An Excellent Movie Version

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2007)

Many times the movie adaptations of the stage tend to seem almost desperate in attempts to break free from the restrictions imposed on the original productions by live theater. Cinema is truly a different art form, as the early silent greats discovered when trying to film the stage hits of their day. Burton does a marvelous job of opening up the stage production and making it truly a movie.
I have to admit, being a huge fan of the stage show, every edit & change in the music was jarring. However in looking back the only part that I thought wasn't an appropriate edit was in the song "God that's good." Sweeney, true to any Tim Burton character (Pee Wee, Edward Scissorhands, Batman), is fascinated with gadgetry in this movie, eliminating the need for a new chair to be delivered and eliminating "is that a chair fit for a king?" song. The patrons of Mrs. Lovett's pie shop no longer smack their lips singing "God that's good." I did find the elimination of the Greek chorus from the story appropriate for the movie. A movie can condense story exposition quickly in a few images, making the chorus redundant. This makes the story zing along with almost as much speed as the frenetic camera movement from the docks to Fleet street. The violence is much more graphic, but suitable for the macabre comedy it is intended to be.
As far as performances, I found Depp to be an astonishingly good singer and effective Sweeney. Rickman is superb, as always. Cohen was a surprise as Pirelli, singing well and mining the comedy deftly without being over the top. The young lad playing Toby was a revelation and one can only hope he is cast in a remake of Oliver! Carter, on the other hand left a lot to be desired. She was adequate, but no more than that. If anything the movie suffers due to the lack of a talent comparable to Lansbury from the stage version.
Overall the movie satisfied me greatly. I had felt that many of Burton's latest efforts were sub par. Sweeney Todd reaffirms my belief in his talent as a top notch filmmaker.