Movie Info:
Writer: John Logan, Stephen Sondheim
Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Laura Michelle Kelly, Jayne Wisener
Rating: R
Studio: Dreamworks

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: October 21, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $27.95

I don’t tend to watch many musicals, though the ones that I do find interest in quickly become my favorite movies. Among them are Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I never got a chance to see the play written by Sondheim. The first time I got to see anything concerning this Demon Barber was when it was released on DVD earlier in the year. I think I have been singing “Worst Pies in London” ever since.

It was only the genius of Tim Burton that could have convinced Sondheim to sell the rights to his play. Still he only agreed on the basis that he would have ultimate casting say over the movie. Burton was set on having Johnny Depp in the lead role and that is where he and Sondheim butted heads. Sondheim did not feel that he would be right for the role due to what he perceived as a more rock vocal style. However, upon hearing Depp’s vocal ability he was pleased enough to grant Burton’s wish and place Depp in the lead role.

Helena Bonham Carter was trickier. Some would assume that she only got the role because of her relationship with Tim Burton. The truth is that she beat out numerous big name actresses after taking extensive vocal lessons and sending around a dozen tapes to Sondheim personally. He was pleased with her vocals and was the one to approve her as the love-starved Mrs. Lovett. Sacha Baron Cohen on the other hand, had auditioned for his role specifically for Burton. In order to show off his vocal ability he decided to sing the entire score of Fiddler on the Roof. As you might have guessed, he won the part of Adolfo Pirelli.

Naturally, some changes do exist from play to movie. Some songs have been taken out, but none were added. The ones present and accounted for are “The Worst Pies in London,” “My Friends,” “Epiphany,” “Pretty Women,” “Johanna,” and “Wait.” If you’ve never seen the play then you may not assume that they cut anything out. These songs work perfectly with the story and nothing feels as if it is missing unless you know that it is.

This movie is one of the rare ones that have everything in place. The acting is good, the story is engaging, and the music is phenomenal. The direction is nearly flawless, though I say that as a huge Tim Burton fan, so I could be a bit biased. I suppose it all depends on how you look at it. All I know is that Sweeney Todd made me like Burton a little bit more and it made me stop teasing Dominick for liking musicals, because it turns out I like them more than I though, thanks to this.

The Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Plot
Benjamin Barker (Depp) had it all. He had the love of his wife, Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) and a beautiful baby, Johanna (Jayne Wisener). He had a modest business, running a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett’s (Helena Bonham Carter) pie shop on Fleet Street. He had everything he could ever want and life was good. However, Barker was naive to think that something this good could stay that way forever. The nefariously evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) envied what Barker possessed, so he set out to take it.

Turpin created some charges and had Barker shipped off to Australia. He took Lucy and Johanna for his own and even raped Lucy in hopes of making her his wife. Lucy’s love always did belong to Benjamin though so she poisoned herself rather than live without her true love. Johanna became a ward of Turpin’s where she was locked away from the streets of London, in hopes of keeping her for his own.

Once Johanna is grown, Barker (hardened after many years away) hitches a ride back to London with a sailor named Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower). Barker has changed considerably though and is no longer going by the name Benjamin Barker. Instead, he has transformed into Sweeney Todd. Upon returning, he heads to Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop. She tells him of the unfortunate news about his wife and daughter before going up to his old shop and giving him his razors, prompting him to reopen his shop.

Soon, Todd is out for revenge. Though Turpin is on the top of the hit list, Todd soon learns that no one is truly innocent. Mrs. Lovett worships him, but Todd will never be able to love her like he did his Lucy. Life is empty for the demon barber without her and the world will pay because of it. Of course, there is a plus side for Mrs. Lovett. Her pies go from being the worst pies in London to the best pies with Sweeney Todd around to be her muse.

