Sweeney Todd: O Terrível Barbeiro de Fleet Street (2007)

The infamous story of Benjamin Barker, aka Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett.

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers:

John Logan (screenplay), Hugh Wheeler (musical)

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman

Won 1 Oscar. Another 34 wins & 75 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Sweeney Todd
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Mrs. Lovett
Alan Rickman	...	Judge Turpin
Timothy Spall	...	Beadle
Sacha Baron Cohen	...	Pirelli
Jamie Campbell Bower	...	Anthony
Laura Michelle Kelly	...	Lucy / Beggar Woman
Jayne Wisener	...	Johanna
Ed Sanders	...	Toby (as Edward Sanders)
Gracie May	...	Baby Johanna
Ava May	...	Baby Johanna
Gabriella Freeman	...	Baby Johanna
Jody Halse	...	Policeman
Aron Paramor	...	Policeman
Lee Whitlock	...	Policeman

Storyline

In the Victorian London, the barber Benjamin Barker is married to the gorgeous Lucy and they have a lovely child, Johanna. The beauty of Lucy attracts the attention of the corrupt Judge Turpin, who falsely accuses the barber of a crime that he did not commit and abuses Lucy later after gaining custody of her. After fifteen years in exile, Benjamin returns to London under the new identity of Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge against Turpin. He meets the widow Mrs. Lovett who is the owner of a meat pie shop who tells him that Lucy swallowed arsenic many years ago, and Turpin assigned himself tutor of Johanna. He opens a barber shop above her store, initiating a crime rampage against those who made him suffer and lose his beloved family.

---

Plot Keywords:

razor | based on stage musical | serial killer | barbershop | throat slitting | 

---

Taglines:

Never Forget. Never Forgive.

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Musical | Thriller

---

Certificate:

M/16

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sweeney's appearance in the film bears a striking resemblance to that of Dave Vanian, singer of the gothic rock band The Damned. Vanian sported a similar hairstyle and attire for much of the eighties and nineties.

---

Goofs

Johanna is seen packing stuff neatly into a suitcase, she puts the last item into her suitcase neatly, but when Judge Turpin opens her door we see the item hanging over the side as if it was hastily thrown in.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Anthony Hope: I have sailed the world, beheld its wonders, from the Dardanelles to the mountains of Peru. But there's no place like London.
Sweeney Todd: No, there's no place like London.
Anthony Hope: [spoken] Mr. Todd?
Sweeney Todd: You are young. Life has been kind to you. You will learn.

---

Alternate Versions

The final act in the US version uses different angles than the International version of the film during some extra violent deaths. The different angles focus more Sweeney instead of the immense amounts of blood that can be seen more vividly in the International cut. All in all it only amounts to around 3-5 seconds that are actually different and were needed in order to get the R-Rated in the US.

---

Connections

Featured in National Movie Awards (2008)

---

Soundtracks

Pirelli's Miracle Elixir
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Performed by Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter & Ed Sanders (as Edward Sanders)

User Reviews

Tim Burton's most dramatically satisfying film so far.

I approached Sweeney Todd with trepidation, having been underwhelmed with most of Tim Burton's recent output and every screen musical of the last decade. The biggest problem I have with Burton's films is that his screenplays rarely manage to pull their disparate elements into a satisfying whole. Here, despite adapting the material to his own sensibilities and shortening the play by an hour, he adheres closely to Sondheim's book, resulting in the most dramatically satisfying film Burton has ever made.

I liked the adaptation of the off-off Broadway Hedwig and the Angry Inch, but have been left underwhelmed by all the recent big budget film musicals, so I'm glad to say that Sweeney Todd, wipes the floor with every major screen musical of the last decade, including the likable if over extended Hairspary. Most surprising is how shockingly gruesome the the film becomes in the second half. This must be the most blood drenched film since Shogun Assassin, with arteries spurting blood like like fountains as throats are cut, with the violence escalating towards the end leading towards a climax that is exhilarating, heartbreaking and satisfyingly bleak.

Unlike the dreary dirges Danny Elfman supplied for Burton's stop frame musicals, Sondheim's score is a joy to listen to from beginning to end, its dark romanticism sometimes reminding me of Bernhard Herrmann, perfectly fitting what is both a musical and a horror film in equal measures.

Depp and Bonham Carter are both excellent and it's down to their performances that I never quite lost sympathy with them in their descent into madness, blood lust and cannibalism.

Musical haters may not be converted as 75% percent of the dialogue is sung, but this completely dispatches any notion of cloying sentimentally the genre is often associated with.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [UK] Warner Bros [France]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

31 January 2008 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Sweeney Todd: O Terrível Barbeiro de Fleet Street

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,300,805, 23 December 2007

Gross USA:

$52,898,073

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$153,383,627

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Parkes/MacDonald Image Nation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1