Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) Review

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007)

Director: Tim Burton
Music composed by: Stephen Sondheim
Playwright: Patrick Quentin
Adapted from: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

CAST

Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd
Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett
Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin
Jamie Campbell Bower as Anthony
Sacha Baron Cohen as Adolfo Pirelli
Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford
Ed Sanders as Tobias Ragg
Jayne Wisener as Johanna

SYNOPSIS

Judge Turpin (played by Alan Rickman) lusts for the wife of London barber, Benjamin Barker, later known as Sweeney Todd (played by Johnny Depp). Turpin then transports Sweeney Todd him to Australia for a crime he did not commit. 15 years later, Barker returns with a new name in Sweeney Todd, a mad-man vowing revenge and applying his sharp tools to unlucky customers and he then shuts them down to Mrs. Lovett (played by Helena Bonham-Carter), who uses the bodies to make pies in her shop. Todd's ultimate aim is to not just kill many innocent souls but to, one day, slit Turpin's throat.

REVIEW

MY FRIENDS

PRETTY WOMEN

EPIPHANY

At the beginning of the film, we get introduced to Jamie Campbell Bower as Anthony on a ship to London, explaining the positives of what it must be like living in London. Then we get introduced to Johnny Depp as the main character, Sweeney Todd, talking about his experiences of London and his previous life before being captured by Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin and sent away to Australia for 15 years for a crime he didn't commit. I believe this was a very good introduction to Sweeney Todd, as this gave me information about the character and what their objective are. In this case, Sweeney Todd's objective is to cut Judge Turpin's throat, after her captured his wife. My favourite scene and song in the show would be when Sweeney Todd is reunited with his utensils for shaving. The song featured in this scene is 'My Friends'. As it is almost said in the title, it showed a reunion between so-called 'friends' with Sweeney Todd and his utensils after it appeared he hasn't seen these tools for quite some time. Also in this scene, it appears that Helena Bonham Carter's character named Mrs. Lovett has a love passion for Sweeney Todd, not only said in the words but in the actions she used, like touching his shoulders and her head resting on his shoulders as well.