Why, oh why?

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2008)

"Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd. He served a dark and a vengeful god. He shaved the faces of gentlemen, who never there after were heard of again. He trod a path that few had trod, did Sweeney Todd. The Demon Barber of Fleet...Street"
If you (like me) have just seen the new Burton/Depp rendition of Stephen Sondhiems Sweeney Todd, then you (like me) wont of heard any of the above lyrics being performed. At this point you may be thinking "so what?" And I will return to this in a moment.
As a child brought up on musical theatre, I have fond memories of sitting with my father watching on video, a 1980's Broadway production of Sondheims Sweeney Todd and believe me, as awe inspiring as it may have been, it cannot hold a candle to Burtons retelling of of this gruesome, bloody and moving tale.
I wasn't sure that Depp would be up to the job, and indeed it did take me a few moments to overcome Jonny's Van Dyke/ David Bowie accent that gave new life to mister Todd, but I am a big fan of Mr.Depp and in no time at all I was engrossed in his performance.
Quality flows through this whole feature with an outstanding supporting cast, a wonderful score and an eyepoppingly lush and Gothic portrayal of Old London Town. I have heard those complaining about the quality of the singing, but I certainly didn't have an issue with it. As Sondhiem himself states, he writes for actors rather than singers. In short I loved this film...apart from one thing.
There is a reason that I have only given this masterpiece 8 out of 10.
If you don't know the show, the following will mean nothing to you, and if you do know the show, I still urge to to go and see it. It really is superb...but...
The lines at the top of this review are taken from the title song in Sondheims Sweeney Todd but for some bazaar reason, this, the most well known song from the show has all but vanished from from Burtons rendition and as a fan of the original, that drives me mental. I do not understand how or why, anyone in their right mind would do that. In fact Mr Burton, if you do read this, by all means feel free to enlighten me.
I mean, it's a bit like remaking Singing in the Rain without having the song of the same name in it. It would still work as a movie but you would have a whole lot of rather narked off people demanding their money back, and that is why I have given this movie an 8 out of 10.
Very, very odd.
Thanks for listening.
"What, happened then, well thats the play, and he wouldn't want us to give it away...Not Sweeney, not Sweeney Todd. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!"