| # | Author | Message |
61
| kennect
Sun 1/13/2008 8:47p | C...I expected his mark but there were so many things that reminded me of other films of his...Most notable to me was Sweeney's shop setup...It seemed to me a duplicate of the upper floor of the house from the Edward film...But there are numerous other things that had his mark all over it...Not a bad thing, I would hate to have seen what someone else would have done with this material...He was the perfect choice...Still though it would be fun to see him throw us another PeeWee or Beetlejuice down the road....
As a side note...Did Burton bring something to his version that was lacking from the original stage show...I got the idea that the film played the overall story in a much more serious manner than the original source...I can't explain that thought but I felt the film came across as more compelling than the stage production...Here again not a bad thing at all... |
62
| dshyates
Mon 1/14/2008 6:34a | Golden Globes last night
Won Best Movie: Musical or Comedy.
Johnny Depp won Best Actor: Musical or Comedy.
I saw it for a second time last night, and the 6 other people had appearently also scene it or the play as they were laughing out loud at the jokes and it was much more fun than the opening weekend where everyone sat there quietly.
There were numerous tips of the hat to prior Burton/Depp collaborations. Depps acting style and mannerisms during "By the Sea" killed me. Edward Razorhands and Scary Poppins go to the beach.
Burton also didn't shy away from non-Burton films. The Bride of Frankenstien shots during "Not While I'm Around" were great. To achieve the look, you'll notice, it is more sepia toned than the greyish tone rest of the film.
And "Harry Potter: the Musical" had me in stitches the whole film. When Snape and Wormtail are singing, I was expecting Lucious and The Dark Lord to step in for the big production number.
Timothy Spalls is quickly becoming my favorite Minion. |
63
| Jim in Merced CA
Mon 1/14/2008 8:32a | <I got the idea that the film played the overall story in a much more serious manner than the original source>
In my opinion, your hunch is correct. I found the stage production to be infused with much more humor.
Mrs. Lovett, as portrayed by Angela Lansbury, is much more funny, and her opening scene 'Worst Pies in London' is a tour de force of musical theater.
Also, the sequence [in the stage show called 'God That's Good'] where the patrons are eating the meat pies, and Sweeney is upstairs killing people, is very, very funny in the stage show.
Even the Johanna and Antony portions have some humor in them.
I think there was one line in the whole movie that got a laugh. |
64
| TheRedhead
Mon 1/14/2008 10:59a | The original Broadway production is very theatrical. It's big, it's broad. Angela Lansbury especially plays it almost like a vaudville character, like Jim says, big and funny.
But the recent Sweeney revival was done much smaller and more intimate, much more serious, with an emphasis on the blood. Patti Lupone played Mrs. Lovett very seriously. "Worst Pies" is practically completely deadpanned. The humor came from a VERY dark place.
So the movie was actually pretty similar in tone to the revival in that both made the musical into an old-fashioned horror movie.
But that's pretty necessary in stage-to-film adaptations. If you want to see what happens when you keep the broadness of musical theatre and transfer it directly to film, watch "The Producers" movie. Eek. |
65
| ecdc
Mon 1/14/2008 11:19a | I saw the Burton version and loved it.
But for those fans of the stage production, I believe there are DVD's of it; is it worth it to check this out or is a camera pointing at a stage just unable to do it justice? |
66
| Dabob2
Mon 1/14/2008 11:41a | I saw the original Cariou/Lansbury stage show, and it's probably the best thing I ever saw on broadway. I saw the recent Cervais/LuPone version too and wasn't crazy about it. Great performers, but the whole "is this thing all just Toby's dream" thing didn't work for me.
The original was broad and theatrical, yes, but it also had a very strong serious undercurrent on the Dickensian realities of the industrial revolution that the revival lacked - the stage was sort of like a big foundry, and every time someone's throat got slit, you heard not a scream but a factory whistle. I haven't seen the movie, so I don't know how (or if) they handle that. But it gave the original a very serious undercurrent that played both against and with the broad humor that it also had - it was just brilliant. |
67
| christiemarsh88
Tue 1/15/2008 2:05p | <<<If you want to see what happens when you keep the broadness of musical theatre and transfer it directly to film, watch "The Producers" movie. Eek.>>>
HEY!!...lay off "The Producers." You have been warned...
:)
I was suprised at what parts got big laughs when I went to see it. "A Little Priest" didn't get nearly the laughs of Sweeney's "Johanna". People laughed every time he absent-mindedly slit a throat.
What got big laughs in other theatres? |
68
| Jim in Merced CA
Tue 1/15/2008 2:48p | ecdc, the video version of the 'Sweeney' play is well worth seeing.
Check it out. |
69
| kennect
Tue 1/15/2008 8:04p | Another question from me...Did Mrs. Lovett's eye makeup seem to get darker as the filmed progressed? I remember reading one review where they said her hair looked as if it had been done with an egg beater...I was glad to see they didn't copy Angela's hair style exactly from the original but it was pretty close... |
70
| dshyates
Tue 1/15/2008 9:45p | Here is "Little Priest" from the Broadway version.
http://tinyurl.com/3cb8bo
And here is "Pretty Women".
http://tinyurl.com/25ehja
I personally like the Burton version better. I saw the other on Broadway in 1979 and loved it. But I'm glad Burton pulled out the camp. The humor is still there, but it is much more low key, which, given the subject matter, is more appropriate. |
