Customer Reviews
Garbage 
2008-07-04
I was totally disapointed after the hype over this movie I thought it was total trash. At no stage did anyone tell me this was a musical and if I had that info I would not have brought it. I am a firm fan of Johnny Depps work but this movie has driven me past my limit. The only musical I like is THE SOUND OF MUSIC and I don't think the Von Trapp family cut anyones throut. Tim Burton you suck.
Fantastic surprise 
2008-07-02
When I heard who was in this production I will admit I was hesitant to go see it on the big screen. I was therefore wonderfully surprised at the result. The acting, the costumes, the set designs, and the singing are great. This is the most true to the story production I have yet to sing and my favorite off all the versions I have seen and own. Treat yourself, this is great. Cudo's for all involved.
Doesn't live up to the hype 
2008-06-30
I sat all the way through this movie, the entire time wondering when it was going to get good. It didn't. I will confess that the music was very well written and quite beautiful -- which is why I'm rating this movie 2 stars instead of 1. But other than that, the whole thing was awful. The plot, the character development (or lack thereof), the lyrics -- all ridiculous. If you haven't seen it, I can sum it up in one sentence (spoiler warning): A wronged man comes back from his prison sentence, goes crazy and kills everyone, including his wife, and then is killed by his own blade. Oh, the irony.
Seriously, you can find a better use for this movie than to watch it. Set it on fire or something. It'll be more entertaining.
A weak and dissapointing film 2008-06-25
"Sweeny Todd" is a failure on far too many levels to merit the accolades it has garnered from the press. Its dark photography and over the top set design try to imbue the film with atmosphere, but the techniques employed are so self-conscious as to have the opposite effect. The result is a visually flat, monochromic film without flair or genuine imagination.
Johnny Depp's acting performance is the film's only saving grace, but a singer he is not. Then again, he is Pavarotti compared to the rest of the cast, especially Helena Bonham Carter, whose voice is so thin that she sounds like an ailing Minnie Mouse on helium. With her rat's nest hairdo, she looks like a female counterpart of Tim Burton, which is a shame since she is an exceptional actress and (otherwise)easy on the eye.
Tim Burton's direction is so clumsily stylized that it becomes a parody of itself. Ultimately, his helmsmanship gives us a film with all the dramatic tension of a Viagra commercial. Speaking of which, there is no hint of chemistry between Depp and Bonham Carter, which ultimately renders their evil collaboration meaningless and as flat as the rest of the film. Blood is no substitute for cinematic skill. Leave to gore to George A. Romero, who does it with flair and style, two characteristics "Sweeny Todd" lacks in spades.
However, if you enjoy camp or merely suffer chronic insomnia, "Sweeny Tood" may be just the film for you.
Very good, but very bloody. 2008-06-25
I'm kind of torn with this movie.
On one hand I liked it.
On the other, the damn songs drove me crazy.
Then again, I haven't been able to get the songs out of my head since seeing the movie.
Hmmmmm............
This is the first musical I've seen, the closest is the old Disney movies that had a ton of singing and I didn't like those.
I never saw Chicago or the other big ones.
Only Tim Burton could have pulled this off.
My favorite scene was when they were down by the ocean. Totally surreal!!!!!!!
I think I would have liked it better if the singing would have been eliminated.
Then again, it's what makes the movie so unique.
How many musicals are in the horror genre? Zero!!!!
Try to imagine Jason from Friday the 13th running after some girl while she's singing!!!!!!!!!!
Um..........It might be amusing, but it wouldn't be very scary.
Somehow Sweeny pulls it off. Musical and very disturbing.
I'm going to recommend this movie because it's so odd and so disturbing.
Very original, it's one of Depp's and Burton's finest moments.
NOT APPROPRIATE FOR KIDS!!!!!!!!
For adults, recommended.
Not the greatest ever made, but watchable 
2008-07-08
First of all, I'd like to give the actors an A for Effort, as we see how, even though they are NOT singers, they trained in ways they could for the movie. I usually don't mind movie soundtracks, but unless I'm watching this particular movie, I'm not going to listen to the soundtrack.
I'm not familiar with the Broadway version, but I did feel that this film was lacking in the humor department. Sacha Baron Cohen was comic relief early on in the film, along with Mrs. Lovett's dream, and later, Mrs. Lovett's ending (the sequence of events leading up to it probably had something to do with it). I love black comedy, I kept feeling like there should be some macabre humor mixed in, but it just wasn't happening.
The film was too dark. I don't mean dark as in thematic elements - as I enjoy "darker" fiction written by classic authors (Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Federico Garcia Lorca, etc.) - but the lighting was too dark. This is probably so we can focus on JUST HOW MUCH BLOOD is spilled, which was too bright, and took me out of the story thinking of what fake blood they used... in other words, it was distracting. Hell, I can't even identify with those who complain of too much blood - it was so fake-looking, people SHOULD be complaining about ruining good fabrics with orange paint. I think the film would've been just fine had they left the colors as they were.
However. I enjoyed the film. Not because it's particularly memorable, or astounding, or even because I empathize so greatly with Barker/Todd (though the transition of happy, loving father to vengeful, hateful sadist is a tragic, and plausible, one). I like this movie because I take it with a grain of salt. Sweeney Todd at the beach, or his awkwardness in kissing Mrs. Lovett, were great moments. I could laugh at the hodge-podge character Pirelli was (mixture of Spanish, Italian and French it seemed like), and the irony of Todd/Lovett's demise. I could also shake my head at how gullible Mrs. Lovett's customers were, that NOBODY (except for Toby) ever caught on that it was dear neighbor Henry for dinner tonight.
The bottom-line: Rent this movie, be sure you're loaded up on soda and popcorn. Do NOT take this movie seriously, and remember kids - it's just paint.
Great movie!! 2008-07-08
Well I looooove this film, and the dvd is pretty good. I haven't seen the special edition one, but this one's got a behind the scenes video, so it's not bad. Audio can be in english, french and spanish and with subtitles in any of these languages. Hope this works! =)
Sweeney Todd 2008-07-07
Given as gift and the recipient was thrilled. I was, however, disappointed at how long it took for me to receive this item. Shipping was slower than usual for Amazon.
Not the greatest Tim Burton film I've seen... 2008-07-07
I bought the special edition of Sweeny Todd recently because I'm a big fan of Tim Burton films such as Ed Wood, Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, etc., so I thought that this one would be just as good as the others. The songs are very good, the story is interesting, and all of the characters are connected to each other. The reason I gave this movie three stars is because it has A LOT of gore. I can't stand watching a lot of blood in a movie, but that's just me. If you can tolerate seeing gore, you'll probably like the movie more than I do. Other than that, it's a film worth seeing, but if you can't stand seeing blood or gruesome things, I would not recommend this film.
A musical i actually like 2008-07-05
Sweeny Todd is one of my favorite movies of the year. The movie is the combined effort of regular collaborators Tim Burton, Jonny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter. The film has Tim Burton's signature style all over it with its dark macabre look, its dark macabre romance, and its dark macabre everything else. But that's okay because it works.
Probably the first thing people will notice about the movie is that it's a musical. Though you don't usually think of serial killers and musicals at the same time, Sweeny Todd really makes it work and the music, credited to Stephen Sondheim, is excellently written. The performances in Sweeny Todd are very good as well. Jonny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter work wonderfully together while Alan Rickman and young newcomer Ed Sanders do extremely well also.
This is a great movie and I highly recommend it. The level of violence may get to some people (not many these days) but if that doesn't bother you then by all means, see it. I didn't really like musicals as a kid so if I can enjoy this as much as I did than I'm sure you can too.
