You think that's bad?

I'm a lyric baritone starring-role stage actor, who's been chomping at the bit to play Sweeney for years. I've got Shakespeare chops, serious acting chops, Opera chops, I can play the hell out of this part.

But starting in 2008, everyone who plays it onstage now will have to--at least in some part--be playing it based on the movie. This will soon be seen as the real Sweeney Todd... not any of the great baritone stage actors who've been brilliant in the part, like George Hearn, Len Cariou or Michael Ceveris...

I wonder if they'll only cast pretty-boys in the role from now on, and if looks are going to take over from the high-talent requirements previously needed to tackle the role.

All that said, I'm still so excited to see what they've done with it.

I doubt that will happen. I don't think there's much of a crossover audience. I enjoy mainstream movies and opera, but I don't know many other people that do. It's usually one or the other. I don't think people who see and like this will start going to musicals if they're not already into that. Just as I don't think fans of musicals and/or opera are anticipating this movie. I guess basically what I'm saying is that fans of *real* musicals don't have anything to worry about...except maybe some ear cringing off-key singing. But with technology today....

Anyone know where one could get one of those movie posters? Thanks

I got my poster off ebay. The one with Depp sitting in the chair, that was originally released at ComicCon... The "Beware" poster is newer, and not as compelling to me, but also generally available.

Second trailer is released... No singing in this one; looks like this trailer is geared more toward the horror market.

http://www.filmpeek.net/sweeney-todd-trailer-nr-2/

Fine, if the movie supports that. But don't send people in thinking its a different movie, or it'll tank with bad word-of-mouth.

And here it is without the damn BLOG SPAM!

The 1st trailer is a bit more riveting

Ok, I've been championing this movie, and I'm still really excited to see what Burton has done with this musical.

But here's my first big, serious gripe.

Apparently, due to time pressures (when Depp's daughter got sick & production was halted) they've cut the entire opening theme song out of the film. "Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd"-- the show's central theme song, repeated over and over again throughout the play and revisited at the end--is no longer in the movie. All the business with Christopher Lee, Peter Boyle, Anthony Stewart Head as ghosts: cut.

This is like cutting the heart out of this musical. I mean, Burton must think it works fine without it, but I'm exceedingly skeptical, and exceedingly disappointed. It'd be like doing "Hello Dolly" without the song "Hello Dolly". This is the number that *sells* the show, and it's out. Hmmm. I really hope I still love it; right now I'm just sad.

I was reading the Columbus Dispatch newspaper and they said this movie has a 160 minute runtime.
That sounded kinda long to me but i am not sure how lengthy the stage version is. I am all for an epic Burton/Depp musical though so i am definitely looking to it even more now.

Wow, that's a shame, and I think you meant Peter Bowles (Boyle as a ghost would really have been freaky). It makes me wonder what else has been left out. I still think they could have left it in, even without Todd. They could have just cut his part or had someone else do it (he refers to himself in the third person anyway). That would have been better than cutting the whole thing.

Yes, I certainly meant Bowles.

Without the title song, they'd have to change the ending alot too. I sure hope it works well, but I still can't fathom why they would eliminate the theme song that forms the backbone of the play, particularly when it is so f-king brilliant.

Love Depp, but I've grown incredibly tired of this Tim Burton style. He uses it entirely too much.

The Burton style is dark and I believe that's appropriate for this film. Personally, I don't think I'll ever get enough of Tim Burton.

No big surprise that Harry Knowles loved it, since he's good buddies with Burton, I think, but he's got a sneak review up at AICN now...

Oh, stop being silly. No-one's taken your musical away from you, now pop in your disc of the musical and turn up Angela Lansbury to drown out your whinging. Everyone's entitled to their own interpretation and your prejudice is worse than your lame attempt at humor.
"Captain"! It's funny, because Depp played a captain sparrow in some movies. Har-dee-har.

And you're being silly too, though you're not wetting the bed over it like some people, thankfully. Who's the best Richard III? Olivier? McKellen? Jeremy Irons as a lion? It doesn't matter about a movie version, it's how good the performance is, and also how good the interpretation is. By your logic, David Bedella shouldn't play Frank N Furter as a much more masculine character, since it conflicts with the movie-caused popular perception. You're a man of the stage! DEFY expectation!

Casting is not something I have control over as an actor. I was simply expressing my worry that--as *always* happens when a movie version comes out--the stage version will thereafter be affected by new audience expectations. In my case, those expections will work against my castability. I still plan on playing this part someday, but I'll probably have a harder time getting the role than if it hadn't been Depp-imprinted.

While I may not be the First Lady of the Theatre, I am a flaming show queen and I believe Depp will be just fine as the demon barber of Fleet Street.

Doesn't anyone remember how shockingly well Richard Gere handled his role in Chicago? Some actors do have talent.

Well, the first two I mentioned cast themselves...

Watching the trailer again is certainly interesting. Atwood's costumes are marvelous. They remind me a lot of her work on A Series Of Unfortunate Events.

Chuckle. Crank the pomposity down a notch there, for Pete's sake. My "Captain Sweeney Sparrow" comment is a result of Depp using his all too recognizable gutteral-semi-drunken-cockney/pirate/ne'er-do-well™ accent, showcased smack in the middle of the official trailer. I have no qualms with new interpretations if there appears to be any honest desire to improve or explore a different facet of story or presentation for the sake of the art, but this whole thing smacks more of ca$hing in than any sort of bold experimentation or creative genius. Dang, who'd have thought any remark of mine would have coaxed such animosity out of a fellow old timer?

The final shooting script, dated 12/21/06, was leaked on imdb last week. It included the ghosts and the signature song, so the cut was definitely made *during* filming. Nearly every other song is there, although several are in shorter versions. The only other numbers completely absent, I think, are Kiss Me and Beadle's harmonium songs.

They cut Kiss Me? Damnit. Did they cut Ladies in their Sensitivities? That song goes with Kiss Me in a way that it would be hard to cut one but not the other.

As scripted, the light patter verse of Ladies survives as a Beadle solo, but it never goes as far as the chorus (so the name of the song is never sung) or the quartet/medley. As always the Judge and Sweeney pick up the patter melody a bit later as the prelude to Pretty Women.

Oh, and they did leave out the Judge's Joanna. Not unexpected, since many productions leave it out too, but I bet Rickman would have been incredible with it. It's really the best masturbation/religious self-flagellation song in all musical theater.

New update. Tons of new photos, posters and reviews hitting the web from all over, and three songs already available as boots.

A night or two ago, Burton was honored at a Lincoln Center gala and brought along 3 extended clips from the movie. Three full songs, actually. My Friends, Epihany, and Joanna (Act II). They're now available as bootleg mp3s, poor quality, much like cam video recordings...

Depp's singing is much more than adequate. It's certainly more folk-rock/soft-rock than Sweeney has ever been before, but it's rock solid. Jonathan Tunick's new orchestrations of the score are genius. While I've been excited about the movie for a long time, I can't say until now that I was specifically excited for the soundtrack too.

I'm jumping on the Oscar bandwagon, like Poland and a few others.

Caught an advance screening tonight. I am not too familiar with the musical, but I found it very enjoyable. I am a major fan of both Burton and Depp and this movie suited their styles very well. However, it is rather gory and I think the fact that it is a musical coupled with the fact that it's a very hard R rating will hurt it with the general public. Having seen the trailers for recent musicals (this and Across the Universe) it seems studios want to downplay the fact that their movies are of that genre.
Overall, a great ensemble cast and the music is beautiful, as well as the art direction and costumes, though beautiful in the Tim Burton sense of the word.