Author Topic: Tim Burton's Sweeny Todd  (Read 16951 times)

Rigger

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on: September 11, 2007, 02:52:51 PM
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408236/

So the classic tale of Sweeny Todd has drawn the attention of Tim Burton. As is almost cliché for him, we have Johnny Depp and Helnena Bonham Carter in the leads.

While I for one am slightly skeptical of the casting, given that we have seen the duo together many times or separately in Mr. Burton's movies, I am also looking forward to seeing his own unique style and touch to this story. I doubt this will be an "opening day movie" for me, but it is definitely something I will want to see in theaters; tho perhaps someplace like the Baghdad here in Portland where the seats are cheep and the beer runs free.

What do you think about the movie? Have you heard much in the rumor mill? Just curious as to what other Pseudopod listeners think.



Russell Nash

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Reply #1 on: September 11, 2007, 03:20:39 PM
As is almost cliché for him, we have Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the leads.

I don't know the story well enough to comment intelligently on the movie, but I found this line interesting.  They have only played directly across from each other in Corpse Bride.  In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory they had very few scenes together.  Or were you referring to his tendency to use these actors in general, not using them opposite each other?




Rigger

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Reply #2 on: September 11, 2007, 03:49:11 PM
I suppose it is just the fact that he tends to work with both of them a fair bit. This fact causes me to sort of meld them together in my mind as "Tim Burton's Actors".

For some reason I was under the impression that they had worked directly together more. Perhaps it is just because of how many of his films sort of blend together for me.



DKT

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Reply #3 on: September 11, 2007, 05:48:24 PM
Depp's been in at least five Tim Burton movies.  Considering that I think two of those movies are Burton's best (and one of them, Ed Wood, is one of both Depp and Burton's best -- for me, at least) I'm happy they're still doing stuff together. 

Although I still haven't seen their Willy Wonka.  It just looked off to me. 


Rigger

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Reply #4 on: September 11, 2007, 07:38:05 PM
Heh, off is a nice way of putting it.

I've not seen Ed Wood in ages. I had completely forgotten that Burton and Depp worked together on that. What is your other favorite Burton film?



DKT

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Reply #5 on: September 11, 2007, 07:43:38 PM
Edward Scissorhands.  I saw it for the first time last year and loved it.  And without Depp, I also really loved his take on Batman, especially the first film.  I prefer Batman Begins, but I saw Burton's Batman when I was in 5th grade and it blew me away. 

I've also seen Sleepy Hollow more times than any human should.  It's by no means a good movie but there are parts of it that I love. 


Rigger

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Reply #6 on: September 11, 2007, 07:49:21 PM
I'm a big fan of Sleepy Hollow & From Hell, even if the two blend together in my mind from time to time.

Big Fish is my personal all time favorite of Burton's. I found the father to be incredibly relatable; and his death/funeral gets to me every time.



eytanz

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Reply #7 on: September 12, 2007, 01:44:39 AM
Although I still haven't seen their Willy Wonka.  It just looked off to me. 

Burton's Willy Wonka is much the same as Burton's Planet of the Apes - an unnecessary remake of an excellent movie that falls far off the mark of its predecessor. Though of the two remakes, Willy Wonka is notably better.



wakela

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Reply #8 on: September 13, 2007, 08:19:42 AM
Personally, I think Burton is overrated.  He's definitely made some very enjoyable movies, but many others have been disappointing.  Love Depp and Carter, though.  They have been so varied that they could do Sweeney as creepy or zany.  Based on the poster, it looks like the former. 

This looks to be a movie of the Broadway musical.  I saw the recent version on Broadway, and it was excellent.  It's much creepier than the previous version.  This gives me high hopes, since Burton already has a winning story and music (I didn't care for Corpse Bride or Nightmare), and he only has to provide the mood, which he's good at (I liked Sleepy Hollow). 

Good Burton: Beetlejuice, Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood.
Less good Burton: Batman, Big Fish, Nightmare before Christmas, Corpse Bride
Bad Burton: Mars Attacks

The character of Sweeney seems to be more a part of the national consciousness of the UK than the US.  Oddly, I think only fans of Broadway musicals are aware of him in the States (can any fellow yanks comment on this?).  But when I was in London I saw several subtle references to him, and some Brits I talked to had never heard of the musical.  Jack the Ripper, on the other hand, is world famous. Any thoughts?



lowky

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Reply #9 on: September 13, 2007, 03:09:30 PM
Personally, I think Burton is overrated.  He's definitely made some very enjoyable movies, but many others have been disappointing.  Love Depp and Carter, though.  They have been so varied that they could do Sweeney as creepy or zany.  Based on the poster, it looks like the former. 

This looks to be a movie of the Broadway musical.  I saw the recent version on Broadway, and it was excellent.  It's much creepier than the previous version.  This gives me high hopes, since Burton already has a winning story and music (I didn't care for Corpse Bride or Nightmare), and he only has to provide the mood, which he's good at (I liked Sleepy Hollow). 

