Quite a Cut Up
Finally I managed to see the film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. At a theater nearest me. I didn’t think I would. It was getting to be a problem for a time. Considering Marcus Theaters’ done deal with film distribution that barred it from being seen in places like little ol’ Oshkosh.
For a while it seemed I would have to see it at the Regent in Appleton as it was a non-Marcus theater.
But, like a belated gift from the Christmas skies, the film dropped into Oshkosh in an unexpected turn.
I liked it a lot.
And the graphic violence never bothered me at all.
Where else are you going to see Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman sing together in a rousing duet that could shake the very foundations to its grounds? Where else are you going to see Helena Bonham Carter singing like a chattering bird while she makes the worst sandwiches in town? There isn’t another film that switches from old styled gothic horror to a musical event.
It’s a visual treat. One that cuts deep.
Based on the stage play of the same name, scrambling back into the 1930s, it was written by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. And music, in its very essence, is like a beating heart.
The film jumpstarts the action into a singing chorus. It is surprising at every turn. You never know when someone sprints into a mood. It is odd at first to hear and see Depp fall into a singing moment. The scenes do tend to have an operatic fancy. But you do get used to it after a while And Depp’s not bad singer.
The directing from Tim Burton has improved immensely. For the first three-fourths of the film, following through the charred buildings of London, with its bogged scenery depicting poverty, there is a sense of beauty in his eyes. You can see his love for the gothic. The tall, battered buildings leer over the city like aged guardians. The windows look like dead eyes. The alleys look trapped with death.
Burton takes his time to give us a tour-friendly view of London during the eighteen-hundreds. The shifting shadows, and grace of darkness, gives us a feeling of the dark. And this keeps the audience slightly on edge. There is a discomfort of knowing the main character carries along with him blades used in barber shops.
A straight razor. Nasty.
The stream of consciousness that gives us a moment where Sweeney Todd hacks through everyone in the pubic screens is a brilliant turn to horror. There’s blood everywhere. The pouring red is endless. Almost exaggerated.
The film basically focuses on a troubling love triangle that ends in disaster. Sweeney Todd loses his wife-to-be to the malicious judge who sentences the barber injusticely to jail. The sentence is a harsh one. Taking everything from Sweeney Todd except his determination.
His determination is to destroy Judge Turpin, played by Rickman, once he sets foot into freedom. That has never left him once he escaped the Penal Colony after fifteen years.
The scars of his life has made him a brutal, sadistic man. His slight detour into insanity has endangered those who were closest around him. His friends fall victim to his single purpose of destroying Judge Turpin. Even his dear, sweet Mrs. Lovett finds out what a real terror he is.
There are definitely moments of darkness as black as Sweeney Todd’s soul. The underground sewers give a feeling of emptiness beneath the city that thrives like a poor man’s land. Much of it contrasts to the living comforts, and riches, in which Judge Turpin is shown—he doesn’t have to worry about putting food on the table. He lives in power. He lusts for it.
While the others in the street suffer.
But the main point of the violence that ensues in the film, like a wasted tidal wave of anger, seems to engulf everyone in the film. The violence never stops. It goes into a vicious circle. The killing that Todd starts will come back to him in a full circle.
As simple as the sharp edges of the blades.
The film is made beautifully in the hands of Burton and Depp. They always do make an indominable pair. They work well together and should continue to cross paths later on in their careers. Remember Scorsese and De Niro? John Woo and Chow Yun Fat? Even Harrison Ford and George Lucas. They make great combinations.
And another gothic outing by the illustrious pair wouldn’t hurt either. It’s a side of cinema we don’t always see in films these days. It’s nice to see someone revisit the old gothic roots.
There is only one problem I have with the film: towards the last half hour of the film it seems to take a slasher turn. It felt like the ending was a bit rushed with a bunch of people getting killed off left and right. The great thing about this film is that it takes its sweet time delivering the goods. But the ending is like a sudden, misfired punch.
But if you’re looking for something different… unique… this is a treasure to see. You’re most likely not going to see anything like this again. I know I won’t. There’s not a big call for musical horror films. It's like a Goya painting gone absolutely mad.
