Sweeney Todd

[Doomius]

I got the chance to see Sweeney Todd last night, and I was very disspointed with it!

I knew months in advance that this was going to be a musical based on Steven Sondheim's musical of the same name (he also scored the film as well)

The singing, and the non Danny Elfman score was enough to ruin the film for me.

Don't get me wrong, there were parts of the movie that I loved (the acting in between songs, art direction, costumes, etc.) However, the singing grated on me so much that it was an unpleasant experience for me.

This is just my general opinion, if you were planning on seeing it, by all means don't let this detract from your intentions.

[monet2u]

I saw a preview last week and I actually enjoyed the film. I love a musical tho.

My bottom line is always "Was I entertained?" and I was with this film. I'd never seen the play nor did I really know the entire storyline, so I was seeing this film with fresh eyes.

I've enjoyed Tim Burton films in the past, but wouldn't call myself a fan... to me he's just a person that direct movies. I feel that allows me to be objective about the film and not about his style.

Again, overall I enjoyed the movie.

[ifihadahifi]

Someone at work said they walked out after fifteen minutes.

Mind you, the only taste this person has is in their mouth.

[katie]

the advertising for it was really deceptive. i have seen the musical a bunch of times, so i knew what i was going to see, but the commercials barely even had singing at all in them. someone who isn't versed in musical theater who wanted to see a gory tim burton flick would obviously want to walk out after fifteen minutes. sondheim isn't exactly the most widely appealing composer in musical theater, especially with the recent trend in rock/pop musicals.

that gobbledygook being said, i don't love the musical. i didn't love the movie. but it stayed pretty close to the source material, it was certainly gorgeous to watch, it was nice to see a burton movie without an elfman soundtrack, it was entertaining and i had fun. sacha baron cohen is brilliant as pirrelli. and alan rickman's pants totally make him look like he has a mangina.

[Dutch]

If Tim Burton wanted to make a Tim Burton movie, he should have made a Tim Burton movie.

If he wanted to make a Stephen Sondheim musical, he should have made a Stephen Sondheim musical.

He tried to make a patchwork of both and didn't succeed at either, which is sad, because I think he could have done a really good job. But if he was gonna be scared of the music, he shouldn't have made a musical.

It's a shame what he's done to his reputation, not to mention the damage to Sondheim's.

[Irock]

Um, you guys are nuts. There were previews with singing... I knew from what I'd seen what movie was going to be - Burton's take on a Sondheim musical. Much as I love the Burton / Elfman / Depp / (I guess Carter belongs here now too?) thing, did we really need to see more of the same?

I thought it delivered. Not my favorite movie, I'd never seen the play and I thought the whole this was very engaging.

Also, priddy.

[monet2u]

Um, you guys are nuts. There were previews with singing... I knew from what I'd seen what movie was going to be - Burton's take on a Sondheim musical. Much as I love the Burton / Elfman / Depp / (I guess Carter belongs here now too?) thing, did we really need to see more of the same?

I thought it delivered. Not my favorite movie, I'd never seen the play and I thought the whole this was very engaging.

Also, priddy.

I think we saw the same movie.

Seems that too many people are spending time comparing this and that and not just sitting back and watching the film as intended. Comparing constantly to other movies or musicals doesn't really serve any purpose (to me at least).

[Dutch]

I'm glad you guys liked it, really, but I am way too big a fan of that music to be okay with the treatment it got. Those songs are meant to be SUNG.

[katie]

Um, you guys are nuts. There were previews with singing... I knew from what I'd seen what movie was going to be - Burton's take on a Sondheim musical. Much as I love the Burton / Elfman / Depp / (I guess Carter belongs here now too?) thing, did we really need to see more of the same?

I thought it delivered. Not my favorite movie, I'd never seen the play and I thought the whole this was very engaging.

Also, priddy.

i forget what we were watching at home when we saw a commercial or a preview or something for it. there was one tiny snippet of singing, which was sweeney singing a bit of "no place like london." one of my housemates didn't know it was a musical. i didn't see any previews in theaters or anything.

i sort of think tim burton is a one-trick pony. he has a formula and he cranks 'em out according to that set of rules, but i don't know if he has any creative juice left in him. it's all sort of falling flat and starting to blend together instead of standing out.

i had a good time in the theater. i think i had more fun seeing the movie than i have any of the times i've seen the play, so that was nice for me. i don't think i've ever seen it done professionally, though.

[Irock]

i sort of think tim burton is a one-trick pony.

Maybe, but have you seen his trick?? It's a really good one! I mean, Sweeney Todd was very possibly the gorriest film I've ever seen (don't go in much for movies like Saw), and yet it can be described as pretty. Neat trick.

[Dutch]

The last shot at the end where he's holding her, and all the blood... that was fuckin beautiful.

There were things I liked about it, but you should all really take some time to hear some of that music done right sometime. It's incredible.

[Dutch]

The video here is irrelevant, but the audio is Bernadette Peter's performance of "Johanna" from her benefit concert at Carnegie Hall:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeTtnnCMz-0[/youtube]

[Irock]

ok, point taken about the music, but a lot of people would have a hard time sitting through very many grandiose Bernadette Peters-style ballads. Jason (for instance) thought the musical numbers were cheesy as-is (I think Doom would agree), but then he hates musicals in general.

Also, did anyone else think the guy that sang "Johanna" looked like a young, less hot Johnathan Rhys-Myers?

[Dutch]

ok, point taken about the music, but a lot of people would have a hard time sitting through very many grandiose Bernadette Peters-style ballads. Jason (for instance) thought the musical numbers were cheesy as-is (I think Doom would agree), but then he hates musicals in general.

I completely agree, but see, that's my point, or my problem, I guess, rather. They're trying to make musicals for people who don't like musicals. I have very little sympathy for people who sit down to a musical, having paid for a ticket, and then get upset when they're sung at. That's the way the music was written - it's written to be sung, and if you don't like that style of music, don't go. Sweeney Todd is widely regarded as one of the greatest pieces of musical theatre composition of the later 20th century, and you'd never know it from watching that movie. I'm a musical theatre fan, there's a type of expression in it that not possible in any other form, and I hate seeing such brilliant work reduced to an appeal to audiences who don't even appreciate it. Where does that leave the true fans? Sondheim's music deserves better, and I think if the filmmakers had honored it, and the audience had given it a chance, they might have enjoyed it despite the fact that they're biased against musicals. See: Chicago, Hedwig, and Dreamgirls. These were movie musicals that didn't hold back and were wildly successful. Tim Burton's Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd will never make that list. It'll end up right alongside movies like Rent, Evita, and Phantom of the Opera that were too afraid to be themselves and turned out to be abominable disasters.

Also, did anyone else think the guy that sang "Johanna" looked like a young, less hot Johnathan Rhys-Myers?

Totes.

[monet2u]

is it wrong to want a meat pie right now?