[Regressiamente]

I mean; am I the only one who loves both the play (Hearn is incredible, of course), and the movie? I think it works great as a film! I can see how naturally it would come to mind to compare the movie to the play and base your judgement off of that. But come on, for a movie you don't exactly need opera singers-- it's not as if the actors need to project their voices to the back of some stage. Plus, acting for film is a completely different concept than acting for stage. If the actors had been more akin to the stage actors, it would have flopped as a movie. Nonetheless, I don't see why the movie is so largely hated. I can see not liking Helena as much as Lansbury, but she wasn't horrible! Her voice was fine for Lovett; she had a nice tone, a good accent, a bit breathy and not too strong, yes. But I think her vocal tone reflected the character she was portraying. She succeeded at presenting a new kind of Lovett-- one that became wicked with her love for Todd. She also seemed kind of jaded and nonchalant yet merry and fancy-free, an interesting combination, and she acted this out very well. As for Depp, his voice surprised me for what I was expecting. I think his voice was quite powerful, very unique and refreshing. My favorite performance of his was "Epiphany". I'm not a huge fan of Depp in general, but I think he suited the role. In the end, I really got the idea that he had full-circle consumed himself.

Overall, why judge the actors and the whole film because it is different from the play? It is a totally different thing from the play, and the characters were a bit different, yes. But wouldn't you be booing if Helena tried some Lansbury rip-off, or Depp tried to go all Hearn on us?

[Pannic]

I don't think anyone here disliked the movie...

[musical_maven]

I was a Sweeney-virgin when I saw the movie. I liked Depp's preformance and was soon obsessed with the whole concept of Sweeney Todd. Which in turn, introduced me to the Lansbury/Hearn tape (Which I loved!), and got me interested in the revival! I bought tickets a few weeks ago, so I'll be seeing it when it comes to my town!

[pish123c]

This topic has been done to death. A quick search on this forum would give you all the feedback you could ever want.

[Inspector_Javert]

I found the movie good, although it was too much for me. Too much pointless killing and no sympathetic character, no sense of humor. I'd put more irony in it. The story is too bizarre for being a serious tragedy, it would be better as a (very) black comedy.

The actors were very good. I've never seen it on-stage, in our country they don't play it... Maybe they will now...

I especially liked Helena. She almost stole the show!
Johnny is always Johnny , I just love him playing silly roles. And Alan... my God, his voice is wonderful!
The little boy was great, too, the lovers were boring, like almost all lovers, Beggar Woman/Lucy was fine.

Bad Johnny... killed my precious Professor! It was really shocking, although I knew it must happen...

Oh, and don't forget Wormtail (hehe), and Borat, both made solid characters.


The story was like Edgar Allan Poe wrote it.

[Mistress]

[Little_Nell]

I love the film but tend to view it as a completely different piece of work to the stage show. I think it's possible to appreciate both but in very different ways.

On the subject of the Lansbury/Hearn version - it's finally being brought out on DVD in the UK next month. I'll be so glad not to have to watch it in pieces on YouTube. I've got my copy pre-ordered along with the film so I'm really looking forward to having a bit of a Sweeney fest very soon!

[actor]

[Salome]

I didnt mind the ballads being cut it worked for the film but Mea Culpa would have been brilliant for the film.

[actor]

I dunno. I think they could've maybe had the voices off-screen whilst action was happening on-screen. Of course the ensemble singing it directly to the camera wouldn't have worked but don't cut it completely! Plus, the final ballad is one of my favourite moments in the show. I thought the movie ended quite abruptly and left something to be desired.

Also, the cutting of the ensemble in Pirelli's Miracle Elixir and God, That's Good!

[Salome]

odd screen voices wouldnt make much sense at all. I did think Burton's original idea for the ballds was pretty good but i see why he cut them.

[Mistress]

Does no one care that Kiss Me was cut? Actually It's really hard for me to picture that song in Burton's vision, o to speak...but still it would have been tons of fun to watch (If Weisner and Bower could sing it), much like Mea Culpa, although I think watching Alan Rickman singing that would give me nightmares.

[Salome]

I missed the 2nd hal;f of Ladies in their Sensitivities much more than I missed kIss Me. I dont think kiss me wouild have worked in the film. plus it would have taken attention off the main plot for too long and Burton didnt want to do that.

[Orestes Fasting]

Kiss Me is one of my favorite numbers in the stage version, but I will (grudgingly) admit that it might be too over-the-top theatrical for a film adaptation. Still, it was strange to watch Ladies in their Sensitivities without Kiss Me as a counterpoint, and cutting it pretty much reduces Anthony and Johanna to caricatures. (Okay, Anthony might be a caricature even with Kiss Me--but Johanna definitely loses characterization, and no stupid scene about the nightmares never going away will make up for that.)

Overall I did like the movie a lot, and it's probably one of the most graceful stage-to-screen adaptations out there. Burton definitely works the atmosphere, and while the lack of humor and the focus on Sweeney narrowed the scope a bit, the end result is still a good movie in its own right as well as a mostly faithful adaptation. Helena was the only real disappointment for me, and even she has her moments--she certainly knows how to pull off the deadpan humor, I just wish she'd been a bit livelier.

My biggest regret is that the ballads were never even filmed. I understand that there wasn't really room for them, but a director's cut that included them would've been nice to hope for. It just would've been so freaking satisfying to see a version that included them.

[Salome]

Helena's deadpan performance was exactly what the film called for.

[Orestes Fasting]

She got the deadpan right, I just didn't like how breathy and almost tentative she seemed in the role. She was constantly on the wrong side of the line between 'understated' and 'subdued.'