Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [2007]
I don’t know about you guys but I’ve grown tired of Tim Burton’s emo sensibility and his pseudo-goth quirkiness. I mean, the man is obviously talented and has directed some of my favorite films, like Big Fish and Ed Wood, but I feel he’s becoming a little one-note, and so is his favorite leading man, Johnny Depp (the A-lister with the most annoying fanbase).
The director has been sticking to a certain formula for quite a while, and it has worked for him, but it’s now a little stale: take one part Depp, one part Bonham Carter, a dash of Alan Rickman, another of Timothy Spall and wrap it up in a neat, gothic package. Signaling the transitional period between gems as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and stinkers like Alice in Wonderland is Sweeney Todd, a solid albeit flawed musical, Tim’s bloodiest and most violent film yet.
Stephen Sondheim both hits and misses the mark. His glorious musical compositions are the best part, the life of this movie. His lyrics, on the other hand, veer towards cringe-worthy. The actors in this strange, beautiful film are great in performance and song with Burton’s wife, Helena Bonham Carter, standing out on both counts.
I agree that Alice in Wonderland wasn’t good. I enjoyed this though and I’m still looking forward to Dark Shadows.
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I am too. I hope Burton and Depp don’t disappoint again. I enjoyed Sweeney too but it’s not perfect, as I thought it was back when I first watched.
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Ah, I really want to see Dark Shadows. The trailer looked so incredibly dumb at first watch, but now it’s growing on me.
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It’s grown on me too but I think the comedy will be too silly.
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I second your opinion of Burton Fernando. He’s become a bit of a one trick pony. Every film seems to have the same style. I enjoyed Sweeney Todd surprisingly. I didn’t think I would but it was a nice (slight) change of direction for him. Is he able to do anything else, that doesn’t consist of a gothic theme though. I’m starting to doubt it.
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Great review, but reading it, it seems more like a three-star review. Again, I don’t know your opinion; I’m just saying. Really want to see this because I love the music from the theater production, and the whole idea of a barber who slits throats and bakes the corpses into pies scares the hell out of me. I’ve heard the blood is kind of unrealistic, like that in Monty Python…please tell me that’s not true…
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I considered giving it three stars because I hated most lyrics but I changed my mind. I absolutely love the music and the look and Helena Bonham Carter, among other little things; that’s why I settled on 3 and a half. And yes, the blood is sort of unrealistic (it’s a very bright red, instead of the actual darker tone) but not ridiculous.
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This was a film that made me really fidgety to watch. Not because of the violence or anything, I just wanted it to end. Every time Burton releases a movie I get excited about it and go see and it end up not liking it…I don’t know why I keep giving him a chance, but at least this is one of his better outings as of late. Nice review!
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Yeah, I understand what you’re saying. Maybe we give keep giving him new chances because he has made some truly great films and we want him to keep doing so.
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I think you’re right about that. His recent movies all have the same veneer on them and it’s become a joke. I still think he’s a terrifically gifted artist, though.
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Great review. I have wanted to check this one out for a while. Will see it soon, seems interesting. As a side note, can you help me was something? I made a new page on my blog and I want to know if it’s a good idea. Thanks. http://moviereviewer96.wordpress.com/short-reviews/
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I really got a kick out of “Sweeney Todd,” but I know what you’re saying about Tim Burton’s style. One of the joys of “Big Fish” was the fact that while Burton’s stamp was definitely on it, it was its own entity and not just another emo/goth rehash with a pale figure with wild, dark hair being ostracized by society. That said, I am really looking forward to his two movies he has out this year, “Dark Shadows” and “Frankenweenie.”
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I agree with what you say about Big Fish. And I’m looking forward to his 2012 releases, more for Frankenweenie than Dark Shadows.
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I’d argue that A-lister with the most annoying fanbase is Christian Bale or Tom Hardy, since they share their fans with Nolan.
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Why does that make them annoying?
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I liked this movie though I didn’t think it was perfect by any means. He did take an odd subject and make it somewhat palatable.
Fascinating view of Burton. I think he sort of shifted in the kind of material he makes nowadays compared to his earlier fare. He used to do quite intriguing ideas in a Gothic manner and now he does quite conventional stories, many remakes of some sort, with the Gothic slant. The Gothic slant has always been his point of view…he does need to mix it up with a new idea once in a while. I think the real problem is scripts…writing nowadays is terrible. Cheers 🙂
BTW I am looking forward to Dark Shadows even though I agree some of the humor already looks too goofy.
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Thank you for commenting! I agree that it’s a good movie but far from perfect. And yes, his shift in material and the varying quality in the scripts he directs puts him at risk of becoming stale and boring. I hope he wakes up with Dark Shadows but I think the humor will be too goofy for people accustomed to his darker style.
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See, I’m a fan of Tim Burton’s style. I don’t have a big issue with him re-using the same actors – Ridley Scott’s done it with Russell Crowe, Martin Scorcese with Leonardo DiCaprio, and I’ve lost count with how many guys Chris Nolan’s used in his films! But I am beginning to tire of it. I think Burton’s best was with the likes of Beetlejuice, Edward Scissor Hands and Sleepy Hollow.
Thought Sweeney Todd was an ok film. Not all that memorable and the songs didn’t take me away. Shame, should have been a lot better.
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I agree, Jaina 🙂 Thanks for commenting. Hoping to see you around here more.
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