Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Name: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Horror, Musical
Released: December 21, 2007
Duration: 116 min
Rating: 83
Cast: Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp

2007

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 39 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 576 Ratings

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7.7

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7.7	Your Score
7.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 576 Ratings

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SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

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Movie Details & Credits

DreamWorks SKG | Release Date: December 21, 2007

Starring: Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp

Summary: From the dark, gothic imagination of director Tim Burton comes Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a bloody tale of music, murder, melodrama, meat pies, and one man's desperate desire for revenge. (Paramount Pictures)

Director: Tim Burton

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Horror, Musical

Rating: R

Runtime: 116 min

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Awards & Rankings

23	#23 Best Movie of 2007
14	#14 Most Discussed Movie of 2007
31	#31 Most Shared Movie of 2007

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Newsweek - David Ansen

Depp is such a soulful presence he gives you a glimpse of this maniac's pain and pathos. Bonham Carter is extraordinary. She reinvents Mrs. Lovett from the inside out. Read full review

100

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

Helena Bonham Carter may be Burton's inamorata, but apart from that, she is perfectly cast, not as a vulgar fishwife type but as a petite beauty with dark, sad eyes and a pouting mouth and a persistent fantasy that she and the barber will someday settle by the seaside. Not bloody likely. Read full review

The Hollywood Reporter - Kirk Honeycutt

Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine - Maitland McDonagh

Tim Burton's grand guignol fantasy transforms Stephen Sondheim's 1979 musical-theater piece into a cheerfully gothic morality tale. Read full review

Portland Oregonian - Shawn Levy

They've made a movie-movie of Sweeney Todd, and if you've got the stomach and ear for it, you'll be grateful. Read full review

Los Angeles Times - Carina Chocano

It's not entirely surprising that Burton's Sweeney Todd feels heavier on style than on substance -- so much that the style almost subverts the story. Still, it's a gorgeous artifact and pretty enjoyable in all. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Josh Rosenblatt

Burton's gorgeously grim film (his sixth with Depp) is loyal to Sondheim's original, both in spirit and structure; it's dark and gothic and drenched in blood, and it forgoes excessive dialogue in the name of getting quickly to the next murky, malevolent, yet strangely forgettable tune. Read full review

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User Reviews

ColinP.

Dec 28, 2007

Absolutely beautiful/ STUNNING! It is like a Shakespearean tragedy. Burton has outdone himself, by far!

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StevenF

Mar 7, 2013

We knew Johnny Depp was a diverse actor but he really turned his hand to something different with his long time BFF Tim Burton, and this is certainly one of their finer moments in the career long collaborations.
A re-telling of the classic barber in Fleet Street, Depp stars as the titularWe knew Johnny Depp was a diverse actor but he really turned his hand to something different with his long time BFF Tim Burton, and this is certainly one of their finer moments in the career long collaborations.
A re-telling of the classic barber in Fleet Street, Depp stars as the titular barber turned killer after tragedy befalls his happy family.
The musical score put forward by Steven Sondheim is wonderfully gripping and heartbreaking, as Sweeney Todd, formerly Benjamin Barker, returns to London to seek revenge on those who wronged him, namely Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) and Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall).
Todd re-opens his barber shop above the pie store, owned by Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) and quickly establishes himself as quite the dangerously cunning and gentle barber, all aiming to the bigger picture of righting the wrongs of his past. He soon visits a market and we are introduced to the comedic Adolfo Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen) who is is a rip-off merchant selling hair growth elixir for bald men.
The film grows predictably darker and more horrific as the minutes tick on, as does the the musical numbers.
This is a tale of revenge and despair, and the talent involved do an excellent (and surprising) job of singing their own solo pieces along with the ensemble numbers, Depp is is stellar in what can only be described as a dark and nerving turn as the London barber.
Burton has perfectly put his own unique gothic touch to proceedings with the characters of Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett, who are equally as dangerous yet likeable, never really knowing who we are supposed to dislike throughout the film.
It has the perfect score to immediately capture and entice the viewer of any particular audience, whether its a catchy and humorous song (Baron Cohen's "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir") or a heartfelt and sombre tone (Todd's "Epiphany"), they all capture the mood and pace of the film, which sets up a thrilling and satisfying final act that will both please and shock.
Burton and Depp certainly chose a different direction for this film, and was an exceptionally brilliant idea to do so.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ErinB.

Jun 4, 2008

It's official! There is absolutely nothing Johnny Depp can't do! Twisted in a beautiful way!

5 of 6 users found this helpful

DavidH.

Dec 22, 2007

I am about as die-hard a Sweeney Todd fan as it gets, and I couldn't get enough. Sondheim laid the ground work with his incomparable score and the rest followed suit. As far as movie musicals, this worked, in the fashion that Chicago worked. Well done.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JawsLaxerDrama

Dec 22, 2012

Bloody and insanely over produced, Sweeney Todd is actually a good movie aside from murders. While it's grim, dirty and just...well, I mean Jesus, look at Johnny Depp. Sweeney Todd is incredibly sad and while there is depth, it went on just a bit too long. Still a good movie though. B-

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

xyw

Jan 31, 2008

An absolute visual feast bogged down by teeth-jarring songs. Full marks are given to the half of the movie that consisted of normal conversation. Sometimes, leaving the cinema straight away seems a much more pleasant preposition than sitting through apparently endless crooning of

0 of 0 users found this helpful

PeterC.

Dec 20, 2007

Depp cannot have any spirit until he shows us that he has one, don't anyone let us get past these high reviews, Depp is as much of a dull name as Johnny. John Depp, the perfect name for a bore, as Tim Burton's skill proceeds to be very dark and bloodily violent, all we get to see Depp cannot have any spirit until he shows us that he has one, don't anyone let us get past these high reviews, Depp is as much of a dull name as Johnny. John Depp, the perfect name for a bore, as Tim Burton's skill proceeds to be very dark and bloodily violent, all we get to see the actor's place their off-beat singing voices that toon off the strength of the song. There is no magic in this thats for sure, no pressence of taste, and nothing but quirky unexcellency. They should have gotten rid of the dead bodies, because they are stinking up the theatre.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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