I didn't do a big post because I walked into Sweeney Todd with no knowledge of the musical. My boyfriend has seen the show a few times though and pretty much said the same things that you did. I liked Johny's/Helena's singing enough to buy the CD and he sent me some MP3's of the Lansbury performance. Though honestly listening to them makes me want to find footage of Mrs. Potts from Beauty and make a really cracked out music video. But I did get to hear the creepy whistle and am sad it was cut.
Oh interesting! What did you think of it? My friend walked out and said something like, "If I had to choose one thing in my life to give me PTSD, that would be it."
I liked it quite a bit! As much if not more than Hairspray. I know they are completely different productions but I also burned the Hairspray CD and even I catch myself twinging at Amanda Bynes a few times. The Sweeney CD has no twitchy parts and parts still make me laugh out loud. (Though I noticed I am prone to skipping "These are my Friends
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>Oh, the other bit that had me wondering was if people would pick up on the beggar woman being an important character, as she gets to sing and seems completely inconsequential.
FWIW, I'm not familiar with the story and I had her pegged as the wife well before the midway point. (At least, I don't think I'm familiar with the story. I did anticipate pretty much every plot point, so it's possible that I knew more than I realized, coming in.)
What are Anthony and Joanna supposed to be like? They both seemed completely vacant to me; I couldn't have done with much more of either of them.
(That said, I did enjoy the movie. Very gruesome. Hurrah!)
Anthony and Johanna in the version I watched had more duets together -- I think there's a very twittery one when they first meet, and a few reprises. My favorite part is when she's gone mad in the asylum and sings something like, "Married tomorrow? You said that three months ago and now look!" They're still completely vacant, but the musical seems to poke fun at them more, if that makes sense? A lot of their music is very... twittery and really funny when juxtaposed with the darker stuff.
Yeah, I suspected the repeated coming back and singing could give it away. She's mostly disguised in the chorus in the musical version, so she doesn't stand out as much there.
Yoon, if you're reading and interested, I think Anthony and Johanna in the movie do much less vibrato, which I so did not protest.
The Johanna on the DVD version, as I recall, is pretty horrendous. The Anthony on the DVD version is Cris Groedendaal, or something along those lines, and I've always liked him. He's done a bunch of other Sondheim. (The original Anthony, of course, was a very young Victor Garber.)
I liked the movie, though I almost need to see it again to figure out exactly how I feel. I thought it really kicked into gear around "My Friends", and the end was flat-out horror that made me cringe down in my seat. The cuts felt really organic, and I honestly didn't miss much.
Oh, thanks for the info! I don't particularly remember the Johanna from the DVD, except that she was very twittery and played as very vacant and I didn't like her voice.
I really want to watch the movie again! Although next time, not beofre dinner. I loved "My Friends" and I especially loved the fantasy sequence of Sweeney wandering around the streets and offering shaves to people. And "By the Sea"! "Little Priest" is usually my favorite, but oh man, the image of Johnny Depp in an old fashioned swimsuit and the wonderful deadpan!
I sort of missed everyone singing in the end with their throats cut, but then, I also really loved that closing shot of Sweeney leaning over Lucy in a growing pool of red red blood. I was really impressed with how they managed the cuts. Like you say, it felt organic, and the movie didn't feel like a direct translation like Rent did, but it captured the spirit of the original and added great Tim Burton flourishes at the same time.
Yes, you can try as hard as you like to take the sexy away from Alan Rickman, but you can't do it! Not if he doesn't want you to. All they could do was give him laughably fake gross fingernails.
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I am really tempted to get the Sweeney CD now!
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Maybe this time I will watch it not right before dinner...
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FWIW, I'm not familiar with the story and I had her pegged as the wife well before the midway point. (At least, I don't think I'm familiar with the story. I did anticipate pretty much every plot point, so it's possible that I knew more than I realized, coming in.)
What are Anthony and Joanna supposed to be like? They both seemed completely vacant to me; I couldn't have done with much more of either of them.
(That said, I did enjoy the movie. Very gruesome. Hurrah!)
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Anthony and Johanna in the version I watched had more duets together -- I think there's a very twittery one when they first meet, and a few reprises. My favorite part is when she's gone mad in the asylum and sings something like, "Married tomorrow? You said that three months ago and now look!" They're still completely vacant, but the musical seems to poke fun at them more, if that makes sense? A lot of their music is very... twittery and really funny when juxtaposed with the darker stuff.
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She goes mad in an asylum? AWESOME.
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She goes mad in an asylum? AWESOME.
Yes! It's great.
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The Johanna on the DVD version, as I recall, is pretty horrendous. The Anthony on the DVD version is Cris Groedendaal, or something along those lines, and I've always liked him. He's done a bunch of other Sondheim. (The original Anthony, of course, was a very young Victor Garber.)
I liked the movie, though I almost need to see it again to figure out exactly how I feel. I thought it really kicked into gear around "My Friends", and the end was flat-out horror that made me cringe down in my seat. The cuts felt really organic, and I honestly didn't miss much.
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I really want to watch the movie again! Although next time, not beofre dinner. I loved "My Friends" and I especially loved the fantasy sequence of Sweeney wandering around the streets and offering shaves to people. And "By the Sea"! "Little Priest" is usually my favorite, but oh man, the image of Johnny Depp in an old fashioned swimsuit and the wonderful deadpan!
I sort of missed everyone singing in the end with their throats cut, but then, I also really loved that closing shot of Sweeney leaning over Lucy in a growing pool of red red blood. I was really impressed with how they managed the cuts. Like you say, it felt organic, and the movie didn't feel like a direct translation like Rent did, but it captured the spirit of the original and added great Tim Burton flourishes at the same time.
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