Just got back from Sweeny Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I’m fairly impressed – but the elbows on Tim Burton’s favorite outfit are starting to thin out. I get it – he is most comfortable directing certain actors, and his wife. Johnny Depp’s performance was top notch, as was every performance in the flick… but Burton is getting blurry.
From the opening credits where we get a blood soaked tour of Todd’s death chair and portion of the London sewer system – I could only imagine replacing the blood with Chocolate and finding myself immediately confused. He’s got a certain style to him – and it’s getting a little old.
All that aside, I was introduced to the story of Sweeny Todd nearly 10 years ago – since I hate musicals with a passion I probably never would have looked at it without being told to. I loved it. It’s an epic tragedy that’d make Bill Shakespeare blush.
Blood, guts, and gore abound the set as Todd exacts revenge and Carter bakes her delicious meat pies. Short of having sprayers in the theater to add extra stink, sweat, and blood – the story could not have been made more vivid, or dark.
That’s Tim Burton tho, he makes everything vividly predictable.
Can ya sense I don’t care much for Burton yet? Dislike for his rambling redundancy aside – it is a great story, and it was told very well despite Burton’s influence. I highly suggest that anyone interested in seeing this film rent a copy of the 1982 made for TV performance starring George Hearn and Angela Lansbury – it’s a classic (not the first, I know – but the best in my opinion).
Burton’s is just another remake. Worth a watch, but generally forgettable.
