Sondheim wonders if Johnny Depp has the vocal chops for Sweeney Todd film

[Alex]

I can't find it now but I read something from Sondheim a few days ago saying that the movie "isn't a Broadway musical."

I may be misremembering the quote since I am not finding it again but whatever it was I came away from reading it with the expectation that "musicalness" was seriously curtailed.

[Prudence]

Urg.....Trailer looks inappropriately pretentious....and yet Alan Rickman is in it, which means I have to see it.

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by Prudence

Urg.....Trailer looks inappropriately pretentious....and yet Alan Rickman is in it, which means I have to see it.

Ding Ding Ding........Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall

[ozron]

I'm withholding judgement on this. It could be the best movie musical since Chicago, or the biggest dissapointment since Phantom (or even Evita). I've done Sweeney twice, on a small stage, and a big stage, and I do love the piece, so I'm hopeful.

I like Depp, Burton, Carter and Rickman. Whether they have the musical chops or not has yet to be seen. (Okay, I think Burton does.) On an encouraging note, the bulk of the cast seems to have been pulled from West End stages rather than movie people, so at least some of them should know what they're doing.

ron

[Alex]

Originally Posted by ozron

I'm withholding judgement on this. It could be the best movie musical since Chicago,

I'm reserving judgment too. But Chicago was the worst movie musical of the last 20 years (or at least the worst well-regarded one) so I think we're both reserving very different judgments.

[Chernabog]

Originally Posted by Alex

I'm reserving judgment too. But Chicago was the worst movie musical of the last 20 years (or at least the worst well-regarded one) so I think we're both reserving very different judgments.

Woah.... I *almost* agree with Alex on something :P Chicago was not *the* worst, but I definitely felt it was vastly VASTLY overrated. I like the music (from the movie), I freaking LOVE the staged musical.... but the movie was sort of meh. A pale imitation of Chicago, with none of the fun or the emotional oomph. Not particularly cast well IMHO either. I went to a sing-a-long of Chicago (the movie) once which was fun, but that was because it was a singalong!

Back to Sweeny:

I think it is wierd that the trailer tries to veer away from the fact that it is a musical. There are a LOT of songs. There is a LOT of singing. I had read that it was to get people to see the movie that wouldn't normally go if they knew it was a musical. (yeah, that's a good way to make people happy, people just love being taken for a bait-and-switch).

I think it looks good, but I still see Johnny as so pretty boy, not scary or imposing at all -- but I'll reserve judgment until I've seen the whole movie. Sascha Baron Cohen as Pirelli is just awesome.

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by Chernabog

Woah.... I *almost* agree with Alex on something :P Chicago was not *the* worst, but I definitely felt it was vastly VASTLY overrated. I like the music (from the movie), I freaking LOVE the staged musical.... but the movie was sort of meh. A pale imitation of Chicago, with none of the fun or the emotional oomph. Not particularly cast well IMHO either. I went to a sing-a-long of Chicago (the movie) once which was fun, but that was because it was a singalong!

I thought the musical was okay, other friends LOVED it. Of course, I prefer the 1927 silent film version, ahem.

[xharryb]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

I guess my sadness is that I so deeply love the entire score-- from "attend the tale" to "fleet street"... and I, as yet, have no evidence that the prologue/epilogue will be included.

This is me as well. I love the show, and I'm so far loving the look of the film, but what matters most to me is the music. I'm reserving judgement until I hear more of it. I am a bit concerned about the lack of the prologue/epilogue though. I know there were several actors cast as "ghosts" early on and the rumor was that they would sing those bits, but then those characters got cut somewhere along the line. I have no solid evidence other than the castings and the cuttings, but it does seem scarily plausible.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Chernabog

Woah.... I *almost* agree with Alex on something :P Chicago was not *the* worst..

To be fair, if I think about it in a vacuum it is merely a thoroughly mediocre movie musical. But it receives 5 billion additional demerits for accumulating so much thoroughly unwarranted praise including one of the great Best Picture boners of all time (though not the greatest).

[xharryb]

Wow. So much hatred for Chicago. It's almost enough to make me sad if I cared about other people's opinions. Perhaps this is a discussion better had elsewhere so as not to derail this thread, but why is it that so many of you don't care for the film version. Is it because the stage version you know and love is the current incarnation? Because frankly, I don't care for the concert style staging they've been doing for the last 10 years or so. I much preffer it done in period, as it was originally and again in the movie. But I could just be completely biased based on my own experience with the show.