Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of 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 & 76 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 Weldon	...	Baby Johanna (as Gracie May)
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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Helena Bonham Carter is THE BAKER.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Musical | Thriller

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Certificate:

R16

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second musical in which Johnny Depp has starred, but this is the first one where he actually sings (Depp only lip-synced in Cry-Baby (1990)).

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Goofs

When Sweeney slashes the wrenched woman's throat at the end, she begins to lift her head up quite high, then a split second later when he opens the trap door, her head is tilted downwards again.

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Quotes

Sweeney Todd: What is that?
Mrs. Lovett: It's fop, / Finest in the shop. / Or we have shepherd's pie peppered with actual shepherd on top. And I've just begun. Here's the politician, so oily it's served on a doily, have one.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Diminishing Returns: Tim Burton (2016)

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Soundtracks

Final Scene (Part 2)
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Performed by Johnny Depp

User Reviews

Johnny Depp's greatest movie!!

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is one of the best musical films ever made and probably the last truly excellent Tim Burton effort in directing. It's a romantic and enthralling vision of the dark perspective about life and death for the poor people controled by the privileged, cruel and envious society. It finds a inspired Johnny Depp in probably his best performance of this century. Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall compelte this luxury cast, which is one of the most talented one assembled in a musical!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [UK] Warner Bros. [Greece]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

25 January 2008 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

Sweeney Todd

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 Pictures, Warner Bros., Parkes/MacDonald Image Nation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1