Tim Burton's 'Sweeney Todd' Gets a Trailer!

My wife and I saw the musical for Valentine's Day a few years ago, and it was amazing. I can't wait to see Burton's interpretation.

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That shot of the beach is almost requiem-for-a-dreamy.

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Everything about this looks wrong. I'd ranted on a post way back when about how afraid my suspicions were about this going down the toilet. From the looks of the trailer, all of my fears have become realized.

1. Depp still sounds like Jack Sparrow. What. The. Fuck?!? Sweeney's supposed to be eloquent enough to converse with a well-to-do judge, not sound like he just got back from the bar. His singing voice? He sounds like a low-range tenor crooner. He sounds like Jim Morrison on a really bad night. Where has the elegance gone?

2. The movie has a visually cool tone, which is pretty awesome, but it looks too cold. Hopefully the blood will be bright and vibrant to give it some contrast.

3. It looks as though Burton has cut most of the songs to make way for dialog. This does not work. Ever, really. Just look at "Rent;" one of the film's biggest flaws, in my opinion, was the turning of sung lines into dialog, which left for a really awkward feeling of "Huh? What's going on? Why are they trying to rhyme their conversation but failing at it?"

I really really hope that I'm wrong, because "Sweeney Todd" is one of my favorite musicals and I'd hate to have a really half-assed take done on such a wonderful show. Tim Burton, this is totally directed at you - if you ruin this, "I will have vengeance, I will have salvation!"

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Wow, that looks...so...so...dreadful. It appeared decent and then Depp broke out into song and I into laughter.

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The Addict,

1. I wouldn't base Depp's entire performance off of 1 trailer.
2. This is Burton. If nothing else the man does visual well. Give it a chance.
3. You can't sell a musical to a major audience. Get them to think its a funky Johnny Depp film and let them want to see that. Once you have them in the seats they will realize it is a musical and go with it. Look at how many musicals Burton has been involved with. Do you really think he is going to cut songs?

I would also suggest not try to compare this to the stage play. It is a different beast and an adaptation. Comparing it will do nothing but hinder ones ability to enjoy. Just take it for what it is.

Or if it matters that much to you, go see the stage play again and don't see the film.

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youfacethetick,

Any more dreadful than any other character in any musical breaking out into song?

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I really want this to be good. Sweeney Todd is my favourite musical. I love Depp and believe that he can shine even in a shit film. He did orginally start out in music so there is some hope. That being said Sweeney Todd is one of the hardest musicals to sing. The problem, Helena Boham Carter will never be Angela Landsbury (the orginally Mrs. Lovett. I am looking foward to Alan Rickman has the judge and Borat as Pirelli, both are brillant casting moves.

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Yes, far worse. It looks moody, atmospheric, dark and the accents are funny and crusty. Then Depp begins singing off key and you're treated to bad singing and bad lyrics. Ear-shattering and essentially mood-spoiling. Very few musicals work...very few.

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I think the trailer is fantastic. I can understand them not wanting to market this as a musical at this time, but I look forward to a trailer that features more of the music.

I thought Depp sounded fine. Also, as far as his accent goes, it sounds like a decent working class London accent to me. I've only seen concert versions of the musical on DVD, so is Sweeney supposed to sound working class or more upper crust?

Visually, I think this looks great!

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the trailer makes no sense. are they marketing it as a musical or not? if not, fine, then give us a kick-ass trailer with no singing, let the buzz build, and then give us a trailer that's -all- singing, that accurately depicts what the show is.

by having depp burst into song at the halfway point, it becomes laughable, which i'm certain, if this is at all true to the source material, it will not be laughable once in the proper context.

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Even if many songs are taken out, the 1982 video (available on DVD) featuring Angela Lansbury and George Hearn will remain available; I saw that same production on tour a year or two earlier, and it was perfectly good.

Keep in mind also that Richard Lester's version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum left out the great majority of Sondheim's songs and still turned out fine; those that remained were improved considerably (I've heard the original Broadway cast recording of the opening number "Comedy Tonight" and it's positively flaccid compared with the movie version; Zero Mostel sings in both.)

Of course Sweeney Todd has fewer discrete songs and so they're not so easily extractable, but even if Burton screws it up I'll probably see it on DVD one day.

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I don't know. Sweeney Todd without music? Whatever Burton is trying to sell, it doesn't seem to have much to do with the music, which is some of the best, if difficult to sing, in theater history.

Visually the trailer looks intriguing, but without the music, Burton has created another cartoon for grownups.

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Akbar,
I'm only judging solely based on what I've seen in the trailer, combined with what I've seen from Johnny Depp and Tim Burton in the past. Burton's visuals have tended to be over-stylized ever since Batman Returns, and a bunch of stuff he's done since then has been down right camp. "Todd" is essentially a camp-less musical/story, and as such, needs to be at least dark enough to convey a convincing story.