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Audio/Visual:
The 1080p AVC encoded 1.85:1 imagery looks absolutely stunning in this picture. Sweeney Todd has never looked better and if you haven’t seen it in Blu-Ray I highly recommend that you do so. The blacks and other dark colors are flawless. The rare color scenes are beautifully rich. There is no grain and dirt is absent. It is flawless. The blood drips or sprays onto the screen and you cannot help but sit and stare in awe. The transfer is one of the best I have seen on blu-ray. The silver of the razors shine dazzlingly in the light and every small detail is met with absolute precision. The smallest detail is noticeable and becomes heightened in this quality. It makes a good movie that much better. If you like Sweeney Todd in the standard definition form, you will absolutely love it in Blu-Ray.

At the heart of things, Sweeney Todd is a musical and that makes it incredibly important to have a high audio quality. This audio transfer of Dolby TrueHD 5.1 does not disappoint. The musical numbers sound absolutely fantastic. I cannot describe how wonderful they sound. The lower notes come through with strength and richness, but they do not overpower the audio. Meanwhile, the high notes really shine through, as well. The dialogue sounds fabulous. I did not find a need to mess with the volume once the correct levels had been established. Things sounded perfect from start to finish. The full range of channels is used to provide a dynamic sound. The movie would not have been the same without it.

In addition to English TrueHD 5.1, there are two foreign language tracks that have been included. Both French and Spanish viewers can enjoy sound in Dolby Digital 5.1. As I do not speak either language fluently I opted out of listening to either option, but based on what the English 5.1 sounded like in the standard definition copy, I am sure that everything sounds fine. Also included are subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

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Bonus Features:
A fan of Burton’s or Sweeney Todd could not ask for more in the way of special features. This set includes everything you could possibly want or need. There are plenty of basic offerings like photo galleries and a theatrical trailer. One of the most basic things and perhaps the only thing missing is a commentary by Burton. You do receive several featurettes and documentaries though that more than make up for the lack of commentary.

“Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd”: This is a behind the scenes look at the pairing of Burton, Depp, and Carter. In this 25 minute clip you will see rehearsal footage, recording sessions, and various cast interviews about the film and the collaboration between these three.

“Sweeney Todd Press Conference”: This clip was a joy to watch. Watching Burton, Depp, Carter, Alan Rickman, and the others interact with the press with quite funny. They are all good showman and that certainly makes something normally dull more entertaining to watch.

“Sweeney Todd is Alive”: The Real History of the Demon Barber: As it sounds, this explores the legend of Sweeney Todd and considers whether or not there could have been a real demon barber out there. This makes an interesting edition to the film and it was worth watching.

“Musical Mayhem”: Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: Sondheim is on hand to discuss his musical, what it was like to work with Burton on the movie adaptation, and how much he liked the film. He even goes as far as personally endorsing it, which was a nice touch.

“Sweeney’s London”: This featurette looks at the Industrial age of London and what it was really like in those days. This isn’t as interesting as some of the other pieces, but still worth a look at least once. On the other hand, The Making of Sweeney Todd feels somewhat unnecessary with all the other good stops in the special features. This “Making Of” ends up feeling more like a promotional piece than anything.

Things rap up with a number of other special features that include a look at the Guignol genre of theater in “Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition,” a piece on how things were designed for the film in “Designs for the Demon Barber,” a look into the special effects in “A Bloody Business,” and Depp and Burton fielding more press questions in “The Razor’s Refrain.”

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Bottom Line:
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a fantastic movie. Fans of musicals will love it. Fans of Burton will adore it. The acting is amazing, the picture is amusing, and even people that aren’t fans of musicals will find something to enjoy in Sweeney Todd. This Blu-Ray presentation only makes the movie seem better. I highly recommend picking this up in Blu-Ray if you have a player. If not you should really consider asking Santa for a Bblu-Ray player or a Playstation 3. You really have no idea on the amount of quality that you’re missing out on by not seeing this and other amazing movies in Blu-Ray.

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Technorati Tags: DVD Review, Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Mrs. Lovett, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Sondheim, Sacha Baron Cohen, Musical, Tim Burton, Blu Ray Review