There were MUCH better Sweeneys already released on DVD!

Rating: 4/10 (10 September 2012)

I admit I had seen Sweeney Todd before, but I am yet to see it on stage. I saw the George Hearn/Patty Lapone filmed concert version (which has no set or props) and it was much more engrossing than this version.
When I heard about the movie, I was very excited to see it complete, but ultimately disappointed.
For those of you who don't know - Sweeney Todd is a man falsely imprisoned (transported to Australia) by a judge who covets Sweeney's wife. When Sweeney finally escapes and returns after many years, he discovers his wife is dead and that the judge is indirectly responsible. Enraged, he plots to cold-bloodedly kill the judge - who, like everyone else, fails to recognize who he is after his long stint in prison. There is a LOT more to the plot, but technically any more would be a spoiler.
The movie creates a really good atmosphere at the beginning, but Sweeney's costume and hair really got to me right from the get-go. He is all of a sudden not a real person who blends into society, but some sort of weird freak. Like all of Tim Burton's heroes I dare-say.
Also, like Phantom (and I dare say Les Miserables will suffer the same fate) Sweeney, which is more of an opera than a musical, suffers from the lack of real singing.
People ask why this is a problem since this is a film with good actors? Singing affects the acting - the words come from singing and that is where the acting comes from. If people are struggling to just sing the music (if they are not musicians, or if their voices don't have the right range to sing the notes comfortably) there is going to be no emotion in the words, and that is what has happened with Sweeney.
I mean just compare the quality of this to Grease for example!
I would completely overlook that Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter look a little bit too young for their roles, but they are saying really heavy stuff without emotion, really funny stuff without humor, because they are struggling with the music... pure and simple. And it's hard stuff to sing!
And because the whole movie is rather still (It is a real actors piece, not a song and dance musical), there is nothing else that they can do otherwise make up for it. So they look wrong... check! ... can't sing ... check! ... and they can't act the role properly ... check. They are miscast.
To be fair, all the acting falls flat, despite having some of my favourite actors involved. That said - I wonder how much Tim Burton is to blame as well for this! Even the smaller cast of unknowns (where they didn't need big names) aren't great either as actors or singers - but if they were, then they would certainly have upstaged the Hollywood stars.
Honestly, it's boring. I tried watching it more than once and my reaction hasn't changed. If I didn't know how good the musical was already, it may have put me off.
I can't speak for the Angela Lansbury film version from 1984 (which does have George Hearn and rave reviews), but I highly recommend the concert version. It still works on TV and will keep you watching for the full three hours (yes... even without the cuts!)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0300536/