a bit longer on the full version as well, so there are those minor differences as well, but the difference is not as significant as what exists between the 2-disc original Broadway cast album and its single disc of highlights. The irony is that I do not get to see the movie version any time soon because the company that manages the local theaters decided Paramount wanted too big of a slice of the ticket price, which is why the one movie I most wanted to see during the holiday break is not showing within 100 miles of where I live. So I have to content myself with the highlights soundtrack (at least until I track down a way of downloading the other tracks). All things considered "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is my favorite musical, although it is really more of an opera. I read one review of the film that said nobody was going to think that Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter would be the finest singers ever to essay the roles, but that their performances were perfectly suited for the big screen (in contrast to the Broadway stage). When I first saw "Sweeney Todd" performed on stage by a touring company the role of Mrs. Lovett was played by June Havok as in "Baby June," the big sister of Gypsy Rose Lee (see "Gypsy"). Havok's coming timing was honed in Vaudeville before Stephen Sondheim was even born, but she sang the role at least a whole octave lower than Angela Landesbury. Consequently, I am open to the idea that Depp is more of a tenor than a baritone. I also had occasion to direct a one-act version of the musical, without the music (change away a few of the rhymes here and there and the songs work as dialogue quite well). So when you listen to the opening track and do not hear anybody singing "Attend the tail of Sweeney Todd," it is a bit disconcerting, but it does set the tone for the drama to follow, even if much of what is being said is being sung. For me the strength of the show comes at the end of the first act, which concludes with "Pretty Women," "Epiphany," and "A Little Priest," and those are the strongest part of this highlight album as well. Of course, hearing Depp growl his invitations to gentlemen to take a seat in his barber's chair only makes me what to see the movie even more, and I feel that the album will work much better as a reminder of what you see on screen rather than standing on its own merit as a soundtrack album. The same thing applies to Bonham Carter, whose "Worst Pies in London," "Poor Thing," "Wait," and "By the Sea" only reinforce the idea that these performances must be seen and not just heard (I really anticipate this being one of those musicals where you would rather listen to the DVD rather than the CD when you want to hear the songs again). There is little choice to judge Jamie Campbell Bower's Anthony Hope or Jayne Wisener's Johanna, because the primary focus here is clearly on Depp and Bonham Carter, with young Ed Sanders shinning as Toby on the album's concluding track, "Not While I'm Around" (putting him at the younger end of the adolescent spectrum was a good move). We only get a taste of Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin and Sacha Baron Cohen as Pirelli, but it is enough to know that Rickman is matching Depp in emphasizing the drama over the vocals and that Cohen knows full well he is stealing his scene as Pirelli. Did I mention that I really want to see this movie?

Johnny Depp is Sweeney Todd:
Johnny Depp is the master if quirk, he is one actor who is not afraid to spread his wings and move into different directions. Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd is a dark story and it would take such an actor to capture the character. Johnny Depp capture the tortured psychotic barber of Fleet Street bent on revenge. With the help of Mrs. Lovett who cooks up a mean meat pie, Sweeney shall have his revenge. In between Sondheim manages to weave a love story between a young sailor and Sweeney's daughter. Thanks to Tim Burton who has the guts to bring the musical to the big screen and casting Johnny who seems to be his actor of choice for a lot of his work, the pair suit each other with Tim being able to bring out I think some of Depp's best work. The soundtrack is fun and well worth adding to your musical collection

• Opening Title
• No Place Like London
• Worst Pies in London
• Poor Thing
• My Friends
• Green Finch and Linnet Bird
• Johanna
• Pirelli's Miracle Elixir
• Contest
• Wait
• Pretty Women
• Epiphany
• Little Priest
• Johanna
• God, That's Good!
• By the Sea
• Not While I'm Around