Region 1 Paramount (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced
116 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, French, Spanish
Extras: Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd; Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007; Sweeney Is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber; Musical Mayhem: Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd; Sweeney’s London; The Making of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition; Designs for a Demon Barber; A Bloody Business; Moviefone Unscripted With Tim Burton and Johnny Depp; The Razor’s Refrain; photo gallery; theatrical trailer
Released: 1 April 2008
slim double keepcase with cardboard slipcover
24 chapters
Director Tim Burton should be congratulated for creating a financially fruitful body of work. He’s not a populist like Steven Spielberg or George Lucas, and he’s not a purveyor of action porn like Michael Bay or Tony Scott. In fact, Burton’s primary theme is not at all commercial in nature.
If you look at the big picture, Tim Burton is clearly a necrophiliac. Just about all of his features focus on the dead, the walking dead, the waking dead, the nearly dead, married-to-the-dead, pasty-white weirdoes, ghosts, nihilists, etc. Burton’s protagonists usually aren’t heroes. They’re not even anti-heroes; in most cases, they’re outright murderous villains.
Burton’s commercial success can be attributed to his hiding his necrophilia behind championing-the-underdog/sympathy-for-misfits stories. If you think about it, Burton is far more subversive than “message” artists who demand immediate change and revolution. Burton plays off of our intensely personal desires to be understood, loved, praised, and cheered. In the process, casual viewers who watch movies on autopilot essentially embrace Burton’s love of death.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is an obvious, natural fit to Burton’s tastes. Originally a Broadway musical, Sweeney Todd is an orgy of bloodletting and cannibalism. Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) is a victim of a terrible injustice, so he slashes his way through London’s high society in order to avenge the destruction of his family. Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) runs a meat pie shop below Sweeney Todd’s barbershop. They dispose of the dead bodies by using them as the pies’ secret ingredient.
The movie’s acting, singing, killing, and bloodletting are all so over-the-top and theatrical that the net effect is a lot less disturbing and upsetting than one might think at first glance. (I never felt queasy, which is quite the opposite from my reactions to comparatively subtle displays of gore in other movies.) The Grand Guignol has undeniable magnificence with the aid of artfully decadent sets and costumes. The music is also much better than the usual bland garbage that is foisted on American theatergoers.
Yet...there is the small issue of Tim Burton’s favorite theme. When mentoring each other, critics tell their acolytes to avoid critiquing an artist’s subject matter and to concentrate on the artist’s methodology. However, Burton’s raison d’etre is to celebrate his love of death. While I admit that Burton’s skills and talents are readily evident, I can’t say that I enjoy watching manifestations of his obsession.
Video:
The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen image is a rich visual experience with deep, inky blacks and stunning reds. The movie was intentionally designed to look nearly black and white, so shadows and contrasts are exceptional. However, the movie also features a high number of CGI shots, so there are some scenes with blurry, muddy backgrounds.
Audio:
The DD 5.1 English track is a glorious presentation of swirling music cues, surprisingly robust singing from actors not known for warbling, and thunderous bass response due to London’s lousy weather. Roaring fires and careening horse carriages add to the aural fun as your eyes dart from speaker to speaker, following the cacophony of movement.
You can also watch the movie with DD 5.1 French and DD 5.1 Spanish dubs. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles as well as optional English closed captions support the audio.
Extras:
--Disc 1--
Disc 1 is the same as the single-disc widescreen release. “Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd” is a half-hour, broad overview of the production, including interviews, rehearsals, recording sessions, and other behind-the-scenes footage. For what it is, this featurette is fairly substantive and informative as it doesn’t try to give you a hard sell.
--Disc 2--
Unlike the two-disc release for There Will Be Blood (which is a joke), you get a lot of mileage out of opting for the two-disc release of Sweeney Todd.
First up is the “Sweeney Todd Press Conference, November 2007”, a Q&A session for promoting the movie.
“Sweeney Is Alive: The Real History of the Demon Barber” argues that there really was a serial-killer barber in London.
“Musical Mayhem: Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd” discusses the musical’s genesis as well as Burton’s adaptation.
“Sweeney’s London” survey’s the London of the story’s setting.
“The Making of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is another overview of the production, though it feels a tad repetitive after the featurette on Disc 1.
“Grand Guignol: A Theatrical Tradition” provides background information about the macabre in theatre.
“Designs for a Demon Barber” showcases the sets and costumes.
“A Bloody Business” reveals how the blood spurts were achieved.
“Moviefone Unscripted With Tim Burton and Johnny Depp” is another Q&A sessions with the longtime collaborators.
“The Razor’s Refrain” sets music to a series of on-set still photos.
Finally, you get a photo gallery and the American theatrical trailer.
--Miscellaneous--
The two discs are held in a slim double keepcase, and the cardboard slipcover provides a fancy frame for the front cover art.
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