The gothic trends are still alive and kicking today. A really bloody epic. And we learn in this movie that sometimes violence is too great a price to pay.
For a while it seemed I would have to see it at the Regent in Appleton as it was a non-Marcus theater.
But, like a belated gift from the Christmas skies, the film dropped into Oshkosh in an unexpected turn.
I liked it a lot.
And the graphic violence never bothered me at all.
Where else are you going to see Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman sing together in a rousing duet that could shake the very foundations to its grounds? Where else are you going to see Helena Bonham Carter singing like a chattering bird while she makes the worst sandwiches in town? There isn’t another film that switches from old styled gothic horror to a musical event.
It’s a visual treat. One that cuts deep.
Based on the stage play of the same name, scrambling back into the 1930s, it was written by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler. And music, in its very essence, is like a beating heart.
The film jumpstarts the action into a singing chorus. It is surprising at every turn. You never know when someone sprints into a mood. It is odd at first to hear and see Depp fall into a singing moment. The scenes do tend to have an operatic fancy. But you do get used to it after a while And Depp’s not bad singer.
The directing from Tim Burton has improved immensely. For the first three-fourths of the film, following through the charred buildings of London, with its bogged scenery depicting poverty, there is a sense of beauty in his eyes. You can see his love for the gothic. The tall, battered buildings leer over the city like aged guardians. The windows look like dead eyes. The alleys look trapped with death.
Burton takes his time to give us a tour-friendly view of London during the eighteen-hundreds. The shifting shadows, and grace of darkness, gives us a feeling of the dark. And this keeps the audience slightly on edge. There is a discomfort of knowing the main character carries along with him blades used in barber shops.
A straight razor. Nasty.
The stream of consciousness that gives us a moment where Sweeney Todd hacks through everyone in the pubic screens is a brilliant turn to horror. There’s blood everywhere. The pouring red is endless. Almost exaggerated.
The film basically focuses on a troubling love triangle that ends in disaster. Sweeney Todd loses his wife-to-be to the malicious judge who sentences the barber injusticely to jail. The sentence is a harsh one. Taking everything from Sweeney Todd except his determination.
His determination is to destroy Judge Turpin, played by Rickman, once he sets foot into freedom. That has never left him once he escaped the Penal Colony after fifteen years.
The scars of his life has made him a brutal, sadistic man. His slight detour into insanity has endangered those who were closest around him. His friends fall victim to his single purpose of destroying Judge Turpin. Even his dear, sweet Mrs. Lovett finds out what a real terror he is.
There are definitely moments of darkness as black as Sweeney Todd’s soul. The underground sewers give a feeling of emptiness beneath the city that thrives like a poor man’s land. Much of it contrasts to the living comforts, and riches, in which Judge Turpin is shown—he doesn’t have to worry about putting food on the table. He lives in power. He lusts for it.
While the others in the street suffer.
But the main point of the violence that ensues in the film, like a wasted tidal wave of anger, seems to engulf everyone in the film. The violence never stops. It goes into a vicious circle. The killing that Todd starts will come back to him in a full circle.
As simple as the sharp edges of the blades.
The film is made beautifully in the hands of Burton and Depp. They always do make an indominable pair. They work well together and should continue to cross paths later on in their careers. Remember Scorsese and De Niro? John Woo and Chow Yun Fat? Even Harrison Ford and George Lucas. They make great combinations.
And another gothic outing by the illustrious pair wouldn’t hurt either. It’s a side of cinema we don’t always see in films these days. It’s nice to see someone revisit the old gothic roots.
There is only one problem I have with the film: towards the last half hour of the film it seems to take a slasher turn. It felt like the ending was a bit rushed with a bunch of people getting killed off left and right. The great thing about this film is that it takes its sweet time delivering the goods. But the ending is like a sudden, misfired punch.
But if you’re looking for something different… unique… this is a treasure to see. You’re most likely not going to see anything like this again. I know I won’t. There’s not a big call for musical horror films. It's like a Goya painting gone absolutely mad.
The gothic trends are still alive and kicking today. A really bloody epic. And we learn in this movie that sometimes violence is too great a price to pay.
posted by K.M. Paters at 11:26 AM
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