[mousepod]

I just listened to the complete soundtrack. I'm still looking forward to the movie, but I now know where the edits lie and the deficiencies are...

Spoiler:

OK, clearly HBC is no singer, but it's almost like she makes up for her lack of vocal talent with a lack of emotion... or something. I don't get it.

As far as the edits go, it seems like Burton has made the movie I might have longed for when I was 13 years old. The love songs between Antony and Johanna are gone - as is the scene with Mrs. Lovett and the Beadle (and Toby, locked away). The self-flagellation scene with the Judge that was cut from the original Broadway production (but is on the original cast album) has been cut as well. The sad part about the cuts for me is that I've grown to appreciate these scenes as an adult, both from a dramatic and stylistic perspective. I can't help but admire Sondheim's acrobatic juxtaposition of the Antony/Johanna/Judge/Beadle sequence, and the fact that Burton cut it makes me miss it all the more. I also miss the scene where Sweeney tutors Antony on how to be a wigmaker, not only for the wonderful way we see how Sweeney might have been, but for the echoing musical theme of "Pretty Women"...

All that said, I'm still excited to see the movie, but at least I have a better idea of what to expect.