Sweeney Todd - 12/21

[ozron]

I'll be seeing this sometime after Christmas is done.

I may, indeed, be something of a Sweeney purist. I've done the two productions of the show, which may skew my perceptions somewhat. I can't even imagine it without the ballad.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Thanks MousePod for setting this up! I put spoilers up to protect those who've yet to see it.

Spoiler:

I think I liked it the least out of the group. I didn't love it but I liked it alot. For me it felt like something was missing, there seemed to be holes in it and from the conversations it seems as if there was some stuff cut. (Which I guess well see in the extended DVD - as per usual) Some parts dragged while others happend so fast. I was distracted by the Hanson kid,mostly because he caught my "gay-dar" and I just couldn't believe the whole relationship with the girl, which seemed to be played as a major plot but given little to go with.

"Borat" stole the show with the buldge and just a nice play of character. Helena wasn't at her best until the scene with the kid "I will protect you." Depp was just Depp and really did nothing to warrent any kind of applause from me. I think he was the biggest dissapointment of the film.

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by mousepod

Are you thinking of Zen Zoo Tea Café? I've had tea there - but not food. Easy.

According to the rest room wall, this is Gwenyth's favorite

[€uroMeinke]

I enjoyed the film as - been a long time since I saw the Broadway show, so I didn't really notice anything missing. Loved the look and feel, thought Helena did a great reinvention of the character. Will definitely add it to the collection

[Not Afraid]

I was absolutely thrilled by the film!

I have never seen a production of ST and didn't have any expectations and only a bare bones familiarity with the story.

Specifics in spoilers for those who don't want to know.

Spoiler:

First my 3 pieces of irritation:
Sasha Baron Cohen was waaaay over the top with his character. He completely distracted me from the film. I really dislike comedy that is lacking in any subtlety. I tend do hate most comedy Jim Carrey does for the same reason. There is a difinie line for me that was crossed with SBC. I was comparing his character in ST to John Tuturo in The Big Lebowski. Tuturo nailed the outlandish character without distracting from the film. That I find brilliant. But, when it is too much, it completely destroys the moment.

The boy that played Toby had a wonderful voice and, if this was really meant to be straight musical theater, I would probably have loved him. But, in this rendition of the film I felt he was out of place.

The third irritation was over quickly, but it scared me a bit at first. The opening credits are basically CGI and i get very tired of CGI quickly. It worked well for an opening sequence, but I was VERY grateful it didn't continue.
As for the other actors, I adored Depp in this role (although I couldn't help see shades of Scissorhands) and loved HBC. She is a very fine actress and watching her facial expressions throughout was amazing. Alan Rickman makes my heart beat almost as fast as Depp does. I'd be so up for a menage-a-trois with Alan Rickmand and John Malkovitch. Anyone care to arrange it?

Visually, it was almost perfect. Burton at his absolute best! The murky black and white with bits of red. So beautiful! And, such a nice contrast with the pretty "by the sea" song. (Where can I get a still of the brooding Johnny in the baithing suit, socks and shoes?) I did cover my eyes for a bit of throat slicing, but the landing post-ejector seat was the real horror part of the film.

I can't wait to see it again, then buy it on DVD so I can have a double feature of Sweeny Todd and Moulin Rouge. (New Years Eve 2008 anyone?)

Thanks for getting us all on board, MP. With the rate I've been seeing films lately, it was nice to see this one with a good group.

[Not Afraid]

OH! Timothy Spall (Beadle) was Polidori in "Gothic". That has been driving me CRAZY!

[Gn2Dlnd]

I loved it not.

Helena's whisper-singing didn't work for me, neither did her walking dead interpretation of the character. Depp was fine, but I wasn't completely onboard with his rock-opera delivery of the songs. Because Depp and Bonham Carter are so young, Anthony, Johanna, and Toby had to be cast much younger than I'd ever imagined them. As much as I loved his performance, I don't think the age shift worked for Toby. A simple-minded 20 year old with a crush on Mrs. Lovett is much more effective than a sound-minded 10 year old.

I though Pirelli and Toby were the film's standout performances. Overall, I found the film to be a mixed bag that doesn't come near touching the original broadway version.

Finally, why is Sondheim, himself, so absent from the advertising, and even the post-show questionairre we were given?

[Snowflake]

I'm going to see it tonight, or tomorrow. I'm anxious. Oh, and MP & HP, I'm hitting Mifune before hand for some noodles.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by Gn2Dlnd

Finally, why is Sondheim, himself, so absent from the advertising, and even the post-show questionairre we were given?

Heheh, I didn't bother reading the survey till this morning. I love how there were literally 56 choices for 'what was most influential in your decision to see the movie" - and not one of them was, um, it was already a famous musical (by Sondheim or anyone else).



Now, of course, I want to see the Great Performances DVD with Lansbury and Hearns. Hmmm, does Netflix have it??? Let's see ...

Originally Posted by Netflix

This movie has a very long wait

Bah.

[Nephythys]

Saw it tonight- loved it. Then ran all over town looking for the soundtrack only to find it at a store less than 5 minutes from the theatre we saw it at.

Will be picking up the broadway version as well.