Non-Disney Entertainment
Topic: Sweeney Todd: Who's seen it?

#	Author	Message
31	DlandDug Sun 12/23/2007 12:20a	We saw Sweeney first thing this morning. I was pleased with the film. It is most emphatically not the stage version, but then a film should be a film. I have only a few real quibbles. I was sorry the chorus could not be included-- the Ballad was a particular loss. I would have liked to have seen the Beggar Woman woven more into the story (as she is in the stage version). And Helena Bonham Carter is completely miscast. She can't sing, looked far too young and (yes) pretty for the role, and didn't seem to understand the character. She simply veered from being a craven opportunist to being smitten with Todd, rather than holding both ideas at once, which is what makes Lovett such a complex and off-balance character. The blood letting was not nearly as bad as I was led to believe it would be. Considering the source material, it was completely appropriate. This is a macabre Victorian morality play with all the trimmings. Depp was surprisingly good with the songs. I couldn't help but notice that Helena Bonham Carter's numbers were given a great deal more production value. (And that her, uh, assetts were shown to best advantage when she had a big number.) Ed Sanders, the youngster who played Toby was very good, as was Sacha Baron Cohen as Pirelli. (And I really, really don't like Cohen as a performer.) Alan Rickman was also quite good as the oily Judge Turpin. I can understand people who are unfamiliar with the source material being a bit baffled over the way some rave over this piece. It really is an important piece of musical theater, as well as a very, very popular show. Oh, and the songs AND score are among the very finest in the history of musical theater.
32	DlandJB Sun 12/23/2007 1:10a	He never does much more than threaten and swagger. Since his comeuppance is coming, it would have been better if he had actually done something more heinous to deserve it. >>>> Lessee, he has Benjamin Barker wrongfully arrested, arranges for his wife to come to his house, to a party where he publically rapes her an causes her downfall. He then takes her child to be his ward until she is old enough to seduce...and then has her sent to an asylum when she rebels..oh, and we also see his character sentencing a child to the gallows. It was a little more than just swaggering. Good performance too. Better singer than I expected. I took the film for what it was - the play is one of my favorites and I adore Sondheim. So, I appreciated what Burton did, but I do wish he would get over having his wife in everything. We saw the movie at a 9:45 a.m. showing this morning - nearly empty theater but I didn't have to deal with the crowds.
33	DlandJB Sun 12/23/2007 1:14a	One other little disappointment -- Anthony Stewart Head (Giles on "Buffy") was cast as a singing narrator, but his character ends up with one quick line and no singing - also no credit - so he must have pulled out at some point. The internet says the delay while Johnny Depp's daughter was so ill did cause a few actors to have to leave before they were done because of previous commitments, so it is possible he was one of them.
34	DAR Sun 12/23/2007 6:02a	<<One other little disappointment -- Anthony Stewart Head (Giles on "Buffy") was cast as a singing narrator, but his character ends up with one quick line and no singing - also no credit - so he must have pulled out at some point. >> I'm sure you'll see it on the Limited, Ultimate, Director's Edition Cut with replica razor blades dvd.
35	fkurucz Sun 12/23/2007 8:52a	<<Alan Rickman was also quite good as the oily Judge Turpin.>> I thought that he sounded to much like Snape. Not the voice (he can't help that) but the acting. Like the part where he tells the young suitor to never come back, it sounded just like when Snape tries to intimidate Harry.
36	TheRedhead Sun 12/23/2007 2:06p	"I am so hoping that my local video store has a copy of that original production for me to rent so I can enjoy something I missed out on before...." A good reason to get Netflix. That recording is amazing, if just for Angela Lansbury. It might be a good thing that you saw Helena Bonham Carter BEFORE Angela Lansbury. There's also a pretty good DVD of a recent Sweeney concert with Patti Lupone as Mrs. Lovett and Doogie Howser as Toby (and he's good). "One other little disappointment -- Anthony Stewart Head (Giles on "Buffy") was cast as a singing narrator, but his character ends up with one quick line and no singing" Weren't there a whole bunch of notable people cast as the ghostly chorus, led by Christopher Lee? They all got the ax when they cut the "Ballad" sections, I think. I miss Giles.
37	kennect Sun 12/23/2007 3:20p	Redhead, I just cancelled my Netflix subscription a couple of months ago....Time to renew it I guess...I haven't seen the film yet though...I have just listened to the score umpteen times...Checked out my local video store today and they do not have the original production or the concert version with Patti Lupone....Someone has most, if not all, of the original production posted on Youtube...
38	dshyates Mon 12/24/2007 4:27a	I saw it sun@4p in a theater in WV half full. I saw the original on Broadway in '79. We also saw the "Kingfisher" with Rex Harrison /Claudette Colbert and "They're Playing Our Song" with Lucy Arnez and Robert Klein. Sweeney Todd stood head and shoulders above the rest. Sondhiem is a genius. In all art forms there is art for the masses and art for the artist. Sondhiem is musical theater for people who make musical theater. Webber is for the masses. Sonhiem's scores are lush and complex. Sondhiem's "Into the Woods" took best score over Phantom at the '86 Tonys. His stuff is clearly not for beginners. He doesn't encapsulate hit singles like Mamma Mia, Grease, Hairspray, or any of Webbers stuff. That said, it is important for the artist to remember if it is too inaccessible to the masses the show will flop. And while I love Lansbury original, I thought Bonham-Carter did quite well. It requires far more vocal gymnastics than Depp or Rickmans parts called for and she handled it. The other tough vocal part is Toby's and this kid is amazing. The humor was there, but could have been emphasized a bit more with some timing adjustments. A live audence in a theater bring the laughs to life, a movie audience is passive and needs manipulated more deftly. Laughs aren't Burton's forte and I'm not surprised they were buried in the gloom. (The one thing that did crack me up in its sheer vulgarity was when he dumps the first body out of the chair and the shot of it landing on its head almost caused me to blow coke all over the guy in front of me. Morbid slapstick at its finest).
39	dshyates Mon 12/24/2007 4:32a	Oh by the way the Harry Potter overtones were amusing. With Snape, Wormtail and Bellitrix in the same costume and hairstyle, I was wating for Lucious and the Dark Lord to show up any second. And the Mary Poppins/ Chitty Chitty by the beach pinic scene with Edward Razorhands was delightful.
40	dshyates Mon 12/24/2007 4:54a	I should also add that I went with my Mom who was the one who took me to see the original in '79 and she hates Tim Burton and not a big Johnney Depp fan. Until yesterday. She really enjoyed the whole thing. She actually liked Carter better than Lansbury. She never liked Lansbury's singing voice. Reitterating this sentiment when Beauty and the Beast came out saying, "Why would anyone let her sing?". Carter gave a more classical reading and it lost some of the comic punch Lansbury brought to the role. But I don't think it would have been right for the darker tone of the film.

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