Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition) | 
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Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, Edward Sanders, Timothy Spall
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $12.86
You Save: $22.13 (63%)
New (58) Used (19) Collectible (2) from $9.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  312 reviews
Sales Rank: 609
Format: Ac-3, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 116
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: 097361321547
UPC: 097361321547
EAN: 0097361321547
ASIN: B0013D8LOU
Theatrical Release Date: December 21, 2007
Release Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.
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Product Description
Genre: Musicals
Rating: R
Release Date: 1-APR-2008
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
After years of rumors, it turns out that Tim Burton was the perfect visionary to film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim's Broadway masterpiece, and the result is a macabre and moving musical movie as enthralling as anything Burton has ever done. The show's mix of gothic horror, Grand Guignol, very dark humor, and witty and beautiful music never was the stuff of traditional musical comedy, but it's a powerful work, and perhaps the richest of the late 20th century. In the movie, Burton's frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp, plays Todd, a wronged man whose lust for revenge drives him to murder (an 19th-century legend who has been traced to a real-life barber). Helena Bonham Carter, another Burton mainstay, is Mrs. Lovett, the barber's partner-in-unspeakable-crime. It's no surprise that Depp is an excellent choice to convey Todd's brooding intensity and volcanic rage, but he can also sing a score that is so challenging it has often played in opera houses (though not with the same style as the Broadway original, Len Cariou, and he occasionally lapses into pop style). Bonham Carter is small of voice and lacks the humor of the original Broadway Lovett, Angela Lansbury, but she sings on pitch, in rhythm, and in character at the same time, which is no small feat for a Sondheim show. Aficionados will regret the loss of certain musical passages--"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" is just an instrumental overture and the chorus is gone altogether, among others--but the reassuring presence of orchestrator Jonathan Tunick and conductor Paul Gemignani ensures that the music feels right and sounds great. And the film's depiction of a Victorian London hellhole--with cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and costumes by Colleen Atwood--also looks and feels right. The excellent cast is filled out by Alan Rickman as the villainous Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as his seedy Beadle, Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) as a rival barber, Jamie Campbell Bower as the young lover Anthony, Jayne Wisener as his object of affection, and Ed Sanders as the young Toby. For fans of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp who don't think they like musicals, Sweeney Todd should be a revelation (though not for the squeamish, as the gore is intense and completely appropriate). For fans of Broadway and Sondheim, it's hard to imagine getting a better adaptation than this. The fact that there's no newly composed Oscar-bait song sung by a Josh Groban-type over the end credits only makes it better. --David Horiuchi
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| Customer Reviews: Read 307 more reviews...
 Sweeny Todd July 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A wonderful modern opera. Is there anything Johnny Depp can't do? He is unforgettable.
 Not the greatest ever made, but watchable July 8, 2008
First of all, I'd like to give the actors an A for Effort, as we see how, even though they are NOT singers, they trained in ways they could for the movie. I usually don't mind movie soundtracks, but unless I'm watching this particular movie, I'm not going to listen to the soundtrack.
I'm not familiar with the Broadway version, but I did feel that this film was lacking in the humor department. Sacha Baron Cohen was comic relief early on in the film, along with Mrs. Lovett's dream, and later, Mrs. Lovett's ending (the sequence of events leading up to it probably had something to do with it). I love black comedy, I kept feeling like there should be some macabre humor mixed in, but it just wasn't happening.
The film was too dark. I don't mean dark as in thematic elements - as I enjoy "darker" fiction written by classic authors (Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Federico Garcia Lorca, etc.) - but the lighting was too dark. This is probably so we can focus on JUST HOW MUCH BLOOD is spilled, which was too bright, and took me out of the story thinking of what fake blood they used... in other words, it was distracting. Hell, I can't even identify with those who complain of too much blood - it was so fake-looking, people SHOULD be complaining about ruining good fabrics with orange paint. I think the film would've been just fine had they left the colors as they were.
However. I enjoyed the film. Not because it's particularly memorable, or astounding, or even because I empathize so greatly with Barker/Todd (though the transition of happy, loving father to vengeful, hateful sadist is a tragic, and plausible, one). I like this movie because I take it with a grain of salt. Sweeney Todd at the beach, or his awkwardness in kissing Mrs. Lovett, were great moments. I could laugh at the hodge-podge character Pirelli was (mixture of Spanish, Italian and French it seemed like), and the irony of Todd/Lovett's demise. I could also shake my head at how gullible Mrs. Lovett's customers were, that NOBODY (except for Toby) ever caught on that it was dear neighbor Henry for dinner tonight.
The bottom-line: Rent this movie, be sure you're loaded up on soda and popcorn. Do NOT take this movie seriously, and remember kids - it's just paint.
Great movie!! July 8, 2008
Well I looooove this film, and the dvd is pretty good. I haven't seen the special edition one, but this one's got a behind the scenes video, so it's not bad. Audio can be in english, french and spanish and with subtitles in any of these languages. Hope this works! =)
Sweeney Todd July 7, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Given as gift and the recipient was thrilled. I was, however, disappointed at how long it took for me to receive this item. Shipping was slower than usual for Amazon.
Not the greatest Tim Burton film I've seen... July 7, 2008
I bought the special edition of Sweeny Todd recently because I'm a big fan of Tim Burton films such as Ed Wood, Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, etc., so I thought that this one would be just as good as the others. The songs are very good, the story is interesting, and all of the characters are connected to each other. The reason I gave this movie three stars is because it has A LOT of gore. I can't stand watching a lot of blood in a movie, but that's just me. If you can tolerate seeing gore, you'll probably like the movie more than I do. Other than that, it's a film worth seeing, but if you can't stand seeing blood or gruesome things, I would not recommend this film.
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