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Boy, I hope that chair's mechanical. Best part of the show. Besides, of course, "God That's Good". And about twelve other parts. I like Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Sweeney Todd, so this should be interesting. Also, a DVD case somehow incorporating a straight razor seems inevitable.

This version lost all credibility as soon as Tim Burton signed on and hired Johnny Depp. Sweeney's character is older than Depp by about a decade, and even if 44 years old was an acceptable age for the character, Depp just doesn't look middle-aged. I wonder how much of the music they'll cut out or redesign, like the necessary greek chorus. The running time is also worrisome, since its a very long musical. At least it'll be gory; too bad it'll probably be too gory.

I'm looking forward to this, despite having been disappointed by Burton's other films this decade (not to mention my failure to comprehend why this film needs to cost $200 million). I can't see how it wouldn't be a lot of fun though, given the excellent material and music he and Depp have to work with. If anything, it should be very aesthetically pleasing, and I look forward to the potentially booming full orchestration of the songs.

Here's a much clearer picture of the demon barber of Fleet Street, and I've updated the image in the first post with a much higher-res version.

Finally, here's a huge version of the poster.

I love the show, but it's hard not to have your doubts about Depp being able to pull off some of the hardest moments to sing in musical theater. Epiphany comes to mind as the hardest moment in the show.

I'm ready to support just about anything that brings Stephen Sondheim to a wider audience.
Len Cariou had the perfect voice for Sweeney and it does remain to be seen whether Depp can pull it off. Nevertheless, actors do have trained voices and there are a number of cases where I have been pleasantly surprised when an actor surprises with his or her singing talent.

My fear is a bit different - Sondheim requires an investment on the part of the viewer and even I, as a huge fan, admit to having to give his music several re-plays before I come to love it fully. The musical and lyrical complexity means that you never get sick of it as you might with a pop song; but I can only pray that this is the kind of investment that todays audiences are willing to make.

I'm cautiously optimistic for this.

I'm a huge Sondheim fan and Sweeney Todd is on the top of my list. I love this musical and I own the DVD of the George Hearn/Angela Lansbury filmed stage production.

I think the poster looks good.

Tim Burton has never done anything but disappoint me.

kaujot wrote:Tim Burton has never done anything but disappoint me.

Of all the films of his that I've seen, I've only outright hated one: Planet of the Apes. Yes, I even liked Mars Attacks!

malcolm1980 wrote:Of all the films of his that I've seen, I've only outright hated one: Planet of the Apes. Yes, I even liked Mars Attacks!

Me too, but his last few haven't exactly thrilled me.

malcolm1980 wrote:Of all the films of his that I've seen, I've only outright hated one: Planet of the Apes. Yes, I even liked Mars Attacks!

Mars Attacks! is underappreciated.

Corpse Bride isn't godawful like some people make it out to be, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's only real fault is all the flashbacks. Still, defenitely not as good as, say, Beetlejuice or Edward Scissorhands. Hopefully, Sweeney Todd is a return to his classic style.

The first still from the film:

malcolm1980 wrote:The first still from the film

I love it. I love the faces, the textures of their costumes, the dust and dirt and the old wood in their surroundings. I hope the dvd is loaded with special features about how they went into all of this...

exte wrote:

malcolm1980 wrote:The first still from the film

I love it. I love the faces, the textures of their costumes, the dust and dirt and the old wood in their surroundings. I hope the dvd is loaded with special features about how they went into all of this...

Very gothic looking, indeed the most Burton-looking I've seen a Burton movie looking in a while.

Helena Bonham-Carter can sing? I love her to death, but I also love Patti Lupone.

I don't want to rain on anyone's enthusiasm (and I'm a big, big, BIG Tim Burton fan, so don't misunderstandd me) but so far, I'm only being reminded of Sleepy Hollow. Which is not a bad thing at all, I know but let's just say I need to see more. I'm still not convinced he's not repeating himself.

Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:Helena Bonham-Carter can sing? I love her to death, but I also love Patti Lupone.

She sung in Corpse Bride. Whether or not she could sing Sondheim's music remains to be seen.

But she said in an interview that she had to audition for Sondheim before Tim officially cast her in the role.

malcolm1980 wrote:

Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:Helena Bonham-Carter can sing? I love her to death, but I also love Patti Lupone.

She sung in Corpse Bride. Whether or not she could sing Sondheim's music remains to be seen.

But she said in an interview that she had to audition for Sondheim before Tim officially cast her in the role.

Well, if she got by Sondheim, she's probably got what it takes.

Look at the DVD of the recording of the "Company: Original Cast" session and note the hell Elaine Stritch went through to satisfy Sondheim on "The Ladies Who Lunch".

Not a criticism of Steve; the man can do no wrong.

Belmondo wrote:Look at the DVD of the recording of the "Company: Original Cast" session and note the hell Elaine Stritch went through to satisfy Sondheim on "The Ladies Who Lunch".

And if he put Elaine through hell, then he's obviously a perfectionist!

What should be kept in mind from a movie perspective is the fact that the film that made the greatest impression on Sondheim as a young man was Hangover Square by John Braham , with a great and very important score by Bernard Herrmann. Sondheim went to see the film again and again beause of the brief shot of the score of the hero/villain's concerto -- which is played at the film's climax.

If you know Hangover Square and Sweeney Todd then you know that the latter is a musical tribute to the former. John Bone (Laird Creagar) is a brilliant but exploited musician -- who becomes a psychopathic killer. Much like Sweeney in several important ways

I trust Tim Burton has seen Hangover Square.

Rumor is swirling that the studio is not pleased with the current amount of bloodletting and are asking Burton to tone down the gore for a PG-13 rating.

This is one tale of a mad butchering barber that the whole family should be able to see!

David Ehrenstein wrote:I trust Tim Burton has seen Hangover Square.

If not, he'll soon get his chance as it gets an R1 DVD release in October along with The Lodger. More here.