Sweeney Todd

[Jennasis]

On 12/30/07 I saw in the movie theaters "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
My Review (Note: Might Contian Spoilers): Nightmare on Fleet Street

"If you were fortunate enough to see this Sondheim gem on the stage then stay far way from this souless production. Sondheim's score deserves better treatment and so does his audience. Thanks to Depp's flat unidimensional portrayal of Todd the guilty pleasure of living the maniacal comic fantasy of a tragically inverted personality has been completely eliminated from this adaptation. Carter's uninspired and barely passable vocal stylings don't help at all. There is no fun here. All we're left with is a tragic tale with enough bloodletting to gag Freddy Kruger with charaters we're relieved to see too slowly eliminated from our misery. The only thing more tragic than Tim Burton's vision is the vocal performances by Depp and Carter. If you listen to Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury on the original Broadway recording you'll see what's missing (as well as the opening and closing numbers) and a production that makes this film version pale by comparison. Sondheim has an unfortunate history when it comes to screen adaptations of his work and this is just another one to heap on that pile. Such is the real tragedy in what promised to be one of the finest, if not THE finest, film adaptations ever. RIP Sweeney."

Oh dear...you might want to start running now. I don't know how much of a headstart the rabid JD fans will give you for your heresy.

Someone had mentioned the brilliance of Sondheim. I love his lyrics. I really didn't care for the "melody" at all. If it's an acquired taste then I remain an unfortunately picky eater.

 

[Aye Sea Turtles]

Had you read ANY of the other posts -- like the above two that I quoted --before posting your little snippet, you would've clearly found out that I did NOT know what the term "phoned in" means. Read for details, honey.

I did read the posts, sugar. Just didn't want to let your little attack on me go unacknowledged, since you put so much thought into it and all.