Sondheim’s ‘Sweeney Todd’ bloodies its way to big screen

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON
 BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007)

From the minute Johnny Depp appears on screen, gazes toward the distant skyline and sings in a deep voice “No, there’s no place like London,” the movie had me hopelessly hooked.

For two hours, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” didn’t let go. The acting, the direction from Tim Burton, the music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim – all were perfect.

I sat in the Grandview Theater in Madison, Miss., with my wife one night in January 2009 glued to the seat and screen watching what she and I knew instantly was one of the greatest and strangest filmed musicals ever made.

Last week, I wrote about my love of movie musicals [click here], about how they often touch deep emotional chords as the story’s characters suddenly burst into song to express feelings they might not be able to otherwise.

A great stage and movie musical has a sweeping, operatic feel. Its characters use song and, sometimes, dance to express their deepest thoughts. The lyrics also seamlessly propel the story’s plot from one point to another.

While the Beatles musical I wrote about last week, “Across the Universe,” told a simple, moving upbeat love story, “Sweeney Todd” tells the haunting, disturbing story of a love lost – and the vengeance one man seeks against a judge who single-handedly ruined his life.

JOHNNY DEPP AND HELENA BONHAM CARTER

“Sweeney Todd” was adapted from the dark, 1979 Broadway play that starred Len Cariou in the title role and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett, the woman with whom Sweeney collaborates in his violent plan for vengeance.

Years earlier, Sweeney was jailed on a false, trumped-up charge and his wife and child taken into the care of the judge who sentenced him. Sweeney sat locked away for years; once out, he returned to London to find his wife and daughter and to seek revenge.

After re-establishing the barber practice he had before heading to prison, Sweeney joins forces with Mrs. Lovett for a gruesome plan: He will kill his customers, and Mrs. Lovett will use them as the secret ingredient of her popular meat pies.

This is probably one of the strangest stories ever to be set to music on Broadway and on film. Stranger still, Burton, Sondheim, Depp as Sweeney and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett pull it off.

One reason is the stark contrast between the story and Sondheim’s darkly humorous lyrics and beautiful, complex music arrangements.

Sondheim is a musical legend. After penning the lyrics for “West Side Story” and “Gypsy,” Sondheim went on to write the music and lyrics for such Broadway hits as “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Company” and “A Little Night Music.”

“Sweeney Todd,” though, allowed him to try his hand at turning material more suited to a horror thriller into a musical entertainment. The result is some of Sondheim’s most beautiful musical compositions and most caustic lyrics.

For the film adaptation, some of Sondheim’s songs were shortened while others – most notably “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” that opened the stage play – were cut completely. Sondheim was consulted, but not directly involved in the film. The tighter, leaner feel works well.

SWEENEY TODD

I still can’t forget songs like “The Worst Pies in London,” when we are introduced to Mrs. Lovett early in the film, or the emotionally powerful “Epiphany,” in which Depp sings of his desire for vengeance. Later, Depp teams with actor Alan Rickman for the beautiful duet “Pretty Women.”

“Sweeney Todd” was filmed on soundstages in London. Burton and production designer Dante Ferretti paint a dark, foreboding London by creating stark sets and desaturating the color palette so the film borders on being black and white.

I’ve always been a big fan of Burton. I thought his feature film debut, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” unleashed an imaginative talent on the film scene. While I’m not a huge fan of “Beetlejuice,” that film, too, highlights Burton’s wild imagination.

But of all of Burton’s films so far in his career, I find “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” his most successful effort and another great example of just how expressive film musicals can be.

Make no mistake: This isn’t a family musical like “Annie” or “Mary Poppins.” “Sweeney Todd” is a completely different take on the musical genre – an adult entertainment well worth your time.

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is available for purchase or rental on DVD or Blu-ray high-definition disc. Click here to purchase the film on Blu-ray disc or click here to purchase it on DVD through Amazon.com. “Sweeney Todd” is rated R. This film contains scenes of violence some may find objectionable.









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