Fellow Sonheimites! What did we think of the Sweeney Todd movie?

[LittleClarkie]

I must say it's grown on me. If any of y'all have HBO, it's in rotation this month.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. I loved it.

:thumbsup:

[BreweryYardRat]

2. Loved it, and I've never seen the stage play.

Remind me to see if we get HBO.

[MrSlayer]

3. I hate musicals in general but I'm a huge Johnny Depp fan.

I liked his performance but I probably won't be watching it again. If they would have limited the singing it would have been more enjoyable. Obviously, I'm not a Sonheimite but I felt the need to opine.

[blueraven95]

4. I hate to tell you this, but...

they did limit the singing. All of the big group numbers were cut.

:hi:

[racaulk]

15. Very good point.

I saw the movie first, then the stage play. I noticed that as well - some of the songs were shorter in the movie (especially "By The Sea") and some songs were removed in their entirety.

[LittleClarkie]

17. I missed the ballad at the beginning and end

I left the theater singing it.

[CBGLuthier]

5. They made it work

But I still treasure my copy of the Angela Lansbury George Hearn staging more.

The worst thing about the Burton version was Helena Bonham Carter. Her version of Mrs. Lovett's signature song lacked even a hint of the comic timing that Lansbury handled so well.

It proves once again that more often than not directors should not cast their lovers.

[rcrush]

6. I have the concert version with George Hearn and Patty Lupone.

I like Patty Lupone best as Mrs. Lovett.

[LittleClarkie]

7. I'm a Len Cariou person myself

I loved the OBC and the YouTube clips I found of Cariou's performance. For me a better actor trumps a better singer every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neCm8c7rd0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOHRsCaFXTA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JDfnc9p2m4


And that's one reason Carter is growing on me. Her singing is thin at best, but I'm starting to appreciate the acting choices she made. First Mrs. Lovett I've seen get all broken up about what she was going to have to do to Toby.

The one voice I couldn't get past was the guy who played Beadle.

[rcrush]

8. I liked Neil Patrick Harris as the kid.

[LeftinOH]

9. The dim, dark lighting design made it difficult to see anything; I like the Lansbury/Cariou tape

better -and its way easier to see whats going on.

[LittleClarkie]

10. That would have been Hearn, I think.

Cariou's performance was only captured on bootlegs.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

11. Hated it.

ST is my favorite of Sondheim's works and I was very excited about Depp's and Burton's involvement in the project.

I couldn't believe that someone could make ST boring, but that is what Burton did. It felt very static, and the actors' performances were muted to the point their faces were almost immobile most of the time. The whole design aspect was amazing -- it looked terrific, but all that pretty with no fire from the actors was just a big ol' waste. :( I had seen on the DVD extras where Burton had given them instruction to keep all their characterization low-key to counter the OOT visual of their costumes/make-up, but I thought it ended up hurting the piece terribly.

And I am not even getting into the whole singing thing -- god knows I love Depp, Bonham-Carter, and Rickman but damn, their singing. :scared:

[LittleClarkie]

12. Depp was better than I had expected.

Not my favorite by any stretch, but he had his moments. Every once in a while I'd forget I was looking at Depp and get into the character, and every once in a while he'd string a few notes together. I guess he was using David Bowie as his model for the singing. Not awful.

Carter on the other hand, eesh. I liked that she came up with a slightly different interpretation. I'd never seen Mrs. Lovett get so broken up about Toby. But mostly she was just too weak in the vocal department. And Rickman was PAINful.

[regnaD kciN]

13. I hate to have to tell a "Sonheimite" this...

...but the composer's name is spelled "Sondheim."

Oh, well...I guess I'll go listen to some Ludwig van Beaythoven... :evilgrin:

[LittleClarkie]

16. (strikes palm to forehead)

Not the first time I've done that either. So sad.

Hey, cut me some slack. I just worked a 60 hour week.

(doh!)

[racaulk]

14. Loved it!

The casting was superb - I loved Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett! Also, although they didn't get as much media attention as the "stars," I thought the actors that played Johanna, Toby, and the beggar woman were fantastic.

Tim Burton did a great job with this, and made a brilliant movie adaptation of the stage play, IMHO.

:hi:

[kimmerspixelated]

19. Oh, Yes, Yes, Yes!

What you said!!!

I had never heard the music before, so of course, it blew me away right off the bat. The fact that there could be a movie with such contrasting brilliance in music meshed with the darkness and far too much blood I thought was amazing. That scene where they are walking on the boardwalk with Mrs. Lovett's dreaming song, I thought was breathtaking on the big screen! I noticed the HBO version didn't do it justice. I would love to see any other production of it, but Burton/Depp, it's a combo that cannot be beat. Even with the Todd makeup-Johnny still looked good to me! What a fantastic and versatile actor! ....And he CAN sing..."She was beautiful..."

Definitely the other actors/singers-were supurb!

[terrya]

18. I loved it.

Johnny Depp was great, Helena Bonham Carter was great, Alan Rickman was great, Sasha Baron Cohen was great, Tim Burton did a great job directing, and there was some pretty damn great music. What's not to love?

[Bryan]

20. It was terrific

It abridged the score quite a bit, but it felt like a complete experience. Tim Burton's Goth sensibilities were exactly right for the material, since he sympathizes with Sweeney, and capturing Sweeney's anger and his joy in vengeance is of vital importance.

Oh, and thank you for starting a music thread that isn't about Rush or ELO.

[LittleClarkie]

21. No problem

Sondheim is my favorite composer. He makes me cry.