Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A fantastic addition to the resume of director Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd delivers a deliciously dark, yet surprisingly comic film.
Starring Johnny Depp as Mr. Todd, a barber returning to London after 15 years in a penal colony. Sentenced by Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), for no crime at all. Todd meets Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), owner of a bakery which specializes in pies. While Anthony Hope (Jamie Campbell Bower) longs to set the lovely Johanna (Jayne Wisener) free from Judge Turpin's captivity. Always lurking, is Judge Turpin's loyal assistant Beadle Bamford, played by Timothy Spall (Who plays the role of Wormtail/Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films)
While I'm sure many of you are familiar with the plot, and if you aren't, I won't spoil anything, the film is fabulous. While it is ated R "for graphic bloody violence," one of the very few special effects used in the movie is the blood, so bright red that it occasionally appears to be the only element in the film that provides any color other than gray and black.
What impressed me most were the vocalists. Johnny Depp has a fabulous tenor voice (this was the first time I can recall hearing him sing). Rickman (who also plays Severous Snape, and Marvin the depressed robot from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), on the other hand sings in much the same dark, rich baritone in which he speaks.
Helena Bonham Carter (who also plays Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films) has such a whimsical tone in her voice, and at times, one just has to laugh out loud at her confectionary endeavors ("Try a little Priest"). The two other notable vocalists in the film are Jamie Campbell Bower (counter-tenor), and Jayne Wisener (soprano), both of whom captured their characters quite admirably.
Last, and probably least, is the character Adolfo Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen). This was the only casting choice I disliked. While the few other people in the theater began laughing immediately upon seeing his face, his over-the-top style is mercifully cut off (pun intended, thank you) early in the film.
Over all, the film is incredible, and I highly recommend you see it.
Starring Johnny Depp as Mr. Todd, a barber returning to London after 15 years in a penal colony. Sentenced by Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), for no crime at all. Todd meets Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), owner of a bakery which specializes in pies. While Anthony Hope (Jamie Campbell Bower) longs to set the lovely Johanna (Jayne Wisener) free from Judge Turpin's captivity. Always lurking, is Judge Turpin's loyal assistant Beadle Bamford, played by Timothy Spall (Who plays the role of Wormtail/Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films)
While I'm sure many of you are familiar with the plot, and if you aren't, I won't spoil anything, the film is fabulous. While it is ated R "for graphic bloody violence," one of the very few special effects used in the movie is the blood, so bright red that it occasionally appears to be the only element in the film that provides any color other than gray and black.
What impressed me most were the vocalists. Johnny Depp has a fabulous tenor voice (this was the first time I can recall hearing him sing). Rickman (who also plays Severous Snape, and Marvin the depressed robot from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), on the other hand sings in much the same dark, rich baritone in which he speaks.
Helena Bonham Carter (who also plays Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films) has such a whimsical tone in her voice, and at times, one just has to laugh out loud at her confectionary endeavors ("Try a little Priest"). The two other notable vocalists in the film are Jamie Campbell Bower (counter-tenor), and Jayne Wisener (soprano), both of whom captured their characters quite admirably.
Last, and probably least, is the character Adolfo Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen). This was the only casting choice I disliked. While the few other people in the theater began laughing immediately upon seeing his face, his over-the-top style is mercifully cut off (pun intended, thank you) early in the film.
Over all, the film is incredible, and I highly recommend you see it.