*** SPOILER ALERT*** I flippin' HATED Sweeney Todd. Absolutely detested it. I enjoyed the "beach" scene - that was clever as hell. But other than that and a couple of other goofy moments, and a general appreciation of the darkness of the set, there was nothing there for me. I mean, I get what the story was going for - the classic tragedy, with the character's life going totally to shit, then further destroyed by the character's own actions, in this case in his quest for revenge, with a bigass reveal at the end. But I never liked Oedipus Rex either.
Burton's at his best when he tempers his darkness with goofiness. When he doesn't, his style is just unrelentingly harsh, and it grates on me after a while. Sleepy Hollow's another good example of this.
And don't get me started on the cheerleader directly behind us (I knew...I KNEW at some point I'd have to listen to her gasp "Omigawd, it's his wife!" eons after the rest of us had figured it out) and the guy with the frat boy laugh who apparently thought every moment of every preview reinvented comedy (I re-wrote his laugh in my brain as "Huh huh! Plane flip over! Thass funny cuz, cuz it's not sposed to be THAT way! It's sposed to be the OTHER way! Huh huh!") *** END SPOILER ALERT***
My favorite part of the movie was listening to Kim's amazing rant about the fact that it cost us $14 for two matinee tickets and another $13 for popcorn and a drink, and watching the stares she got from the young'uns as a result of said rant. We're officially that old now. :)
I should add that I've never seen the musical. Reading the rest of these posts suggests there's a major difference between the Burtonized version and the original (surprise!) Anyone wanna try to talk me into seeing said musical?
Terribly sorry for the shitheads. You might want to rent one of the two stage-production DVDs starring George Hearn -- the first one has a very substandard Johanna, but Mrs. Lovett is played by Angela frickin goddess Lansbury, and the second one (Sweeney Todd In Concert) has Patti Lupone, and Neil Patrick Harris as Toby. Both very, very good, and with much more of the black humor that the film excised for its own take on things.
Sure, but it might take a little videostore browsing. Look for the musical of the same name, starring George Hearn and Angela Lansbury. I think it might be on VHS, and maybe even DVD, but at this time it'll be expensive. It may explain why people were mumbling along during the opening title music of the movie...
Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd His skin was pale and his eye was odd He shaved the faces of gentlemen Who never thereafter were heard of again He trod a path that few have trod Did Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street...
Oh...update. If you look carefully on eBay, you can find the Hearn/Lansbury stage version for about $15 plus shipping. I have a VHS that I have been watching continually of this. It's really, really good. Just make sure you don't get stuck with a 1936 movie about Sweeney Todd that has nothing to do with the musical.
I can't imagine Patti Lupone, who was once claimed to have played every female part on Broadway (simultaneously) doing a good job on Lovett, but I think a "concert" version of a play isn't all that moving. (I saw one of these about Sondheim's "Follies" with Carol Burnett, of all people, and was severely disappointed. It's a musical that brings a bit of the darkness of Sweeney Todd into a commentary about musical theater itself.)
By the way, I enjoyed the film (except the necessary blood) as its own species. It wasn't the play, and shouldn't have been the filmed version of the play - that's been done before. But I'm not so picky as to call it offensive and evil, as so many theater geeks have done. That would be as pretentions and exclusionary as complaining about Luke singing black men's rap songs.
The "in concert" version of Todd is as close to staged as you can get without the sets, actually, and Lupone does very well -- a rather saucier Mrs. Lovett than Lansbury.
And, you can get the DVD pretty easily. Here's the staging with Lansbury (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00005JL6V/ref=pd_bbs_sr_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1199146838&sr=8-1), and here's the "in concert" with Lupone (http://www.amazon.com/Sweeney-Todd-Concert-George-Hearn/dp/B0000648Y0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1199146838&sr=8-2).
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-31 02:15 pm (UTC)I flippin' HATED Sweeney Todd. Absolutely detested it. I enjoyed the "beach" scene - that was clever as hell. But other than that and a couple of other goofy moments, and a general appreciation of the darkness of the set, there was nothing there for me. I mean, I get what the story was going for - the classic tragedy, with the character's life going totally to shit, then further destroyed by the character's own actions, in this case in his quest for revenge, with a bigass reveal at the end. But I never liked Oedipus Rex either.
Burton's at his best when he tempers his darkness with goofiness. When he doesn't, his style is just unrelentingly harsh, and it grates on me after a while. Sleepy Hollow's another good example of this.
And don't get me started on the cheerleader directly behind us (I knew...I KNEW at some point I'd have to listen to her gasp "Omigawd, it's his wife!" eons after the rest of us had figured it out) and the guy with the frat boy laugh who apparently thought every moment of every preview reinvented comedy (I re-wrote his laugh in my brain as "Huh huh! Plane flip over! Thass funny cuz, cuz it's not sposed to be THAT way! It's sposed to be the OTHER way! Huh huh!")
*** END SPOILER ALERT***
My favorite part of the movie was listening to Kim's amazing rant about the fact that it cost us $14 for two matinee tickets and another $13 for popcorn and a drink, and watching the stares she got from the young'uns as a result of said rant. We're officially that old now. :)
-=ShoEboX=-
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-31 02:18 pm (UTC)-=ShoEboX=-
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-31 04:45 pm (UTC)(And you have my sympathies for the idiots sitting behind you - I think my friend and I sat behind the cheerleader's sisters when we saw the movie.)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-31 10:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-31 11:39 pm (UTC)Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd
His skin was pale and his eye was odd
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
Who never thereafter were heard of again
He trod a path that few have trod
Did Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street...
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-31 11:52 pm (UTC)I can't imagine Patti Lupone, who was once claimed to have played every female part on Broadway (simultaneously) doing a good job on Lovett, but I think a "concert" version of a play isn't all that moving. (I saw one of these about Sondheim's "Follies" with Carol Burnett, of all people, and was severely disappointed. It's a musical that brings a bit of the darkness of Sweeney Todd into a commentary about musical theater itself.)
By the way, I enjoyed the film (except the necessary blood) as its own species. It wasn't the play, and shouldn't have been the filmed version of the play - that's been done before. But I'm not so picky as to call it offensive and evil, as so many theater geeks have done. That would be as pretentions and exclusionary as complaining about Luke singing black men's rap songs.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-01 12:21 am (UTC)And, you can get the DVD pretty easily. Here's the staging with Lansbury (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00005JL6V/ref=pd_bbs_sr_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1199146838&sr=8-1), and here's the "in concert" with Lupone (http://www.amazon.com/Sweeney-Todd-Concert-George-Hearn/dp/B0000648Y0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1199146838&sr=8-2).