Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Tim Burton
Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen
Paramount Home Entertainment
Release date: October 21, 2008

Deny it all you want, but deep down inside everyone loves musical theater. Everyone has at least one show where they’ve memorized all the songs, they find themselves humming the songs in the shower, they keep hidden in some deep pocket of their iPod. Me, I like lots of shows, but I had never heard any of the songs on this one until I saw this film in the theater. Now I’ve had the chance to revisit it, and I find myself humming about the worst pies in London, and can’t help but smile. At times hilarious, at times frightening, Sweeney Todd has a lot going for it, not the least of which is Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, and of course the skillful direction of Tim Burton.

Judging from films such as the Nightmare Before Christmas (mental note: add that to my Christmas watching list) and Corpse Bride, it seems that Tim Burton has a very deep love for musicals, and it shines through in this production. The design and look of the film is what you would expect from a Tim Burton film, full of dark and moody tones, but still with a sense of playfulness. It’s basically what we’ve come to see from his films, but he is able to bring his vision of London to life, and makes the film feel like a movie with song, rather than just someone filming the stage version, if you catch my drift.