[Tenalto]

Disclaimer: My view. Please don't get stroppy; I just need to get this off my chest to people who know the stage version.

Just got back from seeing it for the first time (and last). I was all excited today when I found out that the local cinema FINALLY had it. Now I'm just glad that we didn't drive an hour and a half away to see it. I was wretchedly disappointed. I knew that there would be cuts, I knew that the singing wasn't what I was used to, I knew that there were going to be buckets of gore. I didn't expect that many big cuts or that many buckets. The gore seemed simply excessive. I felt like the director just said, "Eff it, we don't need much by way of humor," and excised most everything that would have been a break from all of the grimness and blood-spurting. I never realized what a difference songs like "Kiss Me" made to the over-all tone. I also found myself missing the chorus on the big numbers. The Ballads go without saying. The show went from being a very black dramedy to simply black. And gray.

There were things that I liked. I thought that "By the Sea" was extremely well done; it was about the only bit of true levity in the whole thing, and, consequently, my favorite part. The acting was good. Depp's semi-catatonic state was very fitting, Rickman was disturbing as a good Judge ought to be, and I thought that HBC's take on Lovett as actually caring about Toby brought a bit of a different level to the character. The huge orchestrations were also marvelous; it was wonderful to hear the music swell with such depth and volume. The washed-out quality of the color with the few exceptions was highly effective.

Ultimately, while there were redeeming qualities, they didn't outweigh the cons for me.

[tortallcit]

Well... I'd have to agree with the excessive gore. It was artistic decision, I know, but it just seemed to look more in place with a low-budget horror movie than it was intended. I did really like Helena Bonham Carter's interpretation of Mrs. Lovett though... for some reason I always found Angela Lansbury just Ghastly...

[Not Dead Yet]

[TychoBrahe]

Yes, I prefer an operatic show which is comprised of a cast of singers.

[Sweeney Hyde]

[Mistress]

I think I wanna steal your avatar Sweeney Hyde!

[Sweeney Hyde]

[TychoBrahe]

Normally I try not to respond to messages like that, Hyde, but I'm feeling a might cranky. The musical Sweeney Todd is primarily sung, therefore it has strong operatic tendancies.
E.S.D.

[Dots Parasole]

[TychoBrahe]

Thank you Dot.