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 - Excellent!There are some pretty thorough reviews here, so I won't attempt to out-do them. What I love about this film is the fact that it so perfectly captures the original musical. That is due in large part to Tim Burton and Johnny Depp - these 2 are the reason the movie was a total success. Other good things: the costumes were stunning, the cinematography was just haunting, and the actors, were in large part, wonderful. I was incredibly suprised by Sacha Benton Cohen, who, I was convinced, would destroy the part, but I loved him in it. Alan Rickman is a god, as always. Whether playing Snape, the Judge, or the Colonel Brandon, he's incredible. The 2 weak links in this film were Helena Bodham Carter as Mrs. Lovett and the boy (I don't know his name) who played Anthony. Let's be real. She got the part because Tim Burton's her hubby/live-in lover. She LOOKS great in the part of Mrs. Lovett, but she can't sing worth two hoots. Seriously. Can't sing a note. As for the boy who played Anthony, he was a bit too wussy for my taste - especially a kid who was a sailor. Another observation: Although this should be fairly explanatory given teh subject matter, please, please do not let your children see this movie. It's very, very violent and while the blood is very fake, it can be frightening for young children - tweens. But, the film is wonderful. Whether you're a Sondheim fan, a Burton fan, both, or neither, this film is sure to please. Rating: - Sweeney Todd is TerrificThe dvd of the musical Sweeney Todd is fabulous. One of the best and Johnny Depp does a wonderful job at not only acting but singing as well. Who knew? Rating:  - Superb in so many ways but unnecessarily gruesomeMany aspects of this film cannot be faulted - the production design, the actors, and of course the peerless score by Stephen Sondheim. As so often happens in his films however Director Tim Burton's initial grim humour gives way to unnecessary nastiness leaving a bad taste in the viewer's mouth and throwing the film off balance. This is definitely not a film for the squeamish. Rating: - If Tim Burton Ever Wrote A Musical.... ;)i know all he did was direct it , like the genius he is....but i think if he ever wrote a musical this would translate the same. that being said this gothic , dark , spooky masterpiece of cinema is just AMAZING!! not only do u have steven sondheim's incredible lyrics and story and TIM BURTON himself directing and again working with mr.johnny depp...the gruesome two-some as i like to call them but you have helena bonham carter,alan rickman,sacha baron cohen!! to name a few playing these iconic characters! they all can sing like ive never heard them do and the soundtrack is soooo good....if u like gore and great music...GO BUY THIS MOVIE!!! Rating: - Haunting and hilariousCaveat Emptor: If you are looking for a jazzy, upbeat musical, if you're looking for Gene Kelly to tap dance across the screen, if you're looking for lines of chorus girls in sparkly outfits or a plucky, cock-eyed optimist to belt out her troubles, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a bloody gorefest with a mad killer stalking his victims through shadowy streets, look elsewhere. If musicals annoy or don't make sense to you, look elsewhere. For everyone else, bon apetit. Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a Gothic musical thriller set in 19th Century London, is a tale of revenge, murder, cannibalism, rape, corruption and madness. It's told through Stephen Sondheim's hyper-intelligent, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and Tim Burton's mad-cap and macabre aesthetic. Burton films Sweeney Todd in an over-the-top stylized manner, reminiscent of the German Expressionist horror movies; with mad angles. The London he creates is a bleak, Dickensian cityscape of skeletal buildings and depressing gray skies that rain dark drops of blood. The characters that inhabit such a city are dark and drab to match their surroundings, or brightly flamboyant in colors as lurid as their characters. If such a visual style sounds almost cartoonish, it is; and it works. For a story as dark and morbid as Sweeney Todd, an unworldly aesthetic is needed to keep the world from resembling our own too closely. The story is simple and dark as a Grimm's fairy tale. Sweeney Todd was banished to prison by a corrupt judge who lusted after Toddâ(tm)s wife. After twenty years, Todd returns to London to find that his wife is dead and the lecherous judge has adopted his daughter. Bent on revenge, Todd returns to his original home and profession, opening a barbershop in the home of his old neighbor, Mrs. Lovett. But the road to revenge is never straight and when more bodies begin to pile up than were expected, Mrs. Lovett comes up with an ingenious plan to dispose of them and improve her failing meat-pie business at the same time. This grisly tale is told through Sondheim's brilliant songs, sometimes haunting, sometimes hilarious, always memorable. Burton and his cast bring the songs to life remarkably well, particularly Johnny Depp. The slight harshness in Depp's voice conveys the utter despair of the character perfectly. Helena Bonham-Carter is the weakest vocally, but her characterization is superb and outweighs her musical shortcomings. Sweeney Todd nearly defies classification. No other musical is as grim and macabre; no other musical has such gleefully black humor, and no other musical surpasses its "genre" to be such a haunting story of humanity in an inhumane world.
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