Sweeny Todd

[elgranderudeboy]

Loved it.

This movie proved a few things:
1.)  Nobody has a creative vision like Tim Burton (but we knew that already)
2.)  GREAT actors who are decent-to-very-good singers (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman) will carry any musical and make it work tremendously better than great singers who are crappy-to-decent actors- See Zac Efron,

Comments

[squirtcrsh]

I agree with all of that, but one problem I had with the movie was the end. Things weren't resolved. What happened to Joanna and Anthony? Burton should have shown that. But that's just my opinion.

[elgranderudeboy]

I can see the point, I thought about that myself, but then I thought of two things:

1.) The story isn't really about either of them- they're mostly incidental, there for the purpose of forwarding the plot. If you didn't have the sailor boy, there would be no real way to get the judge back into Todd's chair.

2.) I did not give a flying fuck about either of them. I meant to put the both of them in with Efron, as people with pretty good voices who can't really act. Whenever they were on screen, I was bored, without exception. Well, one exception- when they had one of those other powerhouses to lug their dead weight along.

Still though, that is just a matter of my opinion, and he DID leave them hanging, no question. I just didn't really care, because I didn't really want to know what they were going to do. IMO, that's their failure as actors.

[elgranderudeboy]

There's also one issue with editing- where would you put them getting away? The scene has built to such a climax, that I don't know where you would put that in there without completely undermining the beautiful drama that has been constructed up til this point.

[squirtcrsh]

When the camera pulls back, you could pull back to the door and into the staircase, you could see two silhouettes (of them, obviously) and "watch" them watching the scene then have the door shut, shutting them out of the room and cutting off all the light (going to credits). Even just that would have been satisfactory and would have gone along with Burton's door shutting motif.

[waterredwood]

Gotta say, I disagree with you about Zac Efron. I liked him a lot in Hairspray, which surprised me, and would be interested in seeing him attempt something more serious if he ever gets out of his Disney contract.

However, I also loved Sweeney Todd. Epiphany especially was brilliant. And you can join my cousin in the "I adore Helena Bonham Carter club." The people I know who didn't like it seemed to not understand that they were going to see a Sondheim musical, or they didn't understand what that meant, and so were immensely confused.

[elgranderudeboy]

I thought Efron was a decent voice a good dancer in that show, but, again, he showed NO acting chops as far as I'm concerned. Granted, the movie was cheesy as all shit (not a complaint, either, that's how it's meant to be), but that doesn't mean you can phone in the acting.

[petalswirls]

what'd guiliani do?

[elgranderudeboy]

nothing in particular at that particular moment, but it is a general feeling about him. I hate many things about him, including

[petebeck]

i saw Sweeney Todd on christmas day -- absolutely effin loved it. i just loved the scene on the beach with Helena Bonham Carter singing about how happy they'll be while Johnny just sits there looking so lost and depressed. the crowd actually burst out in applause after that one -- something i've rarely seen in a movie. this has to be one of Tim Burton's finest.

[pussycatpike]

Well said.
Especially concerning the discussion of Zac Efron. I have been trying to figure out a way to specify why I don't care for him, and then I read this and no longer needed to, since someone else did it for me.
So, thanks. :)

[elgranderudeboy]

glad to be of service :P