Good Burton: Beetlejuice, Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood.
Less good Burton: Batman, Big Fish, Nightmare before Christmas, Corpse Bride
Bad Burton: Mars Attacks
personally I would switch Nightmare before Christmas and Sleepy Hollow, Move Mars Attacks to Less Good (I enjoyed it, but it's definitely not a good movie), and put Planet of the Apes as Bad Burton.  In the Less good is probably Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which was not the Gene Wilder movie of my childhood, but at the same time, I thought it was more true to the original story.  Other movies falling somewhere inbetween Good and less good would be the two PeeWee Herman movies.  I am sure I am still missing some other Burton movies, but *shrug* you get the idea.

The character of Sweeney seems to be more a part of the national consciousness of the UK than the US.  Oddly, I think only fans of Broadway musicals are aware of him in the States (can any fellow yanks comment on this?).  But when I was in London I saw several subtle references to him, and some Brits I talked to had never heard of the musical.  Jack the Ripper, on the other hand, is world famous. Any thoughts?

I think when I saw an article that a musical was going to be made about sweeny todd I looked him up, and was like oh yeah.  So I am sure I have read about him before, but when/where I don't recall. 


Rigger

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Reply #10 on: September 13, 2007, 07:11:42 PM
Good Burton: Beetlejuice, Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood.
Less good Burton: Batman, Big Fish, Nightmare before Christmas, Corpse Bride
Bad Burton: Mars Attacks

To each their own tastes. Personally I think the first three movies you listed are some of Burton's best (at least my favorites), and Mars Attacks has a certain charm when you set your TV to black & white.

However I could not stand Corpse Bride. It felt to me like Burton & Elfman were just ripping themselves off.

As for Sweeney Todd... I was only really introduced to the tale by Bugs Bunny. It is not a particularly popular story in the United States, but I can't say why off the top of my head. Maybe it has to do with the large number of serial killers we seem to produce.



DKT

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Reply #11 on: September 13, 2007, 08:15:08 PM
I really wanted to like Corpse Bride but just couldn't get into it.  Nightmare Before Christmas I loved, though.  Big Fish also fell flat for me, I just couldn't buy that Ewan MacGregor grew up to be Albert Finney.  (Although some of the individual stories were kind of cool.  I hear the book is great, though.)  Ed Wood I could probably watch over and over and over again. 

I know very little about Sweeney Todd, except that Neil Gaiman and Kevin Smith both really like the musical.  Add Tim Burton and Johnny Depp to the short list and I'm very curious.  I can't wait to see a trailer for it.


eytanz

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Reply #12 on: September 13, 2007, 09:25:35 PM
Since we're rating Burton movies, here's how I'd do it:

Good Burton: Big Fish, Nightmare before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Ed Wood.
Less good Burton: Sleepy Hollow, Batman, Corpse Bride, Mars Attacks, Charlies and the Chocolate Factory
Bad Burton: Planet of the Apes, Batman Returns

I've never seen Edward Scissorhands... I really should get it from Netflix (or more likely, the British equivalent) someday.



wakela

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Reply #13 on: September 14, 2007, 11:30:02 PM
Note:  Not only has this nothing to do with horror, it has nothing to do with the new Sweeney Todd movie.

I had forgotten about "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "P of the A" in my original breakdown.  That's probably telling in itself.

I can understand why someone would want to remake "Apes."  It's a little dated, Heston is too hestony by today's standards, and not many people who have never seen it make point of watching it.  I don't think that  "Chocolate Factory" suffers from any of this, though.  Maybe it's just because I grew up watching it when it came on TV once a year.  But Gene Wilder is absolutely perfect, and the special effects are fine.  In fact I thought the computery effects of Burton's version looked a little phony.

The ending of Burton's version of "Chocolate Factory" bugged me the most (we don't need to get into the ending of  "Apes," do we?)  SPOILER ALERT
At the end of the new movie Charlie has to chose between living in the factory with crazy Michael Jackson or living with his family.  It's sad that Burton thought this would be perceived as a challenging choice for today's kids.  It's fun and trendy to be cynical about Today's Youth, but I think most of us would chose our family, most kids would too, and obviously any movie kid would.

On the other hand, at the end of the original movie, Charlie's choice is whether or not to give back the gobstopper.  Willie Wonka has just screwed him over, gotten into a shouting match with his uncle, and his uncle has called him a crook.  Slugworth, who has done nothing bad to Charlie, promised him wealth and comfort for his family just for stealing a piece of candy from a total jerk.  Most of us would have kept the candy.  Most movie kids would have kept the candy, and the audience would have cheered.  But Charlie does the right thing.  I think this is an incredibly powerful scene, and it gets more so each time I watch it. 

Quote
As for Sweeney Todd... I was only really introduced to the tale by Bugs Bunny.
Bugs did Sweeney?! I thought I had seen all of them.  You're not talking about the Barber of Seville, are you?



DarkKnightJRK

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Reply #14 on: November 29, 2007, 07:30:57 AM
I've been paying attention to this since I saw the trailer for it--looks to be like a hilarious and dark flick. Seriously, how can one NOT laugh at the cannabalistic fun of "A Little Priest"? ;D



DDog

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Reply #15 on: November 30, 2007, 12:54:26 PM
We've had posters for it littering the school recently. The thing is they were actually litter, and therefore folded in half and stuck to the wet ground--I never saw the title, only the Face Of Sweeney Todd, and I thought it was Heath Ledger in some kind of vampire movie until I saw the trailer and realized it was, in fact, neither.

I adore both Depp and Carter. Pretty sure the first thing I saw him in was Edward Scissorhands, and with her it was probably Merlin. My first Tim Burton movie was either Edward Scissorhands again, or Beetle Juice, I can't remember. I never did see Nightmare Before Christmas.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2007, 12:56:14 PM by DDog »

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wakela

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Reply #16 on: December 02, 2007, 11:53:19 PM
I saw the trailer on line, and I thought it was interesting how little music there was in it.  The Sondheim musical is practically an opera; there is little spoken dialog.  I also thought it was interesting how much time the trailer spent on the background of the story.  Most of the trailer was the about Judge Turpin steeling Sweeney's wife, which is something handled in a three minute song in the musical.  I don't think I saw a single meat pie.



DKT

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Reply #17 on: December 03, 2007, 05:15:22 PM
There's a pretty promising review of the movie on AICN (at a screening where Burton, Depp, and Stephen Sondheim were present).  http://www.aintitcool.com/node/34950


Jim

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Reply #18 on: December 05, 2007, 02:33:39 PM
What I like about some of Tim Burton's movies is the portrayal of that which is visionary having its own substance.

I would elaborate but it would turn into a term paper.

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DarkKnightJRK

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Reply #19 on: December 26, 2007, 10:41:22 PM
I saw the trailer on line, and I thought it was interesting how little music there was in it.  The Sondheim musical is practically an opera; there is little spoken dialog.  I also thought it was interesting how much time the trailer spent on the background of the story.  Most of the trailer was the about Judge Turpin steeling Sweeney's wife, which is something handled in a three minute song in the musical.  I don't think I saw a single meat pie.

There's a pretty good poster of Helena Botham Carter holding a pie in her hand with fingers coming out of it.



qwints

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Reply #20 on: December 27, 2007, 06:02:46 AM
Has anyone here seen the original musical? It is the only musical my roommate has ever liked. I can't wait to see this movie.

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DarkKnightJRK

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Reply #21 on: December 27, 2007, 08:10:04 AM
Has anyone here seen the original musical? It is the only musical my roommate has ever liked. I can't wait to see this movie.

No, but I saw the concert version (thru YouTube) and it's fantastic.



eytanz

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Reply #22 on: December 27, 2007, 08:31:06 AM
Has anyone here seen the original musical? It is the only musical my roommate has ever liked. I can't wait to see this movie.

I saw it on stage once, but I've been told that the production I saw wasn't a very good one. In any case, I enjoyed it and I can certainly see how it could be a basis of an excellent movie. I'm hoping that since this is not a movie remake but a stage adoption Burton will be wearing his "great director" hat for this one, rather than his "lets ruin someone else's work" hat.



Russell Nash

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Reply #23 on: December 27, 2007, 08:46:21 AM
I'm hoping that since this is not a movie remake but a stage adoption Burton will be wearing his "great director" hat for this one, rather than his "lets ruin someone else's work" hat.

Examples of each please. ;D



eytanz

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Reply #24 on: December 27, 2007, 09:01:54 AM
I'm hoping that since this is not a movie remake but a stage adoption Burton will be wearing his "great director" hat for this one, rather than his "lets ruin someone else's work" hat.

Examples of each please. ;D

Well, "great director": Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, Ed Wood, Batman.

"lets ruin someone else's work": Planet of the Apes (a horrible remake of a classic), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (a mediocre remake of a classic)



Russell Nash

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Reply #25 on: December 27, 2007, 09:28:58 AM
I'm hoping that since this is not a movie remake but a stage adoption Burton will be wearing his "great director" hat for this one, rather than his "lets ruin someone else's work" hat.

Examples of each please. ;D

Well, "great director": Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish, Ed Wood, Batman.

"lets ruin someone else's work": Planet of the Apes (a horrible remake of a classic), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (a mediocre remake of a classic)

Fully agree



DarkKnightJRK

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Reply #26 on: December 29, 2007, 10:09:27 AM
Just got back from seeing it, and holy crap it's fantastic. It's surprisingly bloodier than I expected. I mean, I expected some, what with the R-rating and it being about a serial killer and all, but my God I think blood was one of the filters for the movie it's that apparent.