Sweeney Todd (2007)

[randy_byers]

Saw this with holyoutlaw last night. I brought a lot of baggage to the movie (it was piled up on the empty seat to my left), and I'll have to see it again to see it on its own terms. On a first viewing, it seemed like a mixed bag, but I found myself becoming more and more moved as it went along ("And my Lucy lies in ashes and I'll never see my girl again") and I thought the final shot was absolutely bloody damned perfect.

Comments

[intelligentrix.livejournal.com]

I saw it Christmas day with some friends and enjoyed it thoroughly. But then, I brought no baggage at all. All the blood felt very Grand Guignol. I had heard a positive review on NPR a while back, so I suppose I was prepared to like it. I haven't seen many musicals, though, and perhaps my lack of experience with these things gives me a fresh eye.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

My baggage is that I'm a huge fan of the original Broadway cast recording (with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury) and have been listening to it since around 1982, so I have to shove that aside to get a new perspective. I've also been following the rumors about the production from the beginning with a bunch of other Sweeney Todd (and Burton/Depp) fanatics, and my expectations were initially very low, because of all the changes they were making to the score and the story, and then rose when I saw all the good reviews. It does seem that the people I know who don't know the musical are really enjoying the movie.

And yes, the blood is very Grand Guignol, and again, the final shot is utterly perfect. Very beautiful and romantic in a perverse bloody valentine kind of way. Gorgeous.

And the music is still utterly beautiful as well, even if some of the singing isn't.