While Burton has done a few decent musicals, the best of which being "The Nightmare Before Christmas," they were by no means Sondheim. I know for a fact that a bunch of songs have already been cut, and even in the trailer, there were sung lines spoken as dialog. As disappointed as I am in what I've seen, I can still guarantee you that I'll be there opening day either at midnight or at the first showing on the 21st. Why is that? Because I love the story, I love the music, and I hope so badly that they don't screw this up, though at this point, I'm not expecting much.

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It's about time for a Potter Prequel! Tim Burton's latest fantasy film finds Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange, with wacky cohorts Severus Snape and animagus Peter Pettigrew (aka Wormtail) wreaking havoc on London's metrosexuals. And Borat's Sasha Cohen makes an appearance as a dashing young Gilderoy Lockhart!

Come on, you can't deny that the trailer made you think this, even for just a second, right?

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Akbar Fazil, go see "Once". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907657/

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Kevjohn, I just saw it last night. Goddamn do I wish more movies could be like that one!!! Everyone should go see it damnit, though I wouldn't call it a full out musical, more a movie about a musician with songs and crap.

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That was the coolest White Stripes video I've ever seen! Except it looks like they've become one of those bands who have those long, drawn-out dialogue scenes before the music actually starts. Either way, Michel Gondry has done a great job.

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Having watched the trailer a few times, I re-listened to the Broadway (Cariou/Lansbury) recording while reading the libretto on-line (God bless the internet). Here are my thoughts and observations:

-- I could connect most scenes in the trailer with passages in the libretto, so no indications so far of any major deviations from the play. The only exception is the arrest and sentencing of Benjamin Barker.

-- As much as I love Sondheim -- and I do, and "Sweeney Todd" is my favorite among his works -- I'm glad that a number of songs have been cut, though I'm sure I'll disagree with some of the cuts themselves. I don't watch to go to the movies to watch a 3-hour operetta; I'll go to a live production for that, thank you. My Broadway soundtrack contains 29 tracks; I suspect the movie could do quite well with 12 or so.

-- I do agree that the trailer should have given more of a sense of the music before having Depp break out into song. Furthermore, it should have used _Sondheim's_ music instead of whatever wretched, generic trailer music they used through the first half of the trailer. In fact they should have used "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" -- at the very least an instrumental version, if not an actual chorus -- as the principal music through the trailer. Hopefully, they'll come to their senses by the 2nd trailer.

-- I disagree that "in the trailer, there were sung lines spoken as dialog." I've checked the spoken lines in the trailer against the libretto; as far as I can tell, they're all spoken lines in the libretto as well. Furthermore, they're faithful to the libretto, with just minor variations -- another good sign.

Here's hoping the 2nd trailer gives more a sense of the film's music. ..bruce..

Bruce F. Webster
http://and-still-i-persist.com

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The trailer looks marvelous.
Visually, it's all there, as it always is with Burton.
Depp is marvelous with "Epiphany." The "I want you bleeders" line gets me every time.
And Depp doesn't sound like Sparrow - he sounds like Sweeney. Have you heard Cerveris' performance? He sounds fine.
Yes, there will be cuts.
1:45 running time, last time I checked. There will be cuts. But there should be cuts. For a stage production, it's perfect, but film works differently. It needs to be, not necessarily shorter, but different. It needs to show more than speak. And it looks like Sweeney's building his chair, so no more "God, That's Good!"

I think that the trailer did not go into song strangely. That's a spoke-sung song, so I think it worked. If it had just gone into "Ballad" or "Priest" or "Johanna," it may have been a WTF moment, but as it, I LOVE it.

This film looks phenomenal. I'm saying it's got a shot at Best Picture. Sure, it's up against American Gangster (frontrunner), but Chicago got it, and this looks a helluva lot better than Chicago.

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To all you musical fanatics out there-

CALM YOURSELVES! I have loved Sweeney Todd forever, and I thought the trailer was wonderful. So what if Depp doesn't have a trained baritone, that was never the point of the show anyway! The thing that I find so brilliant about Sondheim characters is that in many cases (Sweeney, Assassins, etc.) actors can sing in character voices, not in operatic masterpieces. As long as Depp gets the heart of Sweeney and at least gets the musical timing, I think the singing will be forgivable. Just don't trick yourselves into going in and expecting Len Cariou.

Also, keep in mind that your other principles are pretty sick. Bonham Carter, Baron Cohen and Rickman are some of the best contemporary actors living today. Again, they might not have the voices, but I'm excited for a new, dark, twisted and sickeningly morbid Sweeney that will hopefully entice both hardcore fans of the musical and newcomers alike.

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