List Price: $39.99You Pay Only: $27.99 You Save: $12.00 (30%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: Blu-ray
Brand: Paramount
EAN: 0097361386140
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Label: Dreamworks Video
Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Dreamworks Video
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Running Time: 116 minutes
Sales Rank: 1937
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/21/2008 Run time: 116 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com:
After years of rumors, it turns out that Tim Burton was the perfect visionary to film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim's Broadway masterpiece, and the result is a macabre and moving musical movie as enthralling as anything Burton has ever done. The show's mix of gothic horror, Grand Guignol, very dark humor, and witty and beautiful music never was the stuff of traditional musical comedy, but it's a powerful work, and perhaps the richest of the late 20th century. In the movie, Burton's frequent collaborator, Johnny Depp, plays Todd, a wronged man whose lust for revenge drives him to murder (an 19th-century legend who has been traced to a real-life barber). Helena Bonham Carter, another Burton mainstay, is Mrs. Lovett, the barber's partner-in-unspeakable-crime. It's no surprise that Depp is an excellent choice to convey Todd's brooding intensity and volcanic rage, but he can also sing a score that is so challenging it has often played in opera houses (though not with the same style as the Broadway original, Len Cariou, and he occasionally lapses into pop style). Bonham Carter is small of voice and lacks the humor of the original Broadway Lovett, Angela Lansbury, but she sings on pitch, in rhythm, and in character at the same time, which is no small feat for a Sondheim show. Aficionados will regret the loss of certain musical passages--'The Ballad of Sweeney Todd' is just an instrumental overture and the chorus is gone altogether, among others--but the reassuring presence of orchestrator Jonathan Tunick and conductor Paul Gemignani ensures that the music feels right and sounds great. And the film's depiction of a Victorian London hellhole--with cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and costumes by Colleen Atwood--also looks and feels right.
The excellent cast is filled out by Alan Rickman as the villainous Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall as his seedy Beadle, Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) as a rival barber, Jamie Campbell Bower as the young lover Anthony, Jayne Wisener as his object of affection, and Ed Sanders as the young Toby. For fans of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp who don't think they like musicals, Sweeney Todd should be a revelation (though not for the squeamish, as the gore is intense and completely appropriate). For fans of Broadway and Sondheim, it's hard to imagine getting a better adaptation than this. The fact that there's no newly composed Oscar-bait song sung by a Josh Groban-type over the end credits only makes it better. --David Horiuchi
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - A bloody good musical
Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp), a barber embittered by the destruction of his family and his own unjust imprisonment, returns to London filled with bloodlust and anger, thirsting for revenge against the man responsible for his family's downfall (Alan Rickman). While waiting for his big chance, he slaughters scores of customers, who are then recycled into meat pies served by Todd's accomplice and would-be lover, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter).
Once again, director Tim Burton has found a fitting subject for his unique sensibility. His London is a dark, creepy warren of twisting back alleys and dank sewers. He does not compromise the basic savagery of this story, presenting a musical that features more blood than most slasher films. The reprehensible nature most of the characters is not prettied up for the screen; each of them is taken to their logical extreme and meets a richly deserved fate. I haven't seen the show as presented on stage, so I can't comment on how it compares to this compressed version, but I found the film to be quite satisfying in its own right (with the exception of one "surprise" that I saw coming from a mile away). The actors, who are not noted for their singing ability, acquit themselves well with Stephen Sondheim's excellent score.
Rating:  - The Musical For Horror-Movie Fans
If you wish Lon Chaney were still alive and acting, or that he could have tried to sing a little bit when he was, this is the film for you. The sets and costumes are opulent, the casting is spot-on and the effects are dazzling. Most of all, the film owes its brilliance to the dark genius of Tim Burton. This is the film he was born to make! Oh, and don't fear the ghoulish aspects you might have heard about - this film offers plenty of humor.
Rating: - "I Will Have Vengeance, I Will Have Salvation..." "Nothing's Gonna Harm You, Not While I'm Around..." Bloody Well Done.
Tim Burton's rendition of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street" is bloody well done...and I mean it literally. While I'm not very familiar with this musical, I thought, "Just the cast makes me wanna see it." Long story short I finally saw it on DVD and pretended to be disgusted by the blood because my mom would've been horrified if I'd told her I liked it. I really loved the movie, especially the final scenes. I won't give it away. You'll be glued to your chair watching this well-executed tale of a man seeking revenge after years in prison on a false charge ("The Count Of Monte Cristo," anyone?). I admit, I was surprised that Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter (sorely underrated; see her magnificent performance in the classic "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein"), Timothy Spall & Sacha Baron Cohen (aka "Borat") could sing. This wonderful movie shouldn't have been rated R. Should've also gotten nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Score and Best Cinematography. Rated PG-13 for some violence.
Rating: - Arrived Quickly as described
This movie arrived within 4 days of order placement and it was brand new in original packaging as described. Great deal for a spectacular movie.
Rating: - A Good Introduction to Sondheim's Masterpiece
There are two kinds of people who are going to see this movie, and they will have two differing opinions about it. Please skip to the appropriate portion of the review.
IF YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THE STAGE VERSION OF "SWEENEY TODD:"
You will thoroughly enjoy this movie, as long as you can get over the fact that it's a musical (this is something they glossed over in the advertising, and is something you need to be aware of if you're going to enjoy the film). The story of the wronged barber Sweeney Todd, who returns from years in prison to find his wife dead and his daughter adopted by the corrupt judge who locked him away, is a fascinating study of one person's descent into madness. What begins as a quest for revenge eventually becomes a grisly tale of murder that involves the disturbing notion of killing someone and then baking them into meat pies.
As Todd, Johnny Depp brings his typical depth to a complex and challenging role. He manages the deceptively tough task of simultaneously acting and singing, doing an admirable job with Sondheim's notoriously difficult and haunting score. Helena Bohnam Carter plays his parter in crime, the scheming and amoral Mrs. Lovett, who does the dirty work of cooking the victims and serving them to unsuspecting customers. Both play their roles in such a way that while you may not like or agree with what they are doing, you will totally understand their motivations and even emphathize with them as their dreams spiral out of ... Read